A Brief Introduction to RxNav

Welcome to RxNav!

RxNav is a web application powered by the RxNorm API. RxNav helps you search, browse, and navigate through several drug information sources, including RxNorm, RxTerms and MED-RT. RxNav can help you find drug names and codes from RxNorm's constituent vocabularies.

This tutorial will familiarize you with the basic layout and features of RxNav, and will show you how to search for, browse, and explore RxNorm data.

To begin, please click the Next button below.

Welcome to RxNav

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First, we will look at the basic layout and interface of RxNav.

Welcome to RxNav

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At the top of the page, you will see a drop-down menu next to a search box.

Image of the RxNav search bar showing String in the drop-down menu

By default, the drop-down menu is set to String and will enable you to do a string search of RxNorm. You can select different types of searches from the drop-down menu, including RxCUI and NDC searches.

RxCUI stands for RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier. Every concept in RxNorm has an RxCUI, which allows the concept to be uniquely identified.

NDCs (National Drug Codes) are unique product identifiers for drugs in the United States.

Welcome to RxNav

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On the left side of the page you will find a sidebar that shows a variety of controls. Most of these are advanced filters and features which you can ignore for now.

NOTE: Depending on your screen size, you may have to click on the white arrow (with the orange background) to expand the sidebar.

A screenshot of the RxNav left sidebar showing options for Views, Filters, and Links.

This tutorial will be conducted entirely using the Classic view. Please check to make sure the Classic option is highlighted under the Views heading.

If not, please click the Classic option to select it.

Welcome to RxNav

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In Classic view, the majority of the screen is filled by a series of boxes. Each box is labeled with an RxNorm term type, and will be populated with RxNorm concepts of that specific term type.

Right now, these boxes are empty, but you can populate them by running your first RxNav search!

Your First RxNav Search

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To perform a string search in RxNav, make sure the drop-down menu next to the search box is set to String, type your string in the search box, and click the magnifying glass Search icon.

Try this out by searching RxNorm for the brand name Claritin.

Image of the RxNav search bar showing String in the drop-down menu with Claritin in the search.

Your First RxNav Search

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Immediately below the search box, you can see that RxNav has exactly matched the string Claritin to an RxNorm Concept: Claritin (RxCUI 203576).

Image of the RxNav search bar showing String in the drop-down menu with Claritin in the search and Claritin (RxCUI = 203576) underneath.

Because Claritin is the active concept (i.e., the concept that you retrieved), the term type boxes below are populated with concepts that are related to Claritin.

Look at the box or row labeled BN (or Brand Name, depending on the width of your screen). This box lists concepts with term type Brand Name, and currently shows the active concept which exactly matched our string: Claritin. (You can hover your cursor over any concept shown to see its RxCUI.)

The concept Claritin is highlighted in yellow, indicating that it is the active concept.

Your First RxNav Search

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The rest of the term type boxes list concepts of various term types that are related to the active concept.

For example, the Ingredient box (labelled IN/MIN) lists the concept loratadine (RxCUI 28889), because loratadine is the active ingredient in Claritin.

The Branded Drug or Pack box (labelled SBD/BPCK) shows all of the Semantic Branded Drug concepts with the brand name Claritin. Semantic Branded Drug concepts specify ingredient, strength, dose form, and brand name.

Because Claritin exists in a variety of strengths and dose forms, there are several concepts listed here.

Browsing RxNav

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Navigating through related RxNorm concepts in RxNav is simple. Click on any concept displayed in any one of the term type boxes, and that concept will become the active concept, with the rest of the page contents repopulating to show concepts related to the new active concept.

To try this out, look in the Ingredient box. Click on the concept loratadine (RxCUI 28889).

You will notice that loratadine is now highlighted, and the rest of the page contents have changed, as if a string search on loratadine was performed.

Browsing RxNav

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Many of the concepts displayed for Claritin are still displayed for loratadine, as loratadine is the active ingredient in Claritin. However, you may notice that additional concepts have been added to the boxes.

For example, under Brand Names, Branded Drug Component, and Branded Drug or Pack, additional brand names and branded drugs have been added, as loratadine products are sold under other brand names beside Claritin.

Additionally, Ingredients, Clinical Drug or Pack, and Clinical Dose Form Group have additional concepts. While Claritin is only sold in certain strengths and dose forms, other generic loratadine drugs are available in a wider variety of strengths and dose forms.

Browsing RxNav

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You can continue to browse through the RxNorm data in RxNav by clicking on any displayed concept.

That concept will become the active concept, and the page contents will update to display new concepts related to the active concept.

Searching RxNav by RXCUI

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If you know a RxNav Concept Unique Identifier (RxCUI), you can use the search box to find it quickly in RxNav.

Make sure the drop-down menu next to the search box is set to RXCUI, type 311373 in the search box, and click the magnifying glass Search icon.

Image of the RxNav search bar showing RxCUI in the drop-down menu with 311373 in the search.

Searching RxNav by RXCUI

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This search returns the concept loratadine 10 MG Disintegrating Oral Tablet (RxCUI 311373). As usual, the term type boxes are populated by concepts related to this active concept.

You may notice that there are fewer related concepts than there were for loratadine or Claritin. This is because loratadine 10 MG Disintegrating Oral Tablet is a much more specific concept, so its network of related concepts is less broad.

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

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Searching RxNorm by NDC using RxNav is just as simple.

Make sure the drop-down menu next to the search box is set to NDC, type 50580-726-03 in the search box, and click the magnifying glass Search icon.

Image of the RxNav search bar showing NDC in the drop-down menu with 50580-726-03 in the search.

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

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This search returns the concept ZyrTEC 10 MG Oral Tablet (RxCUI 1020026), and displays the related concepts as usual. The NDC Code 50580-726-03 is one of many NDC Codes used to identify this concept.

To see a list of the other NDCs that can be used to identify ZyrTEC 10 MG Oral Tablet, find the row of navigation tabs (below the search box, above the term type boxes), and click on the tab labeled NDC (third from the left).

A screenshot of the RxNav navigation tabs, with NDC highlighted.

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

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This tab shows all of the current NDCs associated with the active concept.

To get back to the default view, click the Graph tab (the leftmost tab in the row of navigation tabs).

Conclusion

This tutorial has just scratched the surface of what you can do with RxNav. We hope you continue to explore RxNav's various features as you dive deeper into RxNorm data.

Close both tutorial windows to exit the NLM Navigator.