Medicine Rating Prediction and Recommendation in Mobile Social Networks

During last few years we have witnessed a steady increase in medicine use for healthcare. The medicine experiences rated by other patients have huge potential to empower people to make more informed decisions. While the majority of previous research focused on rating prediction and recommendations on E-Commerce field, the area of healthcare or medical treatments has been rarely handled. Moreover, the geographical and temporal factors were not considered in their recommendation mechanisms. The rapid development of mobile devices, wireless networks, smart phones and ubiquitous wireless connections enable people to build and maintain mobile social interactions and relationships. In this paper, we identify and formalize the significant problem that exploits the over-the-counter medicine rating prediction and recommendation in mobile social networks. Then we devise the recommendation model and develop corresponding prototype of iDrug, reflecting a solution scheme of medicine rating prediction and recommendation in mobile social networks to increase the information accessibility for people’s decision support.