Whether it is poisoned rivers and streams, noxious gases and waste from factories or contaminated food products, the incidence of environmental damage and poisoning in adults and children is increasing. And with so many chemicals capable of harming us, the task of identifying them and then understanding how victims should be treated, can be a hit and miss operation. Remember Bhopal and the fatal delay in recognising the lethal gas and the way citizens could protect themselves. This rapid economic development of Southeast Asia has also brought with it the stresses of modernisation and success which many people find difficult to cope with.
Suicides are on the increase throughout the region.
The large number of readily available toxic products even on supermarket shelves, means that effective treatment for any intentional or accidental poisoning depends upon instant access to comprehensive and current product formulas and recommended therapies. The only way to efficiently manage this information for rapid retrieval, is to put it into electronic format. Plus databases on CD-ROM from Micromedex. CCIS is used by the Hong Kong Poison Information Bureau at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Clive Wing recently met Trish Anderson of the Bureau, to learn how CD- ROM databases are contributing to patient health care in the Territory.