For payers, drug formulary development and maintenance are essential for accurate reporting and tracking of prescription medications. An up-to-date and well-established classification resource can help payers and other stakeholders manage their drug formulary more efficiently. While several classification resources are available, the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) provides a drug classification system focused only on U.S. FDA approved drugs for use in outpatient care settings. This premium tool includes reporting and tracking terminology, as well as codes for crosswalking against other classification systems.
USP Drug Classification (USP DC)
The USP Drug Classification (USP DC) is a tiered system updated annually to assist with formulary support of non-Medicare and essential health benefits (EHB) drugs.
| Tier 1 | USP DC Category | Over 50 categories |
| Tier 2 | USP DC Class | Over 174 classes |
| Tier 3 | Pharmacotherapeutic Group (informational) | Over 129 groups |
| Tier 4 | Example Drug | Over 2,000 drugs |
The USP DC applies the same guiding principle of the USP Medicare Model Guidelines (MMG), striking a balance between assuring patients’ access to the drugs they need and providing the flexibility that health plans require to offer affordable and effective benefits.
USP Drug Classification PLUS (USP DC PLUS)
To further support reviews and crosswalks, USP offers the USP DC PLUS, a premium product equipped with essential features for building and maintaining an organized drug formulary, including quarterly
updates.
“USP DC PLUS streamlines formulary development and review, ensuring you are equipped with the most current and comprehensive drug classification information.” Chris Isong, PharmD, CPHIMS, Senior Scientist, USP
Discover the benefits of the USP DC PLUS HERE.
USP DC PLUS Offers Two Formats for Your Convenience
Both USP DC PLUS formats offer the following formulary information:
- RxNorm and RxCUI codes
- API Concepts
- USP category
- USP class
- USP PG
Each format provides unique offerings to support formulary building and management.
| Viewpoint | Alignment File |
| An interactive online browser interface, updated monthly, where users can search for example drugs in the USP DC. Unique offerings include: Single-drug lookup: Powers search for FDA-approved drugs, facilitating accurate and comprehensive formulary management Additional drug formulary information: Drug status, monograph number, manufacturer details, package description | An ASCII-formatted Microsoft Excel file, accessible and downloadable through Content Cloud, a web-based application. Unique offerings include: USP DC alignment to NDC: Provides package size details that can be linked to pricing information through external sources USP DC alignment file to RxNorm: Facilitates interoperability between different healthcare systems by providing a standardized nomenclature for clinical drugs to easily share drug information between platforms and stakeholders |
Become a USP DC PLUS User
Users can purchase a single-user annual subscription to the USP DC PLUS at a competitive price.
“The USP DC PLUS alignment file has the information needed to organize claims into buckets. Nearly every drug claim file I look at, I reference your classification system. It is outstanding.” Actuary from health plan
Become a USP DC PLUS user HERE.
