Patients managing chronic conditions, family healthcare decision makers, local pharmacy owners, and general practitioners in urban and semi-urban settings.

Patients across urban and rural India often buy expensive branded medications even when cheaper generic salts are widely available. This dynamic forces families to spend a disproportionate share of their monthly income on basic care. Doctors, chemists, and patients operate in a system built on brand loyalty and perceived quality differences. Existing platforms fail to bridge the trust gap between standard generics and household brand names.

Most buyers lack a reliable way to verify chemical equivalence at the pharmacy counter. Chemists also have commercial incentives to push specific brands over generic options. Uncovering the behavioral and structural blocks behind these purchases helps designers map out interventions for public health awareness and transparent pharmacy access.

What psychological and structural factors influence patients and doctors to choose branded medicines over generic alternatives in local pharmacies?