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 right arrow icon below.

Welcome to RxNav

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

Welcome to RxNav

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

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.

Welcome to RxNav

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.

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

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

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 "Zantac."

Your first RxNav search

Immediately below the search box, you can see that RxNav has exactly matched the string "Zantac" to an RxNorm Concept "Zantac" (RxCUI = 152523).

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

Look at the box in the upper-right corner, 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: "Zantac." (You can hover your cursor over any concept shown to see its RxCUI.)

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

Your first RxNav search

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") in the upper-left concept lists the concept "Ranitidine" (RxCUI = 9143), because Ranitidine is the active ingredient in Zantac.

The second box from the bottom in the right column lists "Branded Drug or Pack" concepts, and shows all of the Semantic Branded Drug concepts with the brand name Zantac. Semantic Branded Drug concepts specify ingredient, strength, dose form, and brand name. Because Zantac exists in a variety of strengths and dose forms, there are several concepts listed here.

Browsing RxNav

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 in the upper-left corner. Click on the concept "Ranitidine" (RxCUI =9143). You will notice that "Ranitidine" is now highlighted, and the rest of the page contents have changed, as if a string search on "Ranitidine" was performed.

Browsing RxNav

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

For example, in the right column, where we see boxes for branded concepts, additional brand names and branded drugs have been added, as Ranitidine products are sold under other brand names beside Zantac.

Additionally, some of the boxes in the left column have additional concepts. While Zantac is only sold in certain strengths and dose forms, other generic Ranitidine drugs are available in a wider variety of strengths and dose forms.

Browsing RxNav

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

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 "198191" in the search box, and click the magnifying glass "Search" icon.

Searching RxNav by RXCUI

This search returns the concept "Ranitidine 150 MG Oral Tablet" (RxCUI =198191). 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 "Ranitidine" or "Zantac." This is because "Ranitidine 150 MG Oral Tablet" is a much more specific concept, and so its network of related concepts is less broad.

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

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 "11523-7237-9" in the search box, and click the magnifying glass "Search" icon.

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

This search returns the concept "Loratadine 10 MG Oral Tablet [Claritin]" (RxCUI =206805), and displays the related concepts as usual. The NDC Code "11523-7237-9" 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 "Loratadine 10 MG Oral Tablet [Claritin]," 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).

Searching RxNav by NDC Code

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

To get back to the default view, click the "RxNorm 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.

Return to the "Drug Terminologies and RxNorm" Moodle Course