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SidneyBissoli

Medical Terminologies MCP

by SidneyBissoli
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TypeScript
Hybrid

ATC Classification for a Drug

atc_classify
Read-onlyIdempotent

Classify a drug by name to retrieve its WHO ATC code(s) and therapeutic class hierarchy, enabling international drug coding and cross-referencing.

Instructions

Look up the WHO ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical) classification(s) for a drug by name.

Use this tool to:

  • Find the ATC code for a medication (e.g., "metformin" → A10BA02)

  • Identify the therapeutic and pharmacological class hierarchy

  • Cross-reference drugs with their international ATC codes

Returns one entry per ATC code the drug belongs to. A single-ingredient drug typically maps to one substance-level code; combination products map to multiple. ATC codes are international (WHO Collaborating Centre); this tool retrieves them via NLM RxClass.

Input is a drug NAME (brand or generic, English/US naming as in RxNorm). A name RxNorm does not recognize, or a drug without an ATC mapping, returns an empty matches list with an explanatory note — not an error; try the generic name, or resolve the name first with rxnorm_search.

Which ATC tool: start here when you have a drug name; use atc_lookup when you already have a class code (level 1-4, e.g. "A10BA") and want its name; use atc_members to list the drugs inside a class.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
drug_nameYesDrug name to classify (brand or generic, e.g., "metformin")

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
matchesYes
drug_nameYes
provenanceYesProvenance block (contract v1.1): source, URL, data vintage, extraction instant, origin diagnostics, citation, license
attributionYesCanonical source URLs of this response (attribution list)

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed3 schema fields changedv1.15.0
    • changedOutput schema / properties / provenance / description
      Previous value: -"Provenance block (contract v1.0): source, URL, data vintage, extraction instant, citation, license"New value: +"Provenance block (contract v1.1): source, URL, data vintage, extraction instant, origin diagnostics, citation, license"
    • addedOutput schema / properties / provenance / properties / retrieval
      Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "anomalies": {
+          "description": "Anomalias superadas até o sucesso, somadas por classe, em ordem fixa; [] se nenhuma",
+          "items": {
+            "additionalProperties": false,
+            "properties": {
+              "count": {
+                "description": "Ocorrências desta classe na chamada",
+                "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+                "minimum": 1,
+                "type": "integer"
+              },
+              "kind": {
+                "description": "Classe da anomalia (vocabulário fechado do contrato)",
+                "enum": [
+                  "timeout",
+                  "network",
+                  "http_4xx",
+                  "http_5xx",
+                  "rate_limited",
+                  "malformed_body"
+                ],
+                "type": "string"
+              }
+            },
+            "required": [
+              "kind",
+              "count"
+            ],
+            "type": "object"
+          },
+          "type": "array"
+        },
+        "attempts": {
+          "description": "Tentativas somadas, incluindo as repetidas (>= requests)",
+          "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+          "minimum": 1,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "requests": {
+          "description": "Idas distintas à origem que compõem esta resposta (fatias, páginas)",
+          "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+          "minimum": 1,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "unstable": {
+          "description": "true se houve repetição (attempts > requests) ou alguma anomalia",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "requests",
+        "attempts",
+        "anomalies",
+        "unstable"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "description": "Origin diagnostics of THIS source in this call (contract v1.1): requests made to the upstream, attempts summed across retries, anomalies worked around (kind + count); unstable=true when any anomaly happened. null when nothing was measured (bundled dataset, or response served entirely from cache)"
+}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / provenance / required
      Previous value: -[
-  "source",
-  "source_url",
-  "data_vintage",
-  "retrieved_at",
-  "citation",
-  "license"
-]New value: +[
+  "source",
+  "source_url",
+  "data_vintage",
+  "retrieved_at",
+  "retrieval",
+  "citation",
+  "license"
+]
  2. Changed1 schema field changedv1.11.0
    • addedInput schema / additionalProperties
      Added value: +false
  3. Changed4 schema fields changedv1.9.1
    • removedOutput schema / properties / provenance / properties / data_vintage / anyOf
      Removed value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]
    • addedOutput schema / properties / provenance / properties / data_vintage / type
      Added value: +[
+  "string",
+  "null"
+]
    • removedOutput schema / properties / provenance / properties / license / anyOf
      Removed value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]
    • addedOutput schema / properties / provenance / properties / license / type
      Added value: +[
+  "string",
+  "null"
+]
  4. Changed3 schema fields changedv1.8.0
    • addedOutput schema / properties / attribution
      Added value: +{
+  "description": "Canonical source URLs of this response (attribution list)",
+  "items": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / provenance
      Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "Provenance block (contract v1.0): source, URL, data vintage, extraction instant, citation, license",
+  "properties": {
+    "citation": {
+      "description": "Ready-to-use citation/attribution string",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "data_vintage": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ],
+      "description": "Version/release of the data as exposed by the source; null when not exposed"
+    },
+    "license": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ],
+      "description": "License / legal regime of the data"
+    },
+    "retrieved_at": {
+      "description": "Real instant of the upstream extraction (ISO-8601, UTC). Responses served from cache keep the ORIGINAL fetch instant.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "source": {
+      "description": "Official upstream source of this data",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "source_url": {
+      "description": "Canonical URL of the source (API base or dataset release)",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "source",
+    "source_url",
+    "data_vintage",
+    "retrieved_at",
+    "citation",
+    "license"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}
    • changedOutput schema / required
      Previous value: -[
-  "drug_name",
-  "matches"
-]New value: +[
+  "drug_name",
+  "matches",
+  "provenance",
+  "attribution"
+]
  5. Changed1 schema field changedv1.5.7
    • removedInput schema / additionalProperties
      Removed value: -false
  6. First observedv1.2.1

TDQS

A4.6/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnly/openWorld/idempotent/non-destructive, so safety is covered. The description adds meaningful behavioral context beyond that: the empty-matches-not-error semantics, the combination-product multiplicity behavior, and the RxNorm naming expectation. It does not discuss rate limits or latency, but those are minor.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the core purpose, then structured into use-cases, return semantics, and tool-routing. Slightly verbose across four paragraphs for a 1-param tool, but every section carries distinct value and there is no filler.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Although an output schema exists (so return structure needn't be explained), the description still clarifies the most important semantic detail: one entry per ATC code, with combination products yielding multiple. Combined with naming expectations, failure semantics, and sibling routing, an agent has everything needed to call this correctly.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100% and the schema already documents drug_name as brand or generic with an example. The description reinforces the naming convention (English/US as in RxNorm) and adds the fallback attempt behavior on failure, which goes slightly beyond the schema. Baseline 3 would apply without that extra nuance.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a precise verb+resource: look up WHO ATC classification(s) for a drug by name, with a concrete example (metformin → A10BA02). It also explicitly distinguishes itself from the sibling tools atc_lookup and atc_members by naming the input type each expects.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Provides an explicit routing rule: start here when you have a drug name, use atc_lookup when you have a class code, and use atc_members to list drugs inside a class. It also handles the failure case (unrecognized name → empty list, try generic name or rxnorm_search), which is exactly the guidance an agent needs.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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