Centres antipoison : vocation et modalités de fonctionnement

The main mission of the ten French Poison Centres is to provide, by telephone, toxicological information to both the public and health professionals. This activity is performed 24/24h by trained practitioners; it reduces health costs by limiting the number of consultations in emergency units. In these centres, other missions are also achieved: education of the population and accidents prevention, toxicological valuation, toxicovigilance, instruction and research in clinical toxicology, and participation to other vigilances systems like pharmacovigilance or centres for assessment and information about Pharmacodependency. The missions of the Poison Centres in France are specified in the executive order 96 – 833, 17^th September 1996.