RxNorm Drugs Scraper

RxNorm Drugs Scraper

Scrape normalized drug names, RXCUIs, and NDCs from the NIH RxNorm API, up to a million per run. Every drug concept comes with its official name, concept unique identifier, and source vocabulary. No API key or registration. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The NIH RxNorm API provides the canonical US drug terminology, but querying it programmatically for bulk data enrichment or migration is tedious. This Actor searches the public RxNorm drug database by name and returns every matching concept in a flat, analysis-ready row. You get the official normalized name, RXCUI, and source vocabularies without writing a single API call.

Who uses it	What they scrape RxNorm for
Clinical data analysts	Normalizing medication lists from different health systems into a single RxNorm code set.
Health IT integrators	Mapping local drug formularies to RxNorm concepts for EHR interoperability projects.
Pharmacovigilance researchers	Building a reference table of drug names and identifiers for adverse event analysis.
Pharmacy benefit managers	Resolving brand and generic drug names to standard RxNorm identifiers for claims processing.

What it does

This Actor searches the NIH RxNorm database by drug name and returns each matching drug concept as a flat row with its RXCUI, normalized name, and source vocabulary.

• 🔍 Free-text drug search: Type a brand or generic name like cymbalta or ibuprofen and get every matching RxNorm concept.
• 📦 Bulk extraction: Pull up to a million drug concepts in a single run for large-scale terminology mapping.
• 📋 Flat row output: Each drug concept is one row with its RXCUI, normalized name, and source vocabulary, ready for CSV or database import.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with RxNorm data

📋 Normalize medication lists.

A clinical data analyst runs the Actor with a list of drug names from multiple EHR systems and gets back the official RxNorm RXCUI and name for each one, feeding a master medication dictionary.

🔗 Map local formularies to RxNorm.

A health IT integrator searches each drug on a hospital formulary and uses the returned RxNorm identifiers to build crosswalks for FHIR-based interoperability.

📊 Build a drug reference table.

A pharmacovigilance researcher scrapes all concepts for a set of investigational drugs and joins the RxNorm data with adverse event reports by RXCUI.

💊 Resolve brand and generic names.

A pharmacy benefit analyst searches brand names like Cymbalta and gets back the generic concept and RXCUI, standardizing claims data for reporting.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key needed	Queries the public NIH RxNorm API directly with no registration or authentication.
Official NLM data	Returns drug terminology from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the authoritative US source.
Flat, predictable schema	Every drug concept is one row with the same columns, no nested JSON to unpack.
Bulk-ready	Scale from a single preview search to a million concepts for full terminology migration.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on bulk drug name search against RxNorm. The competitors below either target different RxNorm endpoints or return different data shapes.

Feature	ParseForge	Drug Interaction Checker	RxNorm Drug Terminology	NLM RxNorm Drug Concepts Scraper
Free-text drug name search	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Returns RXCUI identifiers	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Returns NDC codes	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Drug-drug interaction checking	Not listed	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
No API key required	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Bulk extraction up to 1M items	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a free-text drug name, and the search runs against the public RxNorm API so only matching concepts reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "drugName": "cymbalta"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "drugName": "cymbalta"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.0085 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.85
1,000 results	$8.50
10,000 results	$85.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the RxNorm Drugs Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to RxNorm through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/rxnorm-drugs-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results for my drug name?

Check the spelling of the drug name. RxNorm uses US English brand and generic names. Try a different form (e.g., 'ibuprofen' instead of 'Advil') or check the NIH RxNorm website directly to confirm the name exists.

The Actor returned fewer results than I expected.

RxNorm returns one concept per unique drug name and source vocabulary combination. A single brand name like Cymbalta may map to only a few RxNorm concepts. This is expected behavior, not a scraping limit.

I hit the maxItems limit but I need more data.

Upgrade to a paid Apify plan to raise the maxItems limit up to 1,000,000 per run. Free users are capped at 10 items for preview purposes.

The run failed with a timeout error.

The NIH RxNorm API may occasionally be slow. Retry the run. If timeouts persist, reduce the maxItems count or try during US off-peak hours.

Can I get the NDC codes for a drug?

This Actor returns the RxNorm concept name, RXCUI, and source vocabulary. For NDC-to-RxNorm mapping, consider the RxNorm Drug Terminology Actor which specifically returns NDCs alongside RXCUIs.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key or NIH account to use this Actor?	No. This Actor queries the public RxNorm REST API, which requires no authentication, registration, or API key.
What is an RXCUI?	RXCUI stands for RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier. It is the primary key in the RxNorm database that uniquely identifies a clinical drug concept across all source vocabularies.
Can I search by NDC or RXCUI instead of drug name?	This Actor searches by free-text drug name. If you need to look up drugs by NDC or RXCUI directly, consider the RxNorm Drug Terminology Actor in the Apify Store.
What fields does each result row contain?	Each row includes the RxNorm concept name, its RXCUI, and the source vocabulary that supplied the term. The exact field list is shown in the sample output on the Actor's page.
How many drug concepts can I scrape in one run?	Free users are limited to 10 items for preview. Paid users can set maxItems up to 1,000,000 per run.
Does this Actor return drug interaction data?	No. This Actor returns drug terminology and identifiers. For drug-drug interaction checks using RxNorm, see the Drug Interaction Checker Actor in the Apify Store.
Is the data from an official source?	Yes. The data comes directly from the NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine RxNorm API, the authoritative US drug terminology standard.
Can I export the results to CSV?	Yes. Apify supports exporting your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML formats.
What happens if I search a drug name that does not exist in RxNorm?	The API returns an empty result set for that search term. The run completes successfully with zero rows for that query.
Can I search for multiple drug names in one run?	The Actor accepts one drug name per run. To process a list, run the Actor once per name or use Apify's scheduling and API to loop over your list.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. National Library of Medicine. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.