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Unified Medical Language System® (UMLS®)

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RxNorm Full Monthly Content Release Notes

September Release - 09/04/2018

This release of RxNorm is consistent with the 2018AA 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 NameSABVersion
DrugBank DRUGBANK DRUGBANK5.0_2018_07_31
Gold Standard Drug Database GS GS_2018_08_01
Multum MediSource Lexicon MMSL MMSL_2018_08_01
Micromedex RED BOOK MMX MMX_2018_07_31
FDA Structured Product Labels MTHSPL MTHSPL_2018_08_24
FDB MedKnowledge (formerly NDDF Plus) NDDF NDDF_2018_08_08
RxNorm normalized names and codes RXNORM RXNORM_18AA_180904F
US Edition of SNOMED CT (drug information) SNOMEDCT_US SNOMEDCT_US_2018_07_31
USP Compendial Nomenclature USP USP_2018_08_27
Veterans Health Administration National Drug File VANDF VANDF_2018_08_01


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

Source NameSABVersion
Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System ATC ATC_2018
Vaccines Administered CVX CVX_2018_06_22
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) MSH MSH2018_2018_02_05
CMS Formulary Reference File MTHCMSFRF MTHCMSFRF_2014
Veterans Health Administration National Drug File - Reference Terminology NDFRT NDFRT_2018_02_05
NDFRT FDASPL relationships NDFRT_FDASPL NDFRT_FDASPL_2018_02_05
NDFRT FMTSME relationships NDFRT_FMTSME NDFRT_FMTSME_2018_02_05

*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 Data Source
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the addition of the United States Pharmacopeia Compendial Nomenclature (USP) as a new data source in RxNorm. Integrating USP Compendial Nomenclature into RxNorm will help reduce nomenclature errors, particularly for substances with different salt forms (e.g. diclofenac potassium and diclofenac sodium). USP content will be integrated in a phased approach, beginning with substances, capsules, and tablets in this September release.

New RxNorm Attributes
The Basis of Strength Substance (BoSS) is now explicitly indicated in RxNorm allowing improved alignment with international drug data standards. The new attributes also support computation by including the product strength as discrete numerator and denominator values and units rather than as a string in the RxNorm normalized name. There are seven new attributes associated with the Semantic Clinical Drug Component (SCDC) term type (TTY) in RxNorm.

Here are the seven new attribute names (ATN) in RXNSAT associated with SCDCs in RxNorm:

Data Counts

Term Type or AttributeNumber
Active GPCKs393
Active BPCKs483
Active SCDs18438
Active SBDs10405
Active RXNORM MINs3984
Active RXNORM INs11967
Active RXNORM PINs2778
Active RXNORM BNs5994
Active RXNORM DFs117
  
Obsolete GPCKs175
Obsolete BPCKs148
Obsolete SCDs17122
Obsolete SBDs10885
Obsolete RXNORM MINs0
Obsolete RXNORM INs0
Obsolete RXNORM PINs0
Obsolete RXNORM BNs6116
Obsolete RXNORM DFs59
Editor-suppressed SCDs1742
Editor-suppressed SBDs1428
SAB=RXNORM NDCs245890
Distinct SAB=RXNORM NDCs245890

Last Reviewed: September 10, 2018