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RXNORM (RXNORM) - Source Representation


This page lists specific source data elements and provides information on their representation in the UMLS Metathesaurus.

VSAB: RXNORM_20AA_230306F


Notes:

RxNorm, a standardized nomenclature for clinical drugs, is produced by the National Library of Medicine. Data files are released monthly and available by download. Within each Metathesaurus cycle, RxNorm is updated multiple times. This document reflects the latest cumulative update. The scope of RxNorm is determined by the combined scope of its source vocabularies which include the following:

Sources Description
ATC_2022_23_03_06 Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System
CVX_2023_01_25 Vaccines Administered
DRUGBANK5.0_2023_02_10 DrugBank
GS_2023_02_08 Gold Standard Drug Database
MMSL_2023_02_01 Multum MediSource Lexicon
MMSL_2023_02_01 Micromedex RED BOOK
MTHCMSFRF_2020_23_03_06 Metathesaurus CMS Formulary Reference File
MTHSPL_2023_02_24 Metathesaurus FDA Structured Product Labels
NDDF_2023_02_08 FDB MedKnowledge
RXNORM_20AA_230306F RxNorm Vocabulary
USP_2023_02_13 USP Compendial Nomenclature
VANDF_2023_01_31 Veterans Health Administration National Drug File

Note: Selected portions of MSH and SNOMEDCT are included in the RxNorm release files, however, they are not processed as part of RxNorm for the Metathesaurus except in assigning RXCUI and RXAUI attributes. All MSH or SNOMEDCT data in the Metathesaurus comes directly from that source's data files. This document describes how the RxNorm release files (RXN*RRF) are processed for representation in the UMLS Metathesaurus. It does not cover processing of individual source vocabularies for inclusion in RxNorm.


Summary of Changes

No changes.


Source-Provided Files: Summary

Documentation and Reference

File Name Description
Readme_Full_*.txt Provides information about the contents of the downloaded zip file. Lists all updated and non-updated sources. Provides information on database control files and SQL commands for use in the automation of the loading process of these files into a RDBMS (Oracle in this case).

RXN RRF files

File Name Description
RXNCONSO.RRF Concept and source information.
RXNDOC.RRF Data about RxNorm.
RXNREL.RRF Relationship and merge information.
RXNSAB.RRF Source information.
RXNSAT.RRF Attribute information.
RXNSTY.RRF Semantic type information.
RXNATOMARCHIVE.RRF Archive data. Not used.
RXNCUICHANGES.RRF Concept changes. Not used.
RXNCUI.RRF Retired CUIs.

Source-Provide Files: Details

RxNorm uses the Rich Release Format (RRF) of the Metathesaurus. There are some fields that are not populated by RxNorm and are marked as "(no value provided)" in the description column with "Not applicable" in the representation column. There are other fields which do contain data such as the term status field (TS) but the data is not extracted because the fields are computed during Metathesaurus production. These fields are marked as "Not processed" in the Representation column.

Also, some fields such as CODE may appear in multiple RXN RRF files. These fields are redundant and are not always used within a particular RRF file but are processed within another file.

file: RXNCONSO.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 RXCUI RxNorm unique identifier for concept (concept ID) MRCONSO.SCUI if SAB = "RXNORM"; MRSAT.ATN= "RXCUI"
2 LAT Language of term Not processed
3 TS Term status Not processed
4 LUI Unique identifier for term (no value provided) Not applicable
5 STT String type Not processed
6 SUI Unique identifier for string (no value provided) Not applicable
7 ISPREF Atom status - preferred (Y) or not (N) for this string within the concept Not processed
8 RXAUI Unique identifier for atom (RxNorm atom ID) MRCONSO.SAUI if SAB = "RXNORM"; MRSAT.ATN = "RXAUI"
9 SAUI Source asserted atom identifier MRCONSO.SAUI
10 SCUI Source asserted concept identifier MRCONSO.SCUI
11 SDUI Source asserted descriptor identifier MRCONSO.SDUI
12 SAB Abbreviated source name MRCONSO.SAB
13 TTY Abbreviation for term type MRCONSO.TTY
14 CODE Source asserted identifier MRCONSO.CODE
15 STR String MRCONSO.STR
16 SRL Source restriction level (no value provided) Not applicable
17 SUPPRESS Suppressible flag MRCONSO.SUPPRESS
18 CVF Content view flag Not processed

file: RXNDOC.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 KEY Data element or attribute MRDOC.KEY
2 VALUE Abbreviation that is one of its values MRDOC.VALUE
3 TYPE Type of information in EXPL column MRDOC.TYPE
4 EXPL Explanation of VALUE field MRDOC.EXPL

file: RXNREL.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 RXCUI1 Unique identifier of first concept MRREL.CUI1 populated by the Metathesaurus CUI of RXAUI1
2 RXAUI1 Unique identifier of first atom MRREL.AUI1 populated by the Metathesaurus AUI of RXAUI1
3 STYPE1 Name of the column in RXNCONSO.RRF that contains the identifier used for the first concept or first atom in source of the relationship (either 'AUI' or 'CUI') MRREL.STYPE1
4 REL Relationship of second concept or atom to the first concept or atom MRREL.REL
5 RXCUI2 Unique identifier of second concept MRREL.CUI2 populated by the Metathesaurus CUI of RXAUI2
6 RXAUI2 Unique identifier of second atom MRREL.AUI2 populated by the Metathesaurus AUI of RXAUI2
7 STYPE2 Name of the column in RXNCONSO.RRF that contains the identifier used for the second concept or second atom in source of the relationship (either 'AUI' or 'CUI') MRREL.STYPE2
8 RELA Additional relationship label MRREL.RELA
9 RUI Unique identifier of relationship (no value provided) Not applicable
10 SRUI Source asserted relationship identifier (no value provided) Not applicable
11 SAB Abbreviated source name MRREL.SAB
12 SL Source of relationship labels (no value provided) Not applicable
13 RG Relationship group Not processed
14 DIR Source asserted directionaltiy flag (no value provided) Not applicable
15 SUPPRESS Suppressible flag MRREL.SUPPRESS
16 CVF Content view flag Not processed

file: RXNSAB.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 VCUI CUI Not processed
2 RCUI Root CUI Not processed
3 VSAB Versioned source abbreviation MRSAB.VSAB
4 RSAB Root source abbreviation MRSAB.RSAB
5 SON Official name MRSAB.SON
6 SF Source familty MRSAB.SF
7 SVER Version MRSAB.SVER
8 VSTART Meta start date Not processed
9 VEND Meta end date Not processed
10 IMETA Meta insert version Not processed
11 RMETA Meta remove version Not processed
12 SLC Source license contact MRSAB.SLC
13 SCC Source content contact MRSAB.SCC
14 SRL Source restriction level MRSAB.SRL
15 TFR Term frequency Not processed
16 CFR CUI frequency Not processed
17 CXTY Context type MRSAB.CXTY
18 TTYL Term type list Not processed
19 ATNL Attribute name list Not processed
20 LAT Language MRSAB.LAT
21 CENC Character encoding MRSAB.CENC
22 CURVER Current version Not processed
23 SABIN source in subset Not processed
24 SSN Source short name Not processed
25 SCIT Source short name MRSAB.CIT

file: RXNSAT.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 RXCUI Unique identifier for concept (concept ID) MRSAT.CUI populated by the Metathesarus CUI of RXCUI
2 LUI Unique identifier for term (no value provided) Not applicable
3 SUI Unique identifier for string (no value provided) Not applicable
4 RXAUI Unique identifier for atom (RxNorm atom ID) MRSAT.METAUI populated by the Metathesaurus AUI of RXAUI
5 STYPE Name of the column in RXNCONSO.RRF or RXNREL.RRF that contains the identifier to which the attribute is attached MRSAT.STYPE
6 CODE Source asserted identifier Not processed
7 ATUI Unique identifier for attribute Not processed
8 SATUI Source asserted attribute identifier Not processed
9 ATN Attribute name MRSAT.ATN
10 SAB Abbreviated source name MRSAT.SAB
11 ATV Attribute value MRSAT.ATV
12 SUPPRESS Suppressible flag MRSAT.SUPPRESS
13 CVF Content view flag Not processed

Note: Attributes with SAB=MSH plus ATNs UMLSCUI and UMLSAUI are not processed.

file: RXNSTY.RRF

# Field Name Description Representation
1 RXCUI Unique identifier for concept (concept ID) MRSTY.CUI populated by the Metathesaurus CUI of RXCUI
2 TUI Unique identifier for semantic type Not applicable
3 STN Semantic type tree number Not applicable
4 STY Semantic type MRSTY.STY
5 ATUI Unique identifier for attribute Not applicable
6 CVF Content view flag Not applicable

Note: STYs are subject to editing.

file: RXNATOMARCHIVE.RRF

This file is created by RxNorm for use in tracking the archival of names (atoms) no longer provided by RxNorm drug source providers, or atoms no longer used by the RxNorm system. Only atoms with SAB = "RXNORM" will be in the archive. This information is not processed for the Metathesaurus as part of RxNorm.

file: RXNCUICHANGES.RRF

This file provides information about changes to the concept_id (RXCUI) for atoms in RxNorm from release to release. It is not cumulative. This information is not processed for the Metathesaurus as part of RxNorm.

file: RXNCUI.RRF

This file of retired CUIs will show each RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier (RXCUI) that existed in a prior release but is not present in the current release. The file includes mappings to current RXCUIs as synonymous or to one or more related current RXCUIs where possible.

# Field Name Description Representation
1 RXCUI1 Unique identifier of retired concept MRREL.CUI1 populated by the Metathesaurus CUI of RXCUI1
2 VSAB_START Version Source Abbreviation of the first RxNorm release RXCUI1 appeared in Not processed
3 VSAB_END Version Source Abbreviation of the last RxNorm release RXCUI1 appeared in Not processed
4 Cardinality The number of RXCUIs that RXCUI1 was moved or split to Not processed
5 RXCUI2 Unique identifier of synonymous concept for RXCUI1 MRREL.CUI2 populated by the Metathesaurus CUI of RXCUI2