The Generic Product Identifier (GPI) is a 14-character
hierarchical classification
Hierarchical classification is a system of grouping things according to a hierarchy.
In the field of machine learning, hierarchical classification is sometimes referred to as instance space decomposition, which splits a complete multi-class pro ...
system created by Wolters Kluwer's Medi-Span that identifies drugs from their primary therapeutic use down to the unique interchangeable product regardless of manufacturer or package size. The code consists of seven subsets, each providing increasingly more specific information about a drug available with a prescription in the United States. The GPI is created and maintained by UpToDate, Inc a Wolters Kluwer Company.
The GPI defines Drug Group, Drug Class, Drug Subclass, Drug Base Name, Drug Name, Dose Form, and GPI Name in a codified manner. The first six characters of the GPI define the therapeutic class code, the next two pairs the drug name, and the last four define route, dosage or strength. For example GPI 58-20-00-60-10-01-05 is for the drug
nortriptyline
Nortriptyline, sold under the brand name Pamelor, among others, is a medication used to treat depression. This medicine is used for: neuropathic pain, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), smoking cessation and anxiety. As with many a ...
HCl cap 10 mg (an
antidepressant) and can be further classified as follows:
Alternate drug classification systems include the AHFS Drug Information brand run by the
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is a professional organization that represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in hospitals, health systems, ambulatory clinics, and other healthcare settings. The organizatio ...
and
First DataBank's Generic Sequence Number (GSN) also known as the Clinical Formulation ID or formerly as Generic Code Number Sequence Number (GCN Seq No).
Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a m ...
provides a database under their Medi-Span brand called Medi-Span Electronic Drug File v2.5 that provides this therapeutic classification system which can be mapped to other prescription drug classification codes commonly used for payment and analysis in the United States Health Care System. This classification system is used in conjunction with other embedded drug information like adverse drug effects, drug interactions, drug dosing, and more.
References
Pharmacological classification systems
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