August Release - 08/01/2016
This release of RxNorm is consistent with the 2016AA UMLS Metathesaurus release. For additional information about RxNorm releases, including scripts for loading the RxNorm data into Oracle and MySQL databases, read the RxNorm technical documentation.
Sources
The following sources have been updated since the previous RxNorm release:
| Source Name | SAB | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Standard Drug Database | GS | GS_2016_07_12 |
| Medi-Span Master Drug Data Base | MDDB | MDDB_2016_07_06 |
| Multum MediSource Lexicon | MMSL | MMSL_2016_07_01 |
| Micromedex RED BOOK | MMX | MMX_2016_07_05 |
| FDA Structured Product Labels | MTHSPL | MTHSPL_2016_07_19 |
| FDB MedKnowledge (formerly NDDF Plus) | NDDF | NDDF_2016_07_06 |
| Veterans Health Administration National Drug File | VANDF | VANDF_2016_06_16 |
The following sources have not been updated in this release:
| Source Name | SAB | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System | ATC | ATC_2016 |
| Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) | MSH | MSH2016_2016_02_26 |
| CMS Formulary Reference File | MTHCMSFRF | MTHCMSFRF_2014 |
| Veterans Health Administration National Drug File - Reference Terminology | NDFRT | NDFRT_2016_07_05 |
| NDFRT FDASPL relationships | NDFRT_FDASPL | NDFRT_FDASPL_2016_07_05 |
| NDFRT FMTSME relationships | NDFRT_FMTSME | NDFRT_FMTSME_2016_07_05 |
| US Edition of SNOMED CT (drug information) | SNOMEDCT_US | SNOMEDCT_US_2016_01_31 |
Data Changes
Qualitative Distinction
The RxNorm model revolves around the active ingredient, strength, and dose form (i.e., TTY=SCD) for drug products. There are some cases, as identified by those using RxNorm in eprescribing systems and drug formularies, where the RxNorm model groups drugs that, in practice, need to have separate RXCUIs. To allow flexibility in the RxNorm model to handle such cases, RxNorm now includes a Qualitative Distinction (QD) modifier that can be applied as a prefix to SCD and SBD normalized names. Drugs that include the QD have a different RXCUI than the same drugs without the QD, and information about these drugs, including drug descriptions and NDCs, have been split into the appropriate RXCUI.
Here are the concepts with QDs in the August release:
| RXCUI | TTY | String |
|---|---|---|
| 1801282 | SBD | Emollient hydrocortisone acetate 25 MG/ML / Pramoxine hydrochloride 10 MG/ML Topical Cream [Pramosone] |
| 1801281 | SCD | Emollient hydrocortisone acetate 25 MG/ML / Pramoxine hydrochloride 10 MG/ML Topical Cream |
| 1801283 | SCD | Emollient Fluocinonide 0.5 MG/ML Topical Cream |
| 848951 | SBD | Sugar-Free Cholestyramine Resin 4000 MG Powder for Oral Suspension [Prevalite] |
| 1801280 | SBD | Sugar-Free Cholestyramine Resin 4000 MG Powder for Oral Suspension [Questran] |
| 1801279 | SCD | Sugar-Free Cholestyramine Resin 4000 MG Powder for Oral Suspension |
| 993524 | SBD | Smoking Cessation 12 HR Bupropion Hydrochloride 150 MG Extended Release Oral Tablet [Buproban] |
| 993954 | SBD | Smoking Cessation 12 HR Bupropion Hydrochloride 150 MG Extended Release Oral Tablet [Zyban] |
| 1801289 | SCD | Smoking Cessation 12 HR Bupropion Hydrochloride 150 MG Extended Release Oral Tablet |
| 1801295 | SBD | Microencapsulated Potassium Chloride 20 MEQ Extended Release Oral Tablet [Klor-Con] |
| 1801294 | SCD | Microencapsulated Potassium Chloride 20 MEQ Extended Release Oral Tablet |
| 1801299 | SBD | Microencapsulated Potassium Chloride 10 MEQ Extended Release Oral Tablet [Klor-Con] |
| 1801298 | SCD | Microencapsulated Potassium Chloride 10 MEQ Extended Release Oral Tablet |
For each SCD or SBD with a QD, there is an associated attribute in RXNSAT with the attribute name (ATN) of 'RXN_QUALITATIVE_DISTINCTION'. The August release contains the following attributes to match the QD strings found in the SCD and SBD normalized names:
- Emollient
- Microencapsulated
- Smoking Cessation
- Sugar-Free
Data Counts
| Term Type or Attribute | Number |
|---|---|
| Active GPCKs | 372 |
| Active BPCKs | 415 |
| Active SCDs | 18751 |
| Active SBDs | 10656 |
| Active RXNORM MINs | 3983 |
| Active RXNORM INs | 11037 |
| Active RXNORM PINs | 2569 |
| Active RXNORM BNs | 6346 |
| Active RXNORM DFs | 117 |
| Obsolete GPCKs | 144 |
| Obsolete BPCKs | 129 |
| Obsolete SCDs | 16288 |
| Obsolete SBDs | 10171 |
| Obsolete RXNORM MINs | 0 |
| Obsolete RXNORM INs | 0 |
| Obsolete RXNORM PINs | 0 |
| Obsolete RXNORM BNs | 9544 |
| Obsolete RXNORM DFs | 55 |
| Editor-suppressed SCDs | 1520 |
| Editor-suppressed SBDs | 1315 |
| Source-asserted NDCs | 1210567 |
| Distinct source-asserted NDCs | 569929 |
| SAB=RXNORM NDCs | 217625 |
| Distinct SAB=RXNORM NDCs | 217625 |
Last Reviewed: June 6, 2016