01
Where it fits and where it does not
Use these four checks before committing implementation time.
- Use it when
- Concomitant medication, prior therapy, exposure, and pharmacovigilance drug coding across global clinical programs.
- Limits
- Dictionary data require a subscription, ambiguous product names still need expert review, B3/C3 choices affect granularity, and up-versioning can change records and classifications.
- Best for
- Clinical and Regulatory teams working across Acquire → Harmonize → Exchange → Learn + reuse.
- Maturity
- EstablishedSuitable for production assessment. Pin the exact release and any implementation profile.
02
See it in the workflow
This view shows the input, the change the standard introduces, and the resulting output.
- InputWhat starts
Clinical and Regulatory source data, metadata, and local mappings
- WHODrugWhat changes
Use WHODrug as a pinned terminology across Acquire → Harmonize → Exchange → Learn + reuse
- OutputWhat becomes possible
A handoff the next system or team can validate against the same release
03
A concrete example
A study codes verbatim medication names to a frozen WHODrug release and format while retaining the original text, selected record, ATC choice, and reviewer decision.
Why it matters: Standardized product identity improves exposure features, but automated coding confidence, country context, dose, route, timing, and indication must remain explicit.
04
What it fits with
The March 2026 release adds IDMP-linked data and mappings; ATC supports aggregation; B3 and C3 expose different product granularity.
- TerminologyMedDRA
Both support Clinical and Regulatory work and meet around Acquire, Harmonize, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - StandardICH E2B(R3)
Both support Clinical and Regulatory work and meet around Acquire, Harmonize, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - Governance frameworkICH E6(R3)
Both support Clinical and Regulatory work and meet around Acquire, Harmonize, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship - Metadata vocabularyDPV
Both support Clinical work and meet around Acquire, Harmonize, Exchange, Learn + reuse. Compare their roles before treating them as interchangeable.
Explore relationship
05
Implementation starter
Start with one bounded handoff. Pin, test, and review it before scaling.
Define one handoff, its accountable owner, and the decision WHODrug must support.
Pin the exact version and companion artifacts: March 2026 release · B3 and C3 · 2026-03-01.
Map one representative input to the required terminology artifacts.
Test the result against the canonical source and record every exception.
Preserve the source data, mappings, and review evidence before scaling.
06
Test the main limitation
Dictionary data require a subscription, ambiguous product names still need expert review, B3/C3 choices affect granularity, and up-versioning can change records and classifications.
Run one representative end-to-end pilot and record exactly where WHODrug loses context, needs an extension, or depends on another standard.
Machine-readable output may still be unfit for analysis or ML.
Test the output for missing context, provenance, terminology alignment, time leakage, and the intended downstream decision. Standardized product identity improves exposure features, but automated coding confidence, country context, dose, route, timing, and indication must remain explicit.
07
Official resources
Specifications, diagrams, examples, and guides from the organizations that maintain them.
UMC What’s New in WHODrug · March 2026
Official publisher or steward guidance for this terminology profile.
- Publisher
- Uppsala Monitoring Centre