TAF PUBLISHING

Throughout the evolution of the Internet and social networks, forums and online platforms have a vital role in sharing information, along with the creation and engagement of virtual communities. Such websites represent great resources, and they are the first step in the adoption of e-health services. When the persons are ill, many of them use search engines for self-diagnosis and gather possible treatment ideas before asking for a doctor's opinion. This takes a lot of time because the information is scattered across various forums and websites. In this paper is presented an application that aims to provide an online self-diagnosis and drug recommendation tool based on natural language processing of the symptoms described by the user. Over 2,200 medicines are stored in the database, each having a set of keywords according to their usage. Thus, the platform automates the search process, and provides the user with the most relevant information, eliminating the need for manual data interpretation. The results are ranked according to the confidence score obtained after the execution of the fuzzy search algorithm. The platform does not provide medical advice. Thus it is intended for informational purposes only. The developed platform is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Another feature of the platform is that it enables users to find hospitals and clinics around them, so that they can receive professional healthcare service. The field of medicine is a sensitive topic due to the fact that one mistake could lead to the loss of countless human lives. It was a long and difficult journey to reach the current state of medicine, but technology was and will remain essential to the evolution of the healthcare system. The proposed solution of this paper is customized for Romania but it can be adapted for other countries by replacing the drug database.