A Semantic Similarity–Based Medicine Alternative Recommender System Using Lightweight Transformer Models

@article{1715481,
      author = {S. Jothir Ram, K. Maniraj},
      title = {A Semantic Similarity–Based Medicine Alternative Recommender System Using Lightweight Transformer Models},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {9},
      pages = {2436-2441},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1715481.pdf},
      abstract = {This paper presents a semantic similarity–based medicine alternative recommender system using Sentence-BERT embeddings, hybrid filtering, and a scalable full-stack imple- mentation. The expanded version integrates additional technical sections such as Problem Statement, Motivation, Research Gap, and Algorithmic Workflow, increasing academic rigor while maintaining IEEE format. The system assists pharmacists and patients by generating clinically relevant alternatives when the prescribed drug is unavailable or unaffordable. Experimental evaluation demonstrates large gains over lexical baselines.},
      keywords = {Medicine Recommendation, Semantic Similarity, SBERT, Drug Alternatives, Healthcare Informatics.},
      month = {March},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715481}
  }