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The Medication resource represents a drug definition — what the medication is, not an order to give it to a patient. It stores the drug’s coded identity, form, active ingredients, and batch details. For prescribing a medication to a patient, use Prescriptions (MedicationRequest).

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Create a medication

You can create a medication with a free-text name when no code is available, or with a fully coded identity (RxNorm, SNOMED CT) and ingredient details: 
// Simple — free-text name
const { data: med } = await clinik.medications.create({
  code: 'Amoxicillin 500mg Capsule',
  status: 'active',
  form: 'capsule',
});

// Coded — RxNorm with ingredients and batch info
const { data: coded } = await clinik.medications.create({
  code: {
    system: 'http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm',
    code: '308182',
    display: 'Amoxicillin 500 MG Oral Capsule',
  },
  status: 'active',
  form: 'capsule',
  ingredient: [
    {
      item: {
        system: 'http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm',
        code: '723',
        display: 'Amoxicillin',
      },
      isActive: true,
      strength: {
        numerator: { value: 500, unit: 'mg' },
        denominator: { value: 1, unit: 'capsule' },
      },
    },
  ],
  batch: {
    lotNumber: 'LOT-2025-A001',
    expirationDate: '2026-12-31',
  },
});

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Coding systems

SystemUse caseExample
RxNormUS drug codes197361 (Lisinopril 10mg)
SNOMED CTClinical terms387207008 (Ibuprofen)
Free textWhen no code is available"Custom compound cream"

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Read a medication

const { data: medication } = await clinik.medications.read('med_abc123');

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Update a medication

await clinik.medications.update('med_abc123', {
  status: 'inactive',
  batch: { expirationDate: '2025-06-30' },
});

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Delete a medication

await clinik.medications.delete('med_abc123');
Deleting a medication that is referenced by active prescriptions may break those records. Check for active MedicationRequest references before deleting.

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Search medications

const { data } = await clinik.medications.search({
  status: 'active',
  count: 50,
});

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Medications vs prescriptions

ResourceFHIR typePurpose
MedicationMedicationDrug definition — what the drug is
PrescriptionMedicationRequestMedication order — prescribing it to a patient
You don’t need to create a Medication record before writing a prescription. You can pass an inline medication code directly in clinik.prescriptions.create. Creating a Medication record is useful when you want to maintain a reusable drug catalog, track batch and lot numbers, or store ingredient details.