Drug Reviews NLP
I studied more than 215,000 historical patient reviews to understand which medications people rated highly, where patients repeatedly described poor experiences, and how a comparison tool could make those patterns easier to explore.
Overview
The Question
People taking medications for the same condition can report very different experiences. I wanted to know whether patient reviews could reveal where those differences were largest and make better-rated alternatives easier to find.
What I Did
I organized reviews collected from 2008 to 2017, compared medications used for the same condition, and looked for repeated concerns in the written feedback. Then I built an interactive tool that lets someone explore those patterns without reading thousands of reviews.
Making Thousands of Reviews Easier to Compare
Instead of presenting a wall of analysis, the tool starts with one condition and shows how patient ratings differ across the medications used to treat it.
The large gap shows where patients reported very different experiences with medications used for the same condition. It creates a useful starting point for questions, not a medical recommendation.
Based on historical patient reviews from 2008–2017. For informational analysis only; medication decisions should be made with a healthcare professional.
Key Findings
Ratings Varied Widely Within the Same Condition
For several common conditions, the highest- and lowest-rated medications were separated by five points or more on a ten-point scale.
Eight Conditions Had Consistently Low Ratings
Across these conditions, the average patient rating stayed below 6 out of 10, suggesting repeated dissatisfaction rather than one poorly rated medication.
Birth Control Generated the Most Feedback
It represented 18% of all reviews but still received below-average ratings, making it one of the clearest areas for deeper research and product improvement.
Written Feedback Added Context to the Score
Some people selected a high rating while still describing concerns in their written review. Reading both signals helped surface dissatisfaction that a score alone could miss.
How I Worked Through It
The Work Behind the Findings
Explore the Full Tool
The interactive version lets visitors choose a condition, compare patient ratings across medications, review commonly mentioned concerns, and read examples of positive and critical feedback.
Try the Live App ↗