dm+d API

Look up UK dm+d (Dictionary of Medicines and Devices) concepts — the standard terminology for medicines and medical devices in the NHS.

Overview

dm+d is maintained by NHS England and the NHSBSA. It provides unique SNOMED-style codes for medicines and medical devices used in UK healthcare. FHIRfly indexes all five concept types: VTM, VMP, AMP, VMPP, and AMPP, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Crown copyright).

Concept Types

Type	Full Name	Description
VTM	Virtual Therapeutic Moiety	Active ingredient (e.g., "Paracetamol")
VMP	Virtual Medicinal Product	Generic product (e.g., "Paracetamol 500mg tablets")
AMP	Actual Medicinal Product	Branded product (e.g., "Panadol 500mg tablets")
VMPP	Virtual Medicinal Product Pack	Generic pack (e.g., "Paracetamol 500mg tablets x 32")
AMPP	Actual Medicinal Product Pack	Branded pack (e.g., "Panadol 500mg tablets x 32")

Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	`/v1/dmd/:code`	Single dm+d concept lookup
POST	`/v1/dmd/_batch`	Batch lookup (up to 100)
GET	`/v1/dmd/shapes`	List available response shapes

Single Lookup

Look up Paracetamol 500mg tablets (VMP)

Request

Node.js

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.fhirfly.io/v1/dmd/39732311000001104",
  {
    method: "GET",
    headers: {
    "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  }
  }
);

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

Response

JSON

{
  "data": {
    "code": "39732311000001104",
    "code_system": "dm+d",
    "concept_type": "VMP",
    "name": "Paracetamol 500mg tablets",
    "display": "Paracetamol 500mg tablets",
    "status": "valid",
    "fhir_coding": {
      "system": "https://dmd.nhs.uk",
      "code": "39732311000001104",
      "display": "Paracetamol 500mg tablets"
    },
    "vtm_code": "90332006",
    "form": "Tablet",
    "route": "Oral",
    "prescribing_status": "valid"
  },
  "meta": {
    "legal": {
      "license": "OGL-UK-3.0",
      "attribution_required": true,
      "source_name": "NHS dm+d",
      "citation": "dm+d, NHS England / NHSBSA. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0."
    }
  }
}

Common dm+d Concepts

Code	Type	Description
90332006	VTM	Paracetamol
39732311000001104	VMP	Paracetamol 500mg tablets
3113111000001107	AMP	Panadol Original 500mg tablets
1055011000001104	VMPP	Paracetamol 500mg tablets x 32
1254811000001100	AMPP	Panadol Original 500mg tablets x 16

Batch Lookup

Look up multiple dm+d codes in a single request (up to 100):

Look up multiple dm+d concepts

Request

Node.js

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.fhirfly.io/v1/dmd/_batch",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
    "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
    body: JSON.stringify({
    "codes": [
      "90332006",
      "39732311000001104",
      "3113111000001107"
    ]
  })
  }
);

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

Response

JSON

{
  "count": 3,
  "results": [
    {
      "input": "90332006",
      "code": "90332006",
      "status": "ok",
      "data": {
        "concept_type": "VTM",
        "display": "Paracetamol"
      }
    },
    {
      "input": "39732311000001104",
      "code": "39732311000001104",
      "status": "ok",
      "data": {
        "concept_type": "VMP",
        "display": "Paracetamol 500mg tablets"
      }
    },
    {
      "input": "3113111000001107",
      "code": "3113111000001107",
      "status": "ok",
      "data": {
        "concept_type": "AMP",
        "display": "Panadol Original 500mg tablets"
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "legal": {
      "license": "OGL-UK-3.0",
      "attribution_required": true,
      "source_name": "NHS dm+d"
    }
  }
}

Code Format

dm+d codes are long numeric strings following the SNOMED CT identifier format (6-18 digits).

Input	Valid	Description
`39732311000001104`	Yes	Paracetamol 500mg tablets
`90332006`	Yes	Paracetamol VTM
`ABC123`	No	Contains letters

Response Shapes

Control the level of detail in responses with the shape query parameter:

Shape	Description
`compact`	Code, code_system, concept_type, name, display
`standard`	+ status, fhir_coding, parent links, form, route, ingredients, prescribing_status
`full`	+ legal, ingest metadata, all remaining fields

# Minimal data
GET /v1/dmd/39732311000001104?shape=compact

# Standard data (default)
GET /v1/dmd/39732311000001104?shape=standard

# Full data with provenance
GET /v1/dmd/39732311000001104?shape=full

See Response Shapes for field details.

License Notice

dm+d data is Crown copyright and provided under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (NHS TRUD). The meta.legal field in every response provides the required attribution text.

Required Scopes

dmd.read - Single and batch lookups