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Pharmacy Data Specifications and Formats

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Rx Data Requirements

8/16/2012

Field Name Opt Preferred format Table
1 MHA Hospital ID R 3 digits  
2 Medical Record Number R    
3 Patient Account Number R    
4 Patient DOB R YYYYMMDD  
5 Patient Sex R See reference table 1
6 SSN# (last 4) R 4 digits  
7 Admit Date/Time R YYYYMMDDHHMMSS  
8 Discharge Date/Time O YYYYMMDDHHMMSS  
9 Rx Order Number R    
10 Order Type C See reference table 2
11 Ordering Provider O NPI  
12 Date/Time of Order O YYYYMMDDHHMMSS  
13 Strength R    
14 Strength Units R See reference table 3
15 Order Start Date R YYYYMMDD  
16 Order End Date C YYYYMMDD  
17 Duration C In number of days  
18 Drug ID (internal) R    
19 Drug Code C RxNorm  
20 Drug Name R text  
21 Give Amount Minimum R    
22 Give Amount Maximum C    
23 Give Units R See reference table 3
24 Route Code R See reference table 4
25 Route Text O text  
26 Interval R See reference table 5
27 Order Status C See reference table 6
28 Component C Default "N"  
29 PRN C Default "N"  
30 Patient Allergies O text  
31 Comments O text  

Rx Data Requirement Notes:

Data Field Notes:

  1. MHA Hospital ID
    3-digit number assigned to your hospital by MHA. Same as UB data.
  2. Medical Record Nubmer
  3. Patient Account Number
    Can be hospital internal number. Same as UB data.
  4. Patient Date of Birth
  5. Patient Sex

    Reference Table 1:
  6. A Ambiguous
    F Female
    M Male
    N Not applicable
    O Other
    U Unknown


  7. Patient Social Security Number
    Only include last 4 digits.
  8. Admit Date/Time
  9. Discharge Date/Time
  10. Rx Order Number
    This may be a unique, internal number assigned to the order by the hospital/pharmacy system.
  11. Order Type

    Reference Table 2:
  12. I Inpatient Order
    O Outpatient Order
    P Patient Reported

    Required if sending more than inpatient orders (such as discharge medications). If your system is not able to send in this format, we can map if provided with your data definitions.

  13. Ordering Provider
    Prefer NPI.
  14. Date/Time of Order
  15. Strength
    The strength of the medication. E.g., "500" (for 500MG).
  16. Strength Units
    The unit of measure for the strength. Reference Table 3:

Reference Table 3:

Code Description Type
% PerCent  
ACT Acutation Dose unit only
APP Application Dose unit only
CAN Canister Dose unit only
CAP Capsule Dose unit only
DEV Device Dose unit only
DOSE Dose Dose unit only
DROP Drop Dose unit only
GRAM Gram  
GRAM/ML Gram/milliliter  
INCH Inch  
INH Inhalation Dose unit only
KIT Kit Dose unit only
LOZ Lozenge Dose unit only
MCG Microgram  
MCG/HR Microgram/hour  
MCG/KG Microgram/kilogram  
MCG/KG/HR Microgram/kilogram/hour  
MCG/KG/MIN Microgram/kilogram/minute  
MCG/MIN Microgram/minute  
MCG/ML Microgram/milliliter  
MEQ Milliequivalent  
MEQ/L Milliequivalent/liter  
MEQ/ML Milliequivalent/milliliter  
MG Milligram  
MG PE Milligram phenytoin equivalent  
MG/HR Milligram/hour  
MG/KG Milligram/kilogram  
MG/KG/HR Milligram/kilogram/hour  
MG/M2 Milligrams/square meter body  
MG/MIN Milligram/minute  
MG/ML Milligram/milliliter  
MG/PATCH Milligram/patch  
ML Milliliter  
ML/HR Milliliter/hour  
ML/KG Milliliter/kilogram  
ML/KG/HR Milliliter/kilogram/hour  
MMOL Millimole  
MU Million units  
OZ Ounce  
PACKET Packet Dose unit only
PATCH Patch Dose unit only
SPRAY Spray Dose unit only
SUPP Suppository Dose unit only
TAB Tablet Dose unit only
TBSP Tablespoon Dose unit only
TSP Teaspoon Dose unit only
TUBE Tube Dose unit only
UNIT/ML Unit/milliliter  
UNITS Units  
UNITS/HR Units/hour  
UNITS/KG Units/kilogram  
UNITS/KG/HR Units/kilogram/hr  
UNITS/MIN Units/minute  


  1. Order Start Date
    Used to specify the first date/time that the medication should be administered
  2. Order End Date
    Used to specify the date/time that the medication should be discontinued (not administered). Either End Date or Duration is required.
  3. Duration
    Used to specify the number of days that the medication should be administered. Either Duration or End Date is required.
  4. Drug ID
    Internal hospital drug number.
  5. Drug Code
    RxNorm or NDC or SNOMED code for this drug order. Required if available.
  6. Drug Name
    Text description of the drug referred to in #18 and #19.
  7. Give Amount Minimum
    For varying amount orders, this should be the minimum amount of medication to be given to the patient per dose. For non-varying order, it is the exact amount to be given with each dose. The give amount may refer to a strength, volume, or number of tablets/capsules, etc. For example, for a dosage of Tylenol 650mg, the patient might receive two 325mg tablets per dose. The give amount, in this case, could be "650" or "2". The unit of measure in each case (e.g., mg or tablets) will be defined in the "Give units" (see #22).
  8. Give Amount Maximum
    In a varying amount order, this is the maximum ordered amount of medication to be given with each dose. In a non-varying dose order, this field can also contain the exact amount, but this is optional. If the maximum dose is the same as the minimum dose, this will be interpreted as being an order with non-varying dosage amounts.
  9. Give Units
    This field clarifies the unit of measure for the Give minimum/maximum and Strength Units fields. See Reference Table 3 above.
  10. Route Code
    Reference table 4:

HL7 TABLE 162 - ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION

Value Description Item #
AP APPLY 502
B BUCCAL 503
DT DENTAL 504
ETT GASTROSTOMY/ NASOGASTRIC will map to enteral tube 505
GU GU IRRIGANT 506
IA INTRA-ARTERIAL 507
IC INTRACARDIAC 508
ID INTRADERMAL 509
IH INHALATION 510
IM INTRAMUSCULAR 511
IN INTRANASAL 512
IO INTRAOCULAR 513
IP INTRAPERITONEAL 514
IS INTRASYNOVIAL 515
IT INTRATHECAL 516
IV INTRAVENOUS 517
NS NASAL 518
NG NASOGASTRIC (will map to enteral tube) *See above* 519
OP OPHTHALMIC 520
OT OTIC 521
PO ORAL 522
PR RECTAL 523
SC SUBCUTANEOUS 524
SL SUBLINGUAL 525
TP TOPICAL 526
TD TRANSDERMAL 527
TL TRANSLINGUAL 528
UR URETHRAL 529
VG VAGINAL 530
MISC MISCELLANEOUS/OTHER 531
INJ INJECTION 532


  1. Route Text
    Text description of Route Code, #24.
  2. Interval
    Code for the frequency (interval) in which the drug is to be administered. Also note #29, PRN.
    Reference table 5:


AC Before meals
BID Twice a day
BIW Twice a week
CONT Continuous
EMP As directed
EOD Every other day
HS At bedtime
NOCT At night
PC After meals
PRN As needed
Q10H Every 10 hours
Q11H Every 11 hours
Q12H Every 12 hours
Q15H Every 15 hours
Q2H Every 2 hours
Q30M Every 30 minutes
Q3H Every 3 hours
Q48H Every 48 hours
Q4H Every 4 hours
Q5H Every 5 hours
Q6H Every 6 hours
Q72H Every 72 hours
Q7H Every 7 hours
Q8H Every 8 hours
Q9H Every 9 hours
QAM Every morning
QD Once a day
QH Every hour
QID Four times a day
QIW Four times a week
QPM Every day afternoon
QWK Every week
TID Three times a day
TITRATE Titrated
TIW Three times a week
X1 One time


  1. Order Status
    Reference Table 6:


CA Order was cancelled (Before administered)
CM Order was completed
DC Order was discontinued (After administered)


  1. Component
    Is this a component of a compound drug? "Y" or "N". Required if "Y".
  2. PRN
    Is this prescription PRN (as needed)? "Y" or "N". Required if "Y".
  3. Patient Allergies
    Text description of any allergy information for this patient.
  4. Comments

Internet Citation: Pharmacy Data Specifications and Formats Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). September 2014. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/datainnovations/clinicalcontentenhancementtoolkit/mn17.jsp.
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Last modified 9/15/14