January Release - 1/06/2020

This full release of RxNorm is consistent with the 2019AB 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 with version names in bold have been updated since the previous RxNorm release:

Source Name	SAB	Version
Vaccines Administered	CVX	CVX_2019_12_16
DrugBank	DRUGBANK	DRUGBANK5.0_2019_11_27
Gold Standard Drug Database	GS	GS_2019_12_11
Multum MediSource Lexicon	MMSL	MMSL_2019_12_01
Micromedex RED BOOK	MMX	MMX_2019_12_02
FDA Structured Product Labels	MTHSPL	MTHSPL_2019_12_27
FDB MedKnowledge (formerly NDDF Plus)	NDDF	NDDF_2019_12_11
RxNorm normalized names and codes	RXNORM	RXNORM_19AB_200106F
Veterans Health Administration National Drug File	VANDF	VANDF_2019_11_30

The following sources have not been updated since the previous RxNorm release:

Source Name	SAB	Version
Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System	ATC	ATC_2019
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)	MSH	MSH2020_2019_08_27
CMS Formulary Reference File	MTHCMSFRF	MTHCMSFRF_2014
US Edition of SNOMED CT (drug information)	SNOMEDCT_US	SNOMEDCT_US_2019_07_31
USP Compendial Nomenclature	USP	USP_2019_08_19

*Reminder: As of October 2017, Medi-Span data will not be included in the RxNorm or UMLS releases. If you have questions about Medi-Span, please contact: medispan-support@wolterskluwer.com.

Data Changes

New Units of Measure for Supplements

Starting with the December release, units of measure on RxNorm normal forms for dietary supplements will change to better align with recent guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This will be a long-term project and changes will occur as updated drug labels are received. Further information about the FDA guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-provides-guidance-industry-convert-units-measure-certain-nutrients-nutrition-and-supplement

New Qualitative Distinction

Qualitative Distinction (QD) modifiers allow flexibility in the RxNorm model to create a new RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier (RXCUI) when needed. The new QD “Micronized” distinguishes certain products containing the ingredient isotretinoin.

The December 2019 release includes new QDs for the following active concepts:

RXCUI	Term Type (TTY)	String
2262729	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 8 MG Oral Capsule
2262731	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 8 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]
2262711	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 16 MG Oral Capsule
2262713	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 16 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]
2262714	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 20 MG Oral Capsule
2262715	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 20 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]
2262717	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 24 MG Oral Capsule
2262719	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 24 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]
2262721	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 28 MG Oral Capsule
2262723	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 28 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]
2262725	SCD	Micronized Isotretinoin 32 MG Oral Capsule
2262727	SBD	Micronized Isotretinoin 32 MG Oral Capsule [Absorica]

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 December release contains the following new attribute value (ATV) to match the QD strings found in the SCD and SBD normalized names:

• Micronized

Data Counts

Term Type or Attribute	Number
Active GPCKs	414
Active BPCKs	502
Active SCDs	18608
Active SBDs	10266
Active RXNORM MINs	3813
Active RXNORM INs	12454
Active RXNORM PINs	2928
Active RXNORM BNs	5809
Active RXNORM DFs	117
Obsolete GPCKs	207
Obsolete BPCKs	183
Obsolete SCDs	16543
Obsolete SBDs	11009
Obsolete RXNORM MINs	0
Obsolete RXNORM INs	0
Obsolete RXNORM PINs	0
Obsolete RXNORM BNs	6292
Obsolete RXNORM DFs	62
Editor-suppressed SCDs	1776
Editor-suppressed SBDs	1483
SAB=RXNORM NDCs	248899
Distinct SAB=RXNORM NDCs	248899

Last Reviewed: December 2, 2019