Pharmaceutical Drug Identification & Information

Making sure a patient takes the correct type of medication is a key step when administering pharmaceutical drugs. Medicines are organized by their drug name or National Drug Code number. Specific information on medicines can be found by searching for either of these names.

NDC Number

• All medicine containers in the US are required to carry an NDC code.

  The NDC or National Drug Code number is a three-segment number shown on the front of the label. The first segment identifies the manufacturer, the second segment identifies the product, and the last segment designates the container. The code commonly takes the form 0123-4567-89.

Drug Name

• Ampules must have labels for proper identification.

  Drug labels contain the trade name and the generic name. The trade name is the copyrighted name while the generic name is the original name given to the drug upon discovery. The ® symbol identifies the trade name.

Database

• Understanding the treatment is an important aspect of patient education.

  DailyMed is a service of the United States National Library of Medicine that provides high quality information about marketed drugs. A link to DailyMed can be found in the Resources section. Enter the NDC code or drug name into the search bar on DailyMed. Patients can use this information to become better informed about a treatment.