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

• Author(s): S. Jothir Ram; K. Maniraj
• Paper ID: 1715481
• Page: 2436-2441
• Published Date: 26-03-2026
• Published In: Iconic Research And Engineering Journals
• Publisher: IRE Journals
• e-ISSN: 2456-8880
• Volume/Issue: Volume 9 Issue 9 March-2026

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.

Citations

IRE Journals:
S. Jothir Ram, K. Maniraj "A Semantic Similarity–Based Medicine Alternative Recommender System Using Lightweight Transformer Models" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 9 2026 Page 2436-2441 https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715481

IEEE:
S. Jothir Ram, K. Maniraj "A Semantic Similarity–Based Medicine Alternative Recommender System Using Lightweight Transformer Models" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(9) https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715481