Because there may be some confusion avout this new number, we asked a poison treatment expert, Dr. Michael Shannon, to provide some background and perspective on this new development.

Dr. Michael Shannon comments: "Last month health officials announced the opening of a single, national, toll free phone number for all poison centers in the U.S. This number uses a sophisticated system that identifies where the caller is and then automatically directs the call to the appropriate regional poison center.

In several ways this was an historic event. First, there has been a desire for many years to provide a single national poison center phone number - in that way a family can travel or move to any state without having to learn a new phone number for the local regional poison control network. Second, until now it has been very difficult to establish a system where calling a single number would automatically direct a call to the appropriate local poison center, based on where the call originated. The establishment of a single national phone number also reflects that poison control centers have not been organized as an important health resource.

Where does this new national poison center number fit in relation to your regional poison center? Parents and others (including grandparents) who care for children should call their regional poison center and obtain a sticker or refrigerator magnet which has the new national phone number. While older numbers that go directly to regional poison centers will work for some time, they are being replaced by this new national number. The establishment of a single phone number has made poison centers more available to the public and have assured the permanence of this invaluable service."

Dr. Shannon is Associate Chief, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA.

(Child Health Alert, PO Box 610228, Newton Highlands, MA)