Nurse calling system and nurse calling method

Abstract

The nurse call system (1) comprises: a nurse call slave unit (23); a nurse call master unit (11, 21); a portable terminal (13, 14, 24) carried by a medical worker; an access point (12, 22) relaying communication between the portable terminal and the nurse call master unit; a dedicated branch exchange (31) for controlling communication between the nurse call slave unit and the portable terminal; and a chat server (32) for generating a chat room to be transmitted to the portable terminal according to a call initiation from the nurse call slave unit. The chat server (32) generates a chat room whose intended users are medical workers A and B in charge of a target patient to whom a call is initiated using the nurse call slave unit (23) and a nearby medical worker X estimated to be present at a position closer to the target patient than the medical workers A and B, and provides the chat room to the portable terminal (13, 14, 24).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a nurse call system, and more particularly to a nurse call system that supports multiple nurses to work together to take care of patients. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, team care in which a plurality of medical workers work together to provide care for one patient has been widely adopted. A nurse call system supporting such team care has been proposed. An example of such a nurse call system is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0003] The nurse call system described in Patent Document 1 includes:

[0004] Nurse calls from unit;

[0005] The nurse calls the main unit;

[0006] Mobile terminals, carried by medical workers;

[0007] a nurse call controller configured to control communications performed between the nurse call slave unit, the nurse call master unit, and the mobile terminal;

[0008] a dedicated branch exchange for controlling calls between the nurse call slave unit, the nurse call master unit and the mobile terminal; and

[0009] A generating unit is connected to the nurse call controller and the mobile terminal in a communication manner and is configured to generate a chat room, which can publish information in a chat manner based on the operation of the mobile terminal by the medical worker,

[0010] Therein, the chat room may be displayed on each mobile terminal carried by a plurality of medical workers belonging to a team in charge of a given patient.

[0011] Reference List

[0012] Patent Literature

[0013] Patent Document 1: Japanese unexamined patent application with publication number 2019-140428 Summary of the invention

[0014] Technical issues

[0015] However, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 1, a chat room is created only for the head nurse who is preset to be in charge of the patient's care. Therefore, even when the head nurse is located far away from the patient's location, the nurse who is not the head nurse is located near the patient's location, and the nurse who is not the head nurse is located near the patient's location, the nurse who is not in charge of the patient but is located near the patient's location will not be invited to enter the chat room, and the head nurse who is located far away from the patient's location needs to respond to the invitation. That is, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 1, the work efficiency of team care cannot be fully improved.

[0016] Solution to the problem

[0017] A nurse call system according to an example embodiment comprises:

[0018] The nurse calls the slave unit and provides it for patient use;

[0019] The nurse calls the master unit, which connects with the slave unit;

[0020] Mobile terminals, carried by medical workers;

[0021] an access point for relaying communications between the mobile terminal and the nurse call master unit;

[0022] a private branch exchange connected to a plurality of the nurse call master units installed in a facility and configured to control communication between the nurse call slave units and the mobile terminal; and

[0023] A chat server is configured to generate a chat room to be transmitted to the mobile terminal in response to a call originating from the nurse call slave unit, wherein

[0024] the private branch exchange has first information indicating a correspondence relationship between the mobile terminal and the medical workers, second information indicating a correspondence relationship between the patient and a chief medical worker who is in charge of the patient among the medical workers, and third information indicating location information of the nurse call slave unit and the mobile terminal, and

[0025] The chat server generates a chat room based on the first information and the third information, wherein the supervising medical worker of the target patient who initiates a call from the unit using the nurse call and a neighboring medical worker who is presumed to be located closer to the target patient than the supervising medical worker are used as users, and the chat server provides the chat room to each mobile terminal held by the supervising medical worker and the neighboring medical worker.

[0026] Beneficial effects of the present invention

[0027] Through the nurse call system according to the exemplary embodiment, the work efficiency of team nursing can be improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a nurse call system according to a first exemplary embodiment; and

[0029] Figure 2 is a flowchart for describing the operation of the nurse call system according to the first exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] First exemplary embodiment

[0031] Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 1 shows a block diagram of a nurse call system 1 according to a first exemplary embodiment. Figure 1 In the example shown, the nurse call system 1 is used in a facility consisting of two separate buildings (a first hospital ward 10 and a second hospital ward 20). It should be noted that in an actual nurse call system 1, the number of nurse call master units (e.g., nurse call master devices), nurse call slave units, and mobile terminals used may be greater than 10. Figure 1 In the example shown, the number is large. Figure 1 In the example shown, a nurse call master device is installed for each hospital ward, but the system can be configured to install one nurse call master device for shared use by multiple hospital wards or multiple floors.

[0032] exist Figure 1 In the example shown, the central server 30 is used for a device shared by the first hospital ward 10 and the second hospital ward 20. The central server 30 includes a voice server 31 and a chat server 32. In addition, the first hospital ward 10 is equipped with a nurse call master device 11, an access point 12, a mobile terminal 13, and a mobile terminal 14. The second hospital ward 20 is equipped with a nurse call master device 21, an access point 22, a nurse call slave unit 23, and a mobile terminal 24.

[0033] The nurse call slave unit 23 is provided for use by the patient. More specifically, the nurse call slave unit is installed to be attached to the bed used by the patient. That is, the nurse call slave unit 23 is installed in a fixed position. In addition, the location information of the nurse call slave unit 23 is registered in the nurse call master device and the dedicated branch exchange when the nurse call slave unit 23 is installed. The nurse call slave unit 23 initiates a nurse call when, for example, the patient presses a button. The nurse call master device 11 and the nurse call master device 21 are connected to the nurse call slave unit 23, the access point 12, and the access point 22. In Figure 1In the example shown, the nurse call master 11 is connected to the access point 12 , and the nurse call master 21 is connected to the nurse call slave 23 and the access point 22 .

[0034] Mobile terminal 13, mobile terminal 14 and portable terminal 24 are terminals carried by medical workers. Terminals capable of running software such as indoor PHS (Personal Handyphone System), mobile information terminals, tablet terminals, etc. can be used as mobile terminals. Access point 12 and access point 22 relay communications between the mobile terminals and the aforementioned nurse call main device. When the terminal belonging to the access point is a terminal such as a mobile phone, access point 12 and access point 22 serve as a main unit of a wireless LAN. When the terminal belonging to the access point is a PHS, etc., access point 12 and access point 22 serve as a radio base station. In addition, the mobile terminal is connected to the nurse call main device via the access point. Figure 1 In the example shown, mobile terminal 13 and mobile terminal 14 are connected to nurse call host device 11 via access point 12. In addition, mobile terminal 24 is connected to nurse call host device 21 via access point 22. Here, the access point and mobile terminal communicate using radio signals. Figure 1 In the example shown, mobile terminal 13 is assigned to nurse A, mobile terminal 14 is assigned to nurse B, and mobile terminal 24 is assigned to nurse X. Furthermore, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the correspondence between nurses and mobile terminals assigned to the nurses is stored in the voice server 31 .

[0035] The voice server 31 is, for example, a PBX (Private Branch Exchange). The voice server 31 is connected to the nurse call master device 11 and the nurse call master device 21, which can be installed in plural numbers in a facility, and is configured to control communication between the nurse call slave unit 23 and the mobile terminals 13, 14, and 24. In response to a call originating from the nurse call slave unit 23, the chat server 32 generates a chat room to be transmitted to the mobile terminals 13, 14, and 24.

[0036] Here, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the voice server 31 has first to third information. The first information is information indicating the correspondence between the mobile terminal 13, the mobile terminal 14, the mobile terminal 24 and the medical workers (e.g., nurse A, nurse B, nurse X). The second information is information indicating the correspondence between the patient and the medical worker in charge of the patient among the nurses (e.g., the head nurse). The third information is information indicating the location information of the nurse call slave unit 23, the mobile terminal 13, the mobile terminal 14, and the mobile terminal 24.

[0037] Since the nurse call slave unit 23 is installed at a fixed position, the position information of the nurse call slave unit 23 is registered as the third information when the nurse call slave unit 23 is installed. In addition, the position information of the mobile terminal includes at least one of the position information of the mobile terminal acquired using a position information acquisition function built into the mobile terminal (e.g., GPS (Global Positioning System)) and the position information of the access point to which the mobile terminal is connected. It should be noted that since the access point is installed at a fixed position, the position information of the access point is registered as the third information when the access point is installed.

[0038] Furthermore, the chat server 32 generates a chat room based on the first to third information, the users of which are the head nurse in charge of the target patient who initiates a call using the call slave unit 23, and a neighboring medical worker (e.g., a neighboring nurse) who is estimated to be located at a position closer to the target patient than the head nurse, and provides the chat room to the mobile terminals 13, 14, and 24 owned by the head nurse and the neighboring nurse. Here, when determining the positional relationship between the mobile terminal and the nurse call slave unit based on the positional information of the access point, the chat server 32 simply uses the position of the access point to which the mobile terminal belongs as the position of the mobile terminal.

[0039] It should be noted that in Figure 1 In the example shown, nurses A and B are the head nurses corresponding to the nurse call slave unit 23, and nurse X is the neighbor nurse. Figure 1 The state shown is that at the moment when the call is initiated from the nurse call unit 23, the head nurse A and the head nurse B are in the first hospital ward 10 which is different from the second hospital ward 20 where the patient is located, and in this case, the head nurse A and the head nurse B cannot take quick action to respond to the call and request the neighbor nurse X to take care of the patient.

[0040] In the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the access point 12 generates a chat room whose users include a neighbor nurse X in addition to the head nurse A and the head nurse B. By this configuration, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, improvement in the operational efficiency of team nursing is achieved. Next, the operation of the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment will be described below.

[0041] Figure 2 A flowchart describing the operation of the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment is shown. Figure 2As shown, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, when a call is initiated from the nurse call slave unit 23, a chat room generation process is started (step S1). Then, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the chat server 32 receives the first information to the third information from the voice server 31, and performs the processing of steps S1 to S5. In step S2, the head nurse of the patient (e.g., the target patient) who initiated the nurse call is searched from the first information and the second information, and the head nurse is determined. In step S3, a nurse located at a position close to the bed of the target patient who initiated the nurse call is searched, and is determined as a neighboring nurse.

[0042] In the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the access point is installed at a fixed position, and the voice server 31 generates the third information by estimating each mobile terminal at the position of the access point that is performing communication with each mobile terminal. In addition, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the mobile terminal switches the access point with which the nurse communicates as the nurse moves. Then, the voice server 31 updates the third information each time the access point with which the mobile terminal communicates is switched. In addition, the third information includes the location information of the nurse call slave unit. In addition, in the exploration process of step S3, based on the aforementioned third information, according to the location of the nurse call slave unit that initiates the nurse call and the mobile terminal located near the location of the aforementioned nurse call slave unit, a neighboring nurse located at a position close to the patient is determined. It should be noted that the neighboring nurse is a nurse located at a position closer to the subject patient than the head nurse. Alternatively, the neighboring nurse can select a nurse who is close to the subject patient in position.

[0043] Next, in step S4, a chat room is generated with the head nurse and the neighboring nurse as participants. Then, in step S5, the chat room generated in step S4 is provided to the head nurse (e.g. Figure 1 The mobile terminals 13 and 14 held by nurses A and B in the figure and the neighboring nurses (e.g. Figure 1 A mobile terminal 24 held by the guard X).

[0044] As described above, in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment, even when the location of the head nurse is far from the location of the target patient, they can request a neighboring nurse near the target patient to provide care to the target patient through a chat room. By this configuration, the team care efficiency in the nurse call system 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment can be improved.

[0045] The present disclosure has been described with reference to example embodiments. However, it should be noted that the present disclosure will not be subject to any limitation of the above example embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0046] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-020462, filed on February 10, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0047] Reference numerals list

[0048] 1 Nurse Call System

[0049] 10 First Hospital Ward

[0050] 11 Nurse Call Master

[0051] 12 Access Points

[0052] 13 Mobile Terminals

[0053] 14 Mobile Terminal

[0054] 20 Second Hospital Ward

[0055] 21 Nurse Call Master

[0056] 22 Access Points

[0057] 23 Nurse Call from Unit

[0058] 24 Mobile Terminal

[0059] 30 Central Server

[0060] 31 Voice Server

[0061] 32 Chat servers.

Claims

1. A nurse call system, comprising: The nurse calls the slave unit and provides it for patient use; a nurse call master unit connected to the nurse call slave unit; Mobile terminals, carried by medical workers; an access point for relaying communications between the mobile terminal and the nurse call master unit; a dedicated branch exchange connected to a plurality of said nurse call master units installed in a facility and configured to control communication between said nurse call slave units and said mobile terminal; as well as a chat server configured to generate a chat room to be transmitted to the mobile terminal in response to a call originating from the nurse call slave unit, wherein the private branch exchange has first information indicating a correspondence relationship between the mobile terminal and the medical workers, second information indicating a correspondence relationship between the patient and a chief medical worker who is in charge of the patient among the medical workers, and third information indicating location information of the nurse call slave unit and the mobile terminal, and The chat server generates a chat room based on the first information to the third information, wherein the supervising medical worker of the target patient who initiates a call from the unit using the nurse call and a neighboring medical worker who is presumed to be located closer to the target patient than the supervising medical worker are users of the chat room, and the chat server provides the chat room to each mobile terminal held by the supervising medical worker and the neighboring medical worker.

2. The nurse call system according to claim 1, wherein: The private branch exchange updates the third information based on at least one of the position information of the access point performing communication with the mobile terminal and the position information acquired by the mobile terminal.

3. The nurse call system according to claim 2, wherein: When the positional relationship between the mobile terminal and the nurse call slave unit is determined based on the positional information of the access point, the chat server simply uses the positional information of the access point to which the mobile terminal belongs as the position of the mobile terminal.

4. The nurse call system according to claim 2, wherein: The mobile terminal acquires the location information based on a global positioning system, and transmits the location information acquired in response to a request from the private branch exchange to the private branch exchange.

5. The nurse call system according to claim 1, wherein: The chat server and the private branch exchange are built into one device.

6. The nurse call system according to claim 1, wherein: An access point is provided for each facility where the medical worker works, each floor of the facility, or each work area on the same floor of the facility.

7. The nurse call system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The chat server selects a medical worker who is located closest to the target patient as the neighboring medical worker.

8. A nurse call method for a nurse call system, the nurse call system comprising a nurse call slave unit provided to a patient and a mobile terminal carried by a medical worker, the method comprising: generating a chat room based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, wherein a medical worker in charge of a target patient who initiates a call from a unit using the nurse call and a neighboring medical worker who is estimated to be located closer to the target patient than the medical worker in charge are used as users of the chat room, The first information indicates a corresponding relationship between the mobile terminal and the medical worker, The second information indicates a corresponding relationship between the patient and a medical worker who is in charge of the patient among the medical workers, and The third information indicates the location information of the nurse call slave unit and the mobile terminal; as well as A chat room is provided to each mobile terminal held by the chief medical worker and the neighboring medical worker.

9. The nurse call method according to claim 8, wherein: A medical worker who is located closest to the target patient is selected as the neighboring medical worker.

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