Use of a line card sequencer for triage of poison center calls.

In 1984 the Poison Center installed a Dacon ACS-46 Automatic Call Sequencer. This device is connected to all incoming poison information lines (with the exception of a specially designated 911 line) and acts as an interface between callers and Poison Information Specialists during periods of heavy call loads. While the use of a call sequencer could never be termed ideal, such use offers a number of specific benefits in situations that are frequently encountered in Poison Center work. These benefits include: significant reduction in staff stress, caller assurance that a correct number has been reached, efficient triage of incoming calls, and accumulation of accurate incoming call data. Data input parameters of this system include: total calls offered, dropped calls, calls over alarm time, average time for completed calls, average time for dropped calls, and completed and dropped hold time data bins.