The mission of the Drug & Poison Information Centre is to provide accessible high quality drug and poison emergency treatment advice in a timely manner, appropriate to the enquirer (health professional, member of public or industry) and to serve as the primary resource for poison education, prevention and treatment advisory in Singapore. The Drug and Poison Information Centre was established in April 2004 to provide lifesaving services to the citizens of Singapore 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The DPIC is located in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital and is staffed by Poisons Information Officers with secondary and tertiary level supervision by pharmacists and on-call medical toxicologists respectively. The DPIC will provide information to healthcare professionals (e.g. doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses), industries (e.g. chemical and pharmaceutical) and members of the public. One of the objectives of the service is to avoid unnecessary attendances at healthcare facilities such as the Emergency Department, as well as ensure rapid optimum treatment for cases of poisoning. Professional staff at the centre can determine the severity of an exposure and decide whether it can be handled at home or if hospital treatment is required. Many exposures do not require hospital treatment and can be managed in the home with the guidance of the professionals at the centre. This will help save lives as well as money. No calls are refused, but in some instances callers will be referred to a more appropriate agency or consultant for information.  No charge is made for acute information.