Accessing the CDC PHIN VADS Browser

The list of Commonly Used UCUM Codes for Healthcare Units was generated by processing an XML file made available on the CDC PHIN VADS (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Information Network Vocabulary Access Distribution Server). To access the source document directly or to use the PHIN VADS browser to view the UCUM Expressions do the following:

Click here to go to the CDC's PHIN VADS server
Use the Messaging "drop-down menu" and select "Response & Preparedness Messaging".
Select the Radio Button "Code System" and enter the text "UCUM"
Results will show "UCUM" and "UCUM expression" code system, select an appropriate code system and download the code system using the button on the top right corner.
PHIN VADS allows users to download the code system as a Tab-delimited or XML file

Note: UCUM contains special characters, so if you are using excel, MS Unicode font is preferred. While saving the text file from an excel spreadsheet, please save it as "Unicode Text" to retain all the special characters.