# Search RxNorm

URL: https://docs.healthcare.dev/reference/drugs/search-rxnorm

```http
GET https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/rxnorm
```

Fuzzy search over RxNorm names, prescribable names and synonyms. Filter by term type with `tty` (e.g. `IN`, `SCD`, `SBD`).

Requires an API key: `Authorization: Bearer hdev_live_...`. See [Authentication](/authentication).

## Query parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `q` | string | yes | Search text (fuzzy) | `diabetes` |
| `limit` | integer | no | Page size (max 100) | `25` |
| `cursor` | string | no | Opaque cursor from `links.next` |  |
| `tty` | string | no | Only concepts of this RxNorm term type | `SCD` |
| `view` | "compact" \| "full" | no | `compact` returns only the fields an agent usually needs (fewer tokens); `full` (default) returns every field | `compact` |
| `fields` | string | no | Comma-separated record fields to return, e.g. `code,display,billable` | `code,display,billable` |

## Examples

**curl**

```sh
curl "https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/rxnorm?q=diabetes&limit=25" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HDEV_API_KEY"
```

**TypeScript**

```ts
const res = await fetch("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/rxnorm?q=diabetes&limit=25", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.HDEV_API_KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
```

**Python**

```python
import os
import requests

res = requests.get("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/rxnorm?q=diabetes&limit=25", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['HDEV_API_KEY']}"})
body = res.json()
```

## Response

Matching concepts, best first

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "rxcui": "string",
      "name": "string",
      "tty": "string",
      "prescribable_name": "string",
      "synonyms": [
        "string"
      ],
      "ingredients": [
        {
          "rxcui": "string",
          "name": "string"
        }
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "rxcui": "string",
          "name": "string",
          "tty": "string",
          "rela": "string"
        }
      ],
      "ndcs": [
        "string"
      ],
      "status": "active",
      "effective_start": "2026-10-01",
      "effective_end": "2026-10-01",
      "replaced_by": [
        "string"
      ],
      "match_score": 0
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "source": "cms-icd10",
    "data_version": "2026.1",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-24T12:00:00Z",
    "license": "Public domain (CMS). Reference data, not medical advice."
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "/v1/drugs/rxnorm?q=diabetes&limit=25",
    "next": "/v1/drugs/rxnorm?q=diabetes&limit=25&cursor=eyJrIjoiRTExLjkifQ"
  }
}
```

### Fields

| Field | Type | Always present | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rxcui` | string | yes |  |
| `name` | string | yes |  |
| `tty` | string | yes | RxNorm term type, e.g. SCD, SBD, IN |
| `prescribable_name` | string \| null | yes | RxNorm PSN, when one exists |
| `synonyms` | string[] | yes |  |
| `ingredients` | object[] | yes |  |
| `related` | object[] | yes |  |
| `ndcs` | string[] | yes | NDC-11s linked by RxNorm |
| `status` | "active" \| "retired" \| "replaced" | yes |  |
| `effective_start` | string (date) | yes |  |
| `effective_end` | string \| null (date) | yes |  |
| `replaced_by` | string[] | no |  |
| `match_score` | number | yes | How well this result matches the query: 1 exact code or id, 0.9 code prefix, 0.5 to 0.9 every query word in the text (higher is closer), under 0.5 a fuzzy (typo-tolerant) match. Below 0.5, check the result before relying on it. |

## Errors

Errors are `application/problem+json` ([RFC 9457](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9457)). Branch on `type`, not on `title`. See [Errors](/errors).

| Status | `type` | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 400 | `invalid-request` | A parameter or the body failed validation; `errors` lists each field. |
| 401 | `unauthorized` | Missing, malformed or revoked API key. |
| 404 | `not-found` | No record with that id (retired records are still returned). |
| 429 | `rate-limited / quota-exceeded` | Too many requests per second (retry after `Retry-After`), or the monthly quota is used up. |
| 503 | `dataset-unavailable / unavailable` | The dataset has no published version yet, or the service is degraded. |