Release 4

4.3.10 Using NDC and NHRIC Codes with FHIR

Vocabulary Work GroupMaturity Level: 2Standards Status: Trial Use

The National Drug Codes (NDC) and National Health Related Items Code (NHRIC) codes are codes issued by the FDA for tracking drugs and devices. Note that the NHRIC codes are being replaced by the UDI system .

4.3.10.1 Summary

SourceNational Drug Code Directory and the NHRIC Labeler Codes
SystemThe URI to identify NDC/NHRIC codes is http://hl7.org/fhir/sid/ndc
VersionUse YYYYMMDD for the date of publication, but see note below
CodeThe 10 digit NDC code, with "-" included. Note that different NDC codes have different positions for the "-": 1234-5678-90, 12345-6789-0, or 12345-678-90. The "-" must be correct for each NDC code
DisplayUse the PACKAGEDESCRIPTION column value from the TSV or Excel distribution file
InactiveTodo: Describe how it is determined which concepts are inactive
SubsumptionNo Subsumption relationships are defined for the NDC codes
Filter PropertiesNone are described yet

4.3.10.2 Version Issues

The FDA published list of NDC codes for finished drug products is updated daily. Use the format YYYYMMDD to refer to a particular distribution. Note that while only valid NDC codes appear in the distribution file, there are other NDC codes that organizations have assigned but not yet reported to FDA. Therefore, the full set of NDCs that exists in the marketplace is unknown and cannot be versioned completely.

4.3.10.3 Copyright/License Issues

NDC codes have no copyright acknowledgment or license requirements.

4.3.10.4 NDF-RT Filter Properties

No need for filters identified yet.

4.3.10.5 Implicit Value Sets

No need for implicit value sets identified yet.