RxNav

A browser for several drug information sources.

Visit Website →

Overview

RxNav is a set of tools and APIs developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that allows for browsing and querying multiple drug information sources, including RxNorm, RxTerms, and MED-RT. Its APIs can be used by developers to build drug interaction checking functionality into their own applications. It is not a polished, end-user application but rather a powerful, free data resource for health IT developers.

✨ Key Features

  • Drug interaction API
  • Normalization of drug names to RxNorm concepts (RxCUIs)
  • Retrieval of drug class and mechanism of action information
  • Links between different drug vocabularies

🎯 Key Differentiators

  • Completely free and publicly funded
  • Based on the RxNorm standard, essential for interoperability
  • Directly from an authoritative source (NLM)

Unique Value: Provides free, standardized, and authoritative drug interaction and terminology data, lowering the barrier for innovation in health IT.

🎯 Use Cases (3)

Building drug interaction checking into a new EMR Academic research on drug interactions and polypharmacy Powering medication-related features in patient-facing apps

✅ Best For

  • Used as a foundational data source for numerous academic and commercial healthcare applications.

💡 Check With Vendor

Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:

  • Direct use by clinicians for point-of-care decision support (requires technical expertise)
  • Patient use for checking personal medications

🏆 Alternatives

FDB (First Databank) API Medi-Span API openFDA API

While commercial APIs may have more user-friendly features or broader international coverage, RxNav is the standard for U.S. drug terminology and is completely free.

💻 Platforms

Web API

🔌 Integrations

Any application via its public API

🛟 Support Options

  • ✓ Email Support

💰 Pricing

Contact for pricing
Free Tier Available

Free tier: All features and APIs are free to use, subject to a usage policy.

Visit RxNav Website →