The Cost-Effective Implementation of an Electronic Document Management System at a Poison Information Center to Improve Preparedness for a Terrorism Incident

Abstract

Access to evidence-based literature in a timely and efficient manner is critical in a situation involving a terrorism incident. The purpose of this project was to develop a method that provides rapid access to key biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism literature for poison information specialists, working in either the poison center or as remote agents, during a terrorism incident.Various electronic document management systems were evaluated and compared based on the cost of implementation and maintenance, ease of use, capabilities, and efficiency. After a thorough evaluation of these systems, it was determined that Adobe Acrobat Professional software met the needs of the center, with minimal expense. The implementation process involved scanning selected biological, chemical, and radiological terrorism literature via an HP Digital Sender 9250c scanner. The Adobe Acrobat Professional software was used to enter the author, title, and assigned keywords for searching.Total cost of implementation was approximately $4,500. The full software version was necessary for a minimal number of users, while the searching component for specialists in poison information was available through Adobe Acrobat Reader. A majority of the staff was satisfied with the new system and felt it was user friendly.The described system allows specialists rapid access to key papers, whether they are working in the center or remotely. This improves efficiency when surge capacity is compromised, which can occur during a terrorism incident.