How to normalize medication names safely

Design conservative pharmaceutical name integration and route unresolved queries to review without creating false identities.

Normalizing text is not identifying a variant#

Standardizing whitespace or casing improves string presentation. Identifying a MedicationVariant requires enough evidence to distinguish variants. A product-family name or typo may suggest a family without establishing a unique variant.

Use the conservative contract#

bash

curl --fail-with-body "$IABULA_API_BASE/v1/resolve" \
  --header "X-API-Key: $IABULA_API_KEY" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"query":"NATULAXE CAPSULA"}'

Treat resolved as the identity returned by the contract and preserve query to trace the input. Treat unresolved as intentional abstention; do not automatically replace it with the first Search result. That fallback would change the flow's safety meaning.

Design a review path#

Request more source information or send the record for human review when needed. Do not populate dosage form, ingredient or brand from textual similarity. NOVALGINA or DIPIRONA are not guaranteed positive resolution examples. NATULAXE CAPSULA is the confirmed example in these docs.

Resolved and unresolved Evidence classes