Collected as phase 1 of a multi-disciplinary, multi-phase proof-of-concept project (TRUMP), whose purpose was to create a pilot model for a mobile phone application for the self-management of chronic illness in rural India. Data collection for this first phase, used in this publication, combined semi-structured interviews with patients, with key informants (including informal medical practitioners who were the subject of this paper), group discussions, fieldwork conversations, and observations. Fieldwork took place from January to June 2014, under the direction of Prof. Peter Phillimore (Newcastle) and Dr G.V.S. Murthy (IIPH Hyderabad), organised and coordinated by Dr Papreen Nahar (Newcastle) working with Drs Kannuri and Mikkilineni (then both IIPH Hyderabad). Data processing: Data were transcribed and translated from Telugu, and analysed manually to extract themes, such as those which underpin the analysis in this paper.