Homework #2 RxNorm                                                        RxNav Practice                                                                                     In this assignment, you will use RxNav which can safely be downloaded from: https://mor

Homework #2 RxNorm

                                                       RxNav Practice

In this assignment, you will use RxNav which can safely be downloaded from: https://mor.nlm.nih.gov/RxNav/ .  This program will be used to demonstrate the usefulness of standards and show how these standards assist with the practice of medicine. 

Instructions:  The first thing that you will notice upon opening the program is the graph under the “RxNorm Graph” tab.  On this screen you will be able to enter the name of any medication or supplement of your choice and receive information about them.  Upon entering your drug name in the search string, the graph will populate itself with a variety of information.  There are other tabs that provide important information: RxNorm Properties, NDC, RxTerms, Pill Images, Class View, Interaction View, and Status.  These tabs provides you with codes which can be used to identify the drug within specific frameworks, identifying codes, as well as a variety of information on drug interactions, drug uses, physiological effects of drugs, and other things.  We will be using this information in this assignment.

Questions:

1. Enter “Methylphenidate” as your search string.  Provide the FDA_UNII code, the RxCUI code, a Brand Name that starts with Ri, and two disorders it can be used to treat. 
2. Enter “Tamoxifen” as your search string.  Provide the FDA_UNII code, the RxCUI code, two disorders it can be used to treat, and the interaction of Tamoxifen with Aspirin. What are the clinical dose form groups?

3. Enter “Prozac” as your search string.  Explain the difference you observed between the results for Prozac and the first two searches.  Searches for “Ritalin”, “Sudafed”, and “Concerta” have similar results, can you explain why?

4. How can a program like RxNav be used to improve the quality of patient care?  How does RxNav promote communication and interoperability?