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The Drug and Poison Information Service (DPIS) is a dedicated Call-centre of the Malaysia National Poison Centre.  The Call-centre is a referral service for poisoning emergencies, incidents of overdose, chemical safety and other related issues. Trained pharmacists operate the Call-centre during office hours and provide additional service in the evening, weekends and public holidays.  Provision of services outside office hours are however limited to a briefer schedule.  Consultation and feedbacks handled by the DPIS are based on standardised references and databases. Conversations between the caller and the DPIS are recorded for audit purposes and  as training materials. Follow-up calls are procedural depending on the nature of the case to ensure continuous support and assistance.  Majority of the calls to the DPIS are mainly from hospitals and clinics around the country with a smaller number from households, factories etc. The DPIS also provide and share poisoning data and drug information to its regional counterparts on request.

Non-urgent general drug/poison enquiries can be communicated by email to the centre for feedback at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When to contact the service?

When faced with :

  • Acute or chronic poisonings involving:

          - Drugs and Medical Products

          - Pesticides

          - Household and Industrial Chemicals

          - Natural Toxins

  • Misuse and abused medicines
  • Drug-related problems including Adverse Drug Reactions
What is required when contacting the service?

In cases of exposure to poisons, please be ready with the following information:

  • Age and weight of the victim/patient.
  • Callers telephone number (this is important for follow up calls).
  • Name of the poison/drug involved (read one at a time, the information written on labels, if any).
  • Quantity of substance involved (provide estimation as accurate as possible).
  • Time of incident.
  • Signs and symptoms.
  • First aid/treatment given (if any).
Other Services offered by the DPIS?
  • Drug and Poison Information attachment programme for healthcare providers and students in related field.
  • Training packages in management of common acute poisoning for healthcare providers.
  • Drug/Poison education and prevention package programmes for targeted community members or general public.
  • Review of poisoning management guidelines or safety/toxicology data sheets.

Available Training Services

Drug and Poison Information
attachment programme for
Pharmacists (local/non-local)
  Duration: 2- 4 weeks
Drug and Poison Information
attachment programme for
Pharmacy students (local/non-local)
 

Duration: 1-2 weeks in groups of

minimum 4 students

Industrial/Internship training for
Pharmacy students (local/non-local)


Duration: 4-6 weeks in groups of

minimum 4 students

Clinical Toxicology (Attachment for Medical
Specialist under the Ministry
of Health Sub-speciality
Programme)
Duration: 2 weeks
Occupational / Environmental /
Public Health (Toxicology)
(Attachment for Medical
Specialist under the Ministry
of Health Sub-speciality
Programme)
Duration: 2 weeks
Training packages in Management of
Common Acute Poisoning for
Healthcare Providers
  Duration: 3-5 days
workshop/seminar
Elective attachment for Medical
Doctor under Specialist
Programme/Master in Emergency
Medicine
  Duration: 2 weeks

 Note: It is possible to design and customize the training to meet individual requirement

Other Services

Consultation of Poisoning Management Guidelines documents

Consultation for Technical Document on drug toxicity/pesticides/other chemicals
Material Safety Datasheet translation/review for chemical/pesticide manufacturers Consultation with attorneys for drug/poison related legal cases