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LHNCBC: Document Abstract
Year: 2005Adobe Acrobat Reader
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LHNCBC-2005-037
Implementing RxNav, a RxNorm Browser
Zeng K, Bodenreider O, Nelson SJ
Proceedings of Medical Informatics Europe 2005 (CD-ROM) 2005:1268.
The RxNorm Navigator (RxNav) is a browser that allows users to query the RxNorm database by any of its components (ingredient, clinical drug, brand name, etc) and displays all the information related to a given component on a single page. RxNorm data are extracted from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). The client/server architecture was chosen over a local installation of the data because drug information is updated frequently. RxNav is implemented in java and makes use of several open-source software resources, including Java Web Start, Apache Axis, Apache HTTP Server and GSpell. More specifically, the Apache HTTP Server hosts all the application files; Java Web Start serves as the deployment mechanism; the spelling suggestion module, based on GSpell, is implemented as a web service via Apache Axis. These open-source software components enabled an efficient implementation, and a flexible and extensible architecture.
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