Medical support system, medical support method, and medical support program

Abstract

To more appropriately support a medical worker in asking a plurality of questions corresponding to a patient.SOLUTION: A medical support system 1 comprises a disease name selection unit 152 and a question set presentation control unit 153. The disease name selection unit 152 selects a disease from which a patient may have suffered on the basis of information described on a prescription issued to the patient. The question set presentation control unit 153 acquires a question group related to medical treatment corresponding to the disease selected by the disease name selection unit 152, and presents the acquired question group to a medical worker who asks questions related to the medical treatment to the patient.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medical support system, a medical support method, and a medical support program. [Background technology]

[0002] As part of their medical practice, medical professionals explain and ask patients about various matters. For example, a pharmacist at a dispensing pharmacy will ask patients about their symptoms and explain the medications prescribed to them. An example of a technology for supporting such medical practice is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a pharmacist provides medication instruction, information such as side effects of a prescribed drug is presented to the pharmacist. In this way, Patent Document 1 supports the pharmacist in providing medication instruction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-60526 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The general technology disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and the like makes it possible to present matters to be noted when providing medication instructions, such as side effects, to medical personnel. However, such general techniques still leave room for improvement in terms of how medical professionals should ask multiple questions tailored to the patient and smoothly proceed with a series of medication instructions.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to better assist medical personnel in asking multiple questions relevant to their patients. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a medical support system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: A screening means for screening a disease that the patient may be suffering from based on information written on a prescription issued to the patient; a presentation control means for acquiring a group of questions related to medical care corresponding to the disease selected by the selection means, and presenting the acquired group of questions to a medical worker who will ask the medical care questions to the patient; The present invention is characterized by comprising: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately support a medical professional in asking a plurality of questions corresponding to the patient. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a medical support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing device 800 constituting the medical support device 10. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a medical support device 10. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a hearing support process executed by the medical support device 10. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a hearing support process executed by the medical support device 10. [Figure 6] 11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process. [Figure 7] 11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process. [Figure 8] 11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process. [Figure 9] 11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process. [Figure 10]11A to 11C are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [System Configuration] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a medical support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The medical support system 1 in this embodiment is a system that more appropriately supports medical procedures by medical professionals. In the following, as an example for the purpose of explanation, it is assumed that the medical professional to be supported is a pharmacist working at an insurance pharmacy. As an example for the purpose of explanation, let us assume that the medical procedures to be supported are medication instructions and patient follow-up. In this case, medication instructions are those that a pharmacist gives to a patient when dispensing medication. Patient follow-up is follow-up with a patient during the period of medication use, where a pharmacist checks symptoms, etc., after the patient has received the dispensed medication and gone home. However, this is merely an example for the purpose of explanation and is not intended to limit the scope of application of this embodiment. In addition, this embodiment can support various medical or pharmaceutical medical procedures performed by various medical professionals such as pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and physical therapists in various medical facilities such as hospitals and clinics.

[0011] 1, the medical support system 1 includes a medical support device 10, a pharmacy computer, and an external server. These devices constituting the medical support system 1 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network N. This network N is realized, for example, by the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network) installed in an insurance pharmacy.

[0012] In addition, although each device is illustrated one by one in the figure, this is not limited to this. For example, there may be multiple medical support devices 10 and pharmacy computers corresponding to multiple insurance pharmacies. In addition, there may be multiple external servers corresponding to various functions.

[0013] A pharmacy computer is an information processing device such as a server computer that executes processes related to the operations of an insurance pharmacy, and has the function of acting as a prescription computer that creates medical fee statements (receipt computer function) and the function of managing patients' medical histories (medical history management function).

[0014] The external server is an information processing device such as a server computer that works in conjunction with a pharmacy computer, and has the function of a server that stores various medical information related to electronic medication records, electronic prescriptions, MID-NET (Medical Information Database Network), etc. as a database, the function of a server that stores information related to package inserts and disease guidelines, and the function of a server that realizes various medical systems using the information from these servers.

[0015] The medical support device 10 cooperates with each device included in the medical support system 1 to more appropriately support medical procedures, and is composed of information processing devices such as a PC (Personal Computer) and a server computer. In order to support medical procedures, the medical support device 10 receives various information managed by a pharmacy computer (if there are multiple pharmacy computers, each of them) and an external server (if there are multiple external servers, each of them) connected via a network N. The medical support device 10 also manages the various received data in a database group (including a medical history database) similar to that of the pharmacy computer and the external server. In other words, the medical support device 10 acquires a part or all of the various information managed by the pharmacy computer and the external server.

[0016] In such a configuration, the medical support device 10 executes a "hearing support process." Here, the hearing support process is a series of processes in which, when a medical professional (e.g., a pharmacist) asks a patient a question about medical care (e.g., a question asked during a hearing for medication instruction), a group of questions (hereinafter referred to as a "question set") corresponding to the patient is presented to the medical professional.

[0017] Specifically, the medical support system 1 selects diseases that the patient may be suffering from based on the information written on the prescription issued to the patient. Furthermore, the medical support system 1 acquires a set of questions about medical care corresponding to the selected disease, and presents the acquired set of questions to a medical worker who asks the patient questions about medical care.

[0018] In this way, the medical support system 1 can select a disease based on the prescription information and present a set of questions corresponding to the selected disease to a medical professional. Therefore, a medical professional (e.g., a pharmacist) who refers to this can ask a plurality of questions for the patient that correspond to the prescription issued to the patient. For example, when the patient returns to the pharmacy, the medical professional can approach the patient by asking specific questions that are appropriate for the patient, such as "Are you experiencing these symptoms?" or "Has there been any change in these symptoms?", rather than asking a general and vague question such as "Are you feeling well?".

[0019] Moreover, the medical support system 1 presents a question set consisting of multiple questions, rather than a single question. This allows medical personnel to ask a series of questions (for example, a series of questions regarding medication instructions) in sequence, and allows for smooth medication instructions. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can more appropriately support the medical staff in asking a plurality of questions corresponding to the patient.

[0020] [Hardware configuration] Next, the hardware configuration of the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 will be described. The medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC or a server computer as described above, or a tablet terminal or a smartphone that communicates with these.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an information processing device 800 constituting the medical support device 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing device 800 constituting each device includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 811, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 812, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 813, a bus 814, an input unit 815, an output unit 816, a memory unit 817, a communication unit 818, and a drive 819.

[0022] The CPU 811 executes various processes according to a program recorded in a ROM 812 or a program loaded from a storage unit 817 to a RAM 813 . The RAM 813 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 811 to execute various processes.

[0023] The CPU 811, the ROM 812, and the RAM 813 are connected to one another via a bus 814. To the bus 814, an input unit 815, an output unit 816, a storage unit 817, a communication unit 818, a drive 819, and an imaging unit 820 are connected.

[0024] The input unit 815 is made up of various buttons and the like, and is used to input various information in response to instruction operations. The output unit 816 is composed of a display, a speaker, etc., and outputs images and sounds. The storage unit 817 is composed of a hard disk or a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or the like, and stores various data managed by each server. The communication unit 818 controls communication with other devices via the network N.

[0025] Removable media 831, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, is appropriately loaded into the drive 819. A program read from the removable media 831 by the drive 819 is installed in the storage unit 817 as necessary.

[0026] In addition, when the information processing device 800 is configured as, for example, a tablet terminal, the input unit 815 can be configured with a touch sensor and placed over the display of the output unit 816, thereby providing a configuration with a touch panel.

[0027] [Functional configuration] Next, the functional configuration of the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 will be described.

[0028] [Functional configuration of medical support device 10] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the medical support device 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a user interface display control unit (UI display control unit) 151, a disease name selection unit 152, a question set presentation control unit 153, a medical history registration unit 154, and a database management unit (DB management unit) 155 function in the CPU 811 of the medical support device 10.

[0029] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, in the memory unit 817 of the medical support device 10, a patient attribute database (patient attribute DB) 171, a prescription database (prescription DB) 172, a package insert database (package insert DB) 173, a disease guideline database (disease guideline DB) 174, a question set database (question set DB) 175, and a medication history database (medication history DB) 176 are formed.

[0030] In the patient attribute DB 171, data on the attributes of a patient, such as the address, name, date of birth, age, sex, underlying disease, commonly used medicine (including non-medicinal products), language used, the symbol number of the insured person's certificate, and emergency contact information, are stored in association with information for identifying each patient. The attributes of a patient are composed of information acquired by a pharmacist in a conversation with the patient, information provided by the patient in response to a questionnaire or the like, and a doctor's findings, and include, for example, information on the patient's hobbies, work, family structure, favorite foods, and the like. In addition, the attributes of a patient include, for example, information on the patient's lifestyle habits, such as whether or not the patient consumes alcoholic beverages, whether or not the patient drives a vehicle, and whether or not the patient exercises regularly. In addition, the attributes of a patient include, for example, information on test values ​​for various items examined in a health checkup, and fluctuations in test values ​​(for example, fluctuations such as recent weight gain).

[0031] Data on prescriptions issued to patients is stored in the prescription DB 172. For example, the prescription data includes the name of the health insurance medical institution and the name of the health insurance doctor who prescribed the medicine, the prescription date, and the prescription contents, and is stored in association with information for identifying each patient and the date the prescription was brought in.

[0032] Data on package inserts of medicines is stored in the package insert DB 173. The data on the package inserts is predetermined data determined by a national institution, and includes, for example, information on the efficacy and effectiveness of the medicine and the corresponding standard disease name of the medicine.

[0033] Disease guideline data is stored in the medical treatment guideline DB 174. This disease guideline data is document data presenting treatment methods that are considered optimal based on scientific evidence, and includes information on the correspondence between drugs and diseases, such as which drug is used to treat which disease.

[0034] Question set DB 175 stores question set data. This question set data includes a plurality of question sets, each of which is made up of a plurality of questions to be asked, corresponding to a plurality of diseases. In other words, a plurality of question sets are included, such as a question set corresponding to a first disease, a question set corresponding to a second disease, ..., a question set corresponding to an nth disease (n is an arbitrary integer). Note that the question sets may be further subdivided, and may further include a plurality of question sets classified in association with a plurality of symptoms of a certain disease, for example. The question set data is created in advance by an administrator who manages the medical support system 1 or a medical professional who uses the medical support system 1. In addition, the administrator or medical professional updates the data to more appropriate content as needed.

[0035] The medical history data, which is a history of medicines prescribed to patients, is recorded in the medical history DB 176. The medical history data of the medicines includes, for example, prescription history, information on medical history including complications, whether or not the patient has visited other departments, etc., and is stored in association with information identifying each patient and information identifying each pharmacist who prescribed the medicine. The medical history also stores data on the history of the medication instructions given to the patient by the pharmacist (medication instruction text, etc.) Furthermore, the medical history also stores data on the history of the patient follow-up that the pharmacist performed for the patient after receiving the dispensed medication and going home (patient's responses to confirmation items during follow-up, etc.).

[0036] The UI display control unit 151 realizes the display of various input / output screens functioning as a user interface by generating various information (hereinafter referred to as "UI information") for the medical support device 10 to display a user interface screen (hereinafter referred to as "UI screen"). For example, in the hearing support process, the UI display control unit 151 outputs a screen including a display area for displaying various information such as a prescription and a patient's medical history, a display area for displaying icons for accepting various operations such as selection and input from a pharmacist, and a display area for a question set, to a display included in the output unit 816 and displays it. In addition, the UI display control unit 151 outputs music, sound effects, voice, and the like from a speaker included in the output unit 816 together with these displays as necessary. In this case, the form of the display and the speaker is not particularly limited. For example, they may be general stationary displays and speakers, or portable displays and speakers mounted on a tablet terminal or a smartphone. Alternatively, for example, it may be a display that is worn by a user, such as a head-mounted display, or a speaker that is worn by a user, such as earphones, headphones, or an intercom.

[0037] For this purpose, for example, the UI display control unit 151 generates a frame format for displaying a UI screen and substantial contents to be inserted into the format as UI information. The substantial contents to be inserted into the format include, for example, various information such as prescriptions and patient medical histories stored in each database in the hearing support process. The UI display control unit 151 also receives various information and operation instructions based on input from a pharmacist on a UI screen generated in response to the UI information.

[0038] The disease name selection unit 152 acquires prescription information from a prescription brought by a patient. To this end, the contents of the prescription are first input to a pharmacy computer having a function as a receipt computer or the medical support device 10. The input method may be that a medical professional (for example, a pharmacy counter clerk or a pharmacist) manually inputs the contents of the prescription printed on a paper medium using an input device such as a keyboard included in the input unit 815. Alternatively, the prescription information may be acquired and input by reading a two-dimensional code or the like that complies with the QR Code (registered trademark) standard printed on the prescription. Alternatively, the prescription may be captured and the prescription information may be acquired and input by applying a technology such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition / Reader) or AI (Artificial Intelligence) image recognition to the captured image. Alternatively, the prescription may be acquired and input by acquiring an electronic prescription from an external server.

[0039] In this way, the disease name selection unit 152 acquires prescription information from the contents of the prescription input to the pharmacy computer or the medical support device 10. Next, the disease name selection unit 152 acquires the prescribed drug name from the prescription information. Then, the disease name selection unit 152 searches the package insert DB 173 and the clinical guideline DB 174 using the drug name or a corresponding identifier or the like as a search key. Here, as described above, the package insert DB 173 and the clinical guideline DB 174 store information on the correspondence between drugs and diseases. Therefore, through this search, the disease name selection unit 152 can acquire the disease name corresponding to the prescribed drug.

[0040] Next, the disease name selection unit 152 selects one or more disease names thus identified. The reason for the selection is to increase the probability that the disease name is a disease that the patient is actually suffering from. In addition, the criteria for selection can be set appropriately. For example, anti-inflammatory drugs and gastrointestinal drugs are applicable to many diseases and are widely prescribed for general purposes. Therefore, even if these drugs are prescribed, the disease name selection unit 152 does not select disease names acquired based on these drugs in the selection. Alternatively, when identifying the disease name, the attributes of the patient are also taken into consideration. For example, if the patient is male, the disease name selection unit 152 does not select disease names classified as gynecological diseases in the selection.

[0041] Next, the disease name selection unit 152 performs such selection and outputs one or more finally selected disease names to the question set presentation control unit 153 as disease names that will be the basis for a hearing appropriate for the current patient.

[0042] The question set presentation control unit 153 searches the question set DB 175 using the disease name selected by the disease name selection unit 152 or its corresponding identifier as a search key. As described above, the question set DB 175 stores information on the correspondence between diseases and question sets. Therefore, through this search, the question set presentation control unit 153 can obtain one or more question sets suitable for the current patient.

[0043] The question set presentation control unit 153 also displays the selected disease names on the UI screen as candidates for disease names to be selected by the pharmacist. When the question set presentation control unit 153 receives a selection operation of one of the disease names from the pharmacist who has referred to the display of the candidates, it displays a question set corresponding to the selected disease name on the UI screen.

[0044] Next, the question set presentation control unit 153 receives input operations of the patient's answers and the pharmacist's findings (i.e., the results of the interview) from the pharmacist who has referred to the question set. Then, when the question set presentation control unit 153 receives answers to each question included in the question set, it performs analysis based on the answers. For example, the question set presentation control unit 153 evaluates whether there is a drug that requires attention as an audit result based on the type of prescribed drug and the answer from the patient. Alternatively, the question set presentation control unit 153 evaluates the need for a question inquiry based on the type of prescribed drug and the answer from the patient. Alternatively, the question set presentation control unit 153 limits the names of diseases that the patient is likely to suffer from based on the type of prescribed drug and the answer from the patient. The names of diseases that the patient is likely to suffer from become candidates for disease names (hereinafter referred to as "registered disease names") to be stored in the medical history DB 176 as part of the patient's medical history.

[0045] These analyses may be performed, for example, based on predetermined rules, or may be performed using a machine learning model constructed in advance by performing machine learning. In addition, in the analysis, the judgment result based on the findings of the pharmacist may be further taken into consideration. Since the questions included in the question set are diverse, the analysis may result in a case where it is not possible to evaluate with high accuracy whether there is a drug that requires caution as an audit result, or to evaluate with high accuracy whether it is necessary to make a question inquiry, or to limit the registered disease names. In such a case, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays a message to that effect on the UI screen. This makes it possible to prevent uncertain information from being presented to the pharmacist.

[0046] Furthermore, the question set presentation control unit 153 appropriately displays information according to the analysis results on the UI screen. For example, when it is evaluated as an audit result whether there is a drug that requires caution, the evaluation result is displayed. Furthermore, when it is evaluated as to the necessity of making a question inquiry, the evaluation result is displayed. At this time, in order to support the pharmacist in making a question inquiry, the content of the question inquiry that the pharmacist is about to make may be sent from the medical support device 10 to the medical institution to which the doctor who issued the prescription belongs in the form of e-mail, videophone, or the like. In addition, for example, when there are multiple registered disease names, these are displayed as candidates. Then, the registered disease name to be actually registered in the medication history DB 176 is determined based on a selection operation by the pharmacist who refers to the display.

[0047] The medical history registration unit 154 registers, as part of the medical history, the answers from the patient when the pharmacist who referred to the question set asks the patient and the pharmacist's comments on those answers (i.e., the results of the interview) in the medical history DB 176. Also, when an inquiry about a medical question is made, the medical history registration unit 154 registers the history of the information exchanged in the inquiry about a medical question in the medical history DB 176 as part of the medical history. Furthermore, the medical history registration unit 154 registers the name of the registered disease to be registered in the medical history DB 176 as part of the medical history.

[0048] The DB management unit 156 performs management for synchronizing data of various databases managed by the pharmacy computer or the external server with data of various databases provided in the medical support device 10. For example, the DB management unit 156 transmits updated data in various databases managed by the medical support device 10 to the pharmacy computer or the external server at a preset time (for example, a time such as 3:00 a.m. when the frequency of use of each server is low) or at the timing when various databases are updated, and receives data of various databases updated in the pharmacy computer or the external server from the pharmacy computer or the external server, thereby updating various databases provided in the medical support device 10. As a result, the contents of data in various databases provided in the medical support device 10 are appropriately updated to the latest contents.

[0049] In addition to synchronizing with the pharmacy computer or the external server, the DB management unit 156 may update the contents of the various databases in other ways. For example, the contents of the various databases may be updated in response to an input operation of an administrator or a pharmacist to the medical support device 10. Alternatively, the contents of the various databases may be updated based on data acquired by communication or the like from a computer other than the pharmacy computer or the external server, or data read from the removable media 831. In addition, when each functional block acquires or generates information in the hearing support process, the DB management unit 156 may update the contents of the various databases based on this information.

[0050] [Operation] Next, the operation of the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 during hearing support processing will be described.

[0051] [Operation of medical support device 10] 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the flow of the hearing support process executed by the medical support device 10. FIG. The hearing support process in the medical support device 10 is started when the medical support device 10 is powered on, and is repeatedly performed while the power is on. Note that, as a premise for the explanation, while the hearing support process is being executed, the UI display control unit 151 constantly generates UI information and displays a UI screen.

[0052] In step S1, the UI display control unit 151 displays a UI screen. In step S2, the UI display control unit 151 selects a patient to be the target of the current hearing support process, based on a selection operation by the pharmacist.

[0053] In step S3, the UI display control unit 151 selects a prescription corresponding to a patient who is a target of the current hearing support process, based on a selection operation by the pharmacist. In step S4, the disease name selection unit 152 identifies the name of the drug from the prescription information written on the prescription.

[0054] In step S5, the disease name selection unit 152 searches the acquired package insert and disease guidelines based on the drug name identified in step S4 to identify the disease name. In step S6, the disease name selection unit 152 selects a disease name that will be the basis for the hearing.

[0055] In step S7, the question set presentation control unit 153 acquires a question set corresponding to the selected disease name. 5, in step S8, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays the selected disease names as candidates. An example of a UI screen displayed corresponding to each step will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are schematic diagrams showing the transition of UI screens displayed in association with the hearing support process.

[0056] 6, the UI screen includes display areas AR1, AR2, and AR3. In the display area AR1, buttons for the pharmacist to select a UI screen are displayed. For example, a button for selecting a UI screen for conducting an interview, a button for selecting a UI screen for inputting test values, a button for selecting a UI screen for displaying audit results, a button for selecting a UI screen for making a question referral, and a button for selecting a UI screen for recording a medication history are displayed.

[0057] Furthermore, the display area AR2 displays prescription information for the selected prescription. For example, the generic name (active ingredient) and product name of the prescribed medicine are displayed. Note that "XXX" and "ZZZ" in the figure correspond to the product name of the medicine. These display areas AR1 and AR2 basically display the same information in the hearing support process.

[0058] Furthermore, information about the current process is displayed in the display area AR3. In Fig. 6, the selected disease names, "lifestyle-related disease" and "infectious disease", are displayed as candidates for disease names to be used as the basis for the interview. The pharmacist selects from the candidates the disease name that he or she thinks is most appropriate for the patient based on his or her own findings.

[0059] In step S9, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays a question set corresponding to the disease name selected from the candidates. As described above, a question set is provided for each disease name and each corresponding symptom. Therefore, as shown in the display area AR3 of FIG. 7, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays symptom candidates such as "numbness, weight loss, weight gain, thirst, shortness of breath, and frequent urination" as symptom candidates corresponding to lifestyle-related diseases (diabetes, hypertension, hyperuricemia) selected by the pharmacist. Then, the pharmacist selects from the candidates a symptom that is considered to be most appropriate for the patient based on his / her own findings. In this way, by encouraging the pharmacist to select a disease name or symptom, multiple question sets corresponding to the patient can be selected with higher accuracy, taking into account the pharmacist's findings.

[0060] In step S10, the question set presentation control unit 153 accepts inputs according to the interview results, such as the patient's answers to the questions and the pharmacist's findings. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the question set presentation control unit 153 accepts input of the patient's answer to a question included in the question set, "Are you currently experiencing any symptoms?", in response to an input operation by the pharmacist. In addition, the question set presentation control unit 153 transitions the screen appropriately in response to the input results and the selection operation by the pharmacist. For example, when the pharmacist selects the "Audit Results" button in the display area AR1, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays an evaluation result indicating whether or not there is any drug that requires attention as an audit result, based on information obtained by analyzing the interview results input up to now, as shown in the display area AR3 in FIG. 9.

[0061] In step S11, the UI display control unit 151 determines whether the hearing has ended. For example, the UI display control unit 151 determines that the hearing has ended when the patient has input answers to all questions included in the question set or when the pharmacist has selected that the hearing has ended. If the hearing has not ended, the result of the determination in step S11 is NO, and the process proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if the hearing has ended, the determination in step S11 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S12.

[0062] In step S12, the question set presentation control unit 153 determines whether candidates for registered disease names have been limited. For example, when a large number of selected disease names are limited to less than a predetermined number based on the hearing results, the question set presentation control unit 153 treats these disease names as candidates for registered disease names and determines that candidates for registered disease names have been limited. In this case, when the question set presentation control unit 153 infers based on the hearing results that disease names other than the selected disease names correspond to registered disease names, the question set presentation control unit 153 may display the other disease names as registered disease names. This inference can be made, for example, on a rule basis or by using a machine learning model. If not limited, the result of the determination in step S12 is NO, and the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if limited, the determination in step S12 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S13.

[0063] In step S13, the question set presentation control unit 153 displays candidates for registered disease names. In step S14, the question set presentation control unit 153 accepts the selection of a registered disease name from the pharmacist. In this way, by prompting the pharmacist to select a registered disease name, it is possible to select a registered disease name that is more appropriate for the patient with higher accuracy, taking into account the pharmacist's findings.

[0064] In step S15, the medical history registration unit 154 registers the results of the interview in the medical history. For example, the patient's answers to each question included in the question set, the pharmacist's findings regarding those answers, and if an inquiry has been made, the history of information exchanged in the inquiry and the registered disease name are registered as part of the medical history. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the patient's answers such as "I would like to reduce my medication and would like it packaged in a single package" and "Visiting the clinic for diabetes / hypertension" are registered in the medical history. In this case, the pharmacist can edit or delete these answers as appropriate depending on the pharmacist's evaluation, such as his / her own findings and assessment. Furthermore, by selecting a button labeled "Select Instructions," the pharmacist can display a screen for selecting candidate medication instruction statements corresponding to the patient's answers and the pharmacist's findings and assessment. In this case, the medication instruction statements are realized by statements that can be registered in the medication history as is, such as the SOAP (Subjective Data Objective Data Assessment Plan) format that is widely used in medication histories. The pharmacist can select the statement to be actually registered in the medication history from the candidates in this SOAP format, and can easily register this statement in the medication history. In addition, at this time, the pharmacist can edit this statement as appropriate before registering it, or create a new statement separately and register it in the medication history.

[0065] In addition, for example, items that are not essential to the medical history but are incidental to the medical history, such as handover items within the insurance pharmacy and items such as notes that the pharmacist himself judges to require consideration, may be displayed as candidates for registration in the medical history, and these may be registered in the medical history. In this case, the displayed candidates may be text in SOAP format, but they may also be text in colloquial language or other easily understandable style. This eliminates the need for the pharmacist to input all of the information to be registered in the medical history, and allows the text corresponding to the results of medication instructions (medication instruction text) to be smoothly registered in the medical history simply by selecting, editing, etc. In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to support the pharmacist in asking questions and at the same time support registration in the medical history.

[0066] In step S16, the UI display control unit 151 determines whether the hearing support process has ended. For example, when the pharmacist selects that all processes related to the hearing support process have ended, the UI display control unit 151 determines that the hearing has ended. If not, the determination in step S16 is NO, and the process returns to step S1. If so, the determination in step S16 is YES, and the hearing support process ends.

[0067] By performing the hearing support process described above, the medical support system 1 can select a disease based on the prescription information and present a set of questions corresponding to the selected disease to the medical staff. Therefore, a medical staff member (e.g., a pharmacist) who refers to this can ask a plurality of questions that correspond to the prescription issued to the patient and are appropriate for the patient. For example, when the patient returns to the pharmacy, the medical staff member can approach the patient by asking specific questions appropriate for the patient, such as "Are you experiencing these symptoms?" or "Has there been any change in these symptoms?", rather than asking a general and vague question such as "Are you feeling well?".

[0068] Moreover, the medical support system 1 presents not a single question but a group of questions. Therefore, a medical professional can ask a series of questions (for example, a series of questions regarding medication instruction) in sequence, and can smoothly proceed with medication instruction. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can more appropriately support the medical staff in asking a plurality of questions corresponding to the patient.

[0069] [Variations] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take various other embodiments and can be modified in various ways, such as omissions and substitutions, without departing from the gist of the present invention. In this case, these embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention described in this specification, etc., and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. As an example, the embodiment of the present invention described above may be modified as follows. In addition, the following modifications may be combined.

[0070] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, the disease name selection unit 152 obtains the prescribed drug name from the prescription information included in the prescription, and selects the disease name based on this drug name. Then, the question set presentation control unit 153 supports multiple questions in medication instruction by presenting a question set corresponding to this disease name. This is not limited to this, and a modified method may be used to support questions in patient follow-up. Here, patient follow-up is performed on patients who have received the dispensed medication and returned home. Therefore, at the time of performing patient follow-up, the name of the medication dispensed to the patient has already been registered as a medical history. Therefore, the disease name selection unit 152 obtains the name of the medication actually dispensed from the medical history recorded in the medical history DB 176, not from the prescription information included in the prescription. Then, the disease name selection unit 152 and the question set presentation control unit 153 perform subsequent processes based on this medication name.

[0071] This makes it possible to obtain a question set corresponding to the medicine that has actually been dispensed. In addition, in this variation, the content of each question included in the question set is not related to medication instruction, but is prepared to be related to patient follow-up. For example, questions such as whether the patient is taking the medicine in the appropriate dosage each day and questions about changes in symptoms associated with taking the medicine are prepared. This makes it possible to ask multiple questions that should be asked in patient follow-up without missing anything. According to this modification, similarly to the above-described embodiment, in patient follow-up, a set of questions corresponding to the patient can be acquired to support the patient follow-up by the pharmacist.

[0072] [Variation 2] In the above-described embodiment and modification 1, a question set corresponding to the disease name is obtained and this question set is presented to the pharmacist. The pharmacist can then refer to this question set and appropriately ask a number of questions. This can be further modified to create a question set that switches the next question depending on the patient's response, etc. For example, a question set is constructed in such a way that questions are switched depending on the answer to a question, such as (1) a first set of questions to be asked initially, (2-1) a second set of questions to be asked next if the answer to the first question satisfies a specified condition, and (2-2) a second set of questions to be asked next if the answer to the first question does not satisfy a specified condition. This allows questions to be asked that are more suited to the patient, taking into consideration not only the name of the disease but also the content of the patient's answers. In this case, the condition for switching questions is not limited to the content of the patient's answers, and questions may be switched based on, for example, the pharmacist's findings. Alternatively, when following up with a patient as in Modification 1, questions may be switched depending on the test values ​​measured for the patient after receiving the dispensed medicine. In this case, the test values ​​for the patient may be test values ​​measured at a medical facility such as a hospital, or may be test values ​​measured by the patient at home. According to this modification, by including in the question set a plurality of questions that can be switched depending on conditions, it becomes possible to ask questions that are more suited to the patient.

[0073] [Configuration example] As described above, the medical support system 1 according to this embodiment includes the disease name selection unit 152 and the question set presentation control unit 153. The disease name selection unit 152 selects diseases that the patient may be suffering from based on the information written on the prescription issued to the patient. The question set presentation control unit 153 acquires a group of medical questions corresponding to the diseases selected by the disease name selection unit 152, and presents the acquired group of questions to a medical professional who will ask the patients medical questions.

[0074] In this way, the medical support system 1 can select a disease based on the prescription information and present a set of questions corresponding to the selected disease to a medical professional. Therefore, a medical professional (e.g., a pharmacist) who refers to this can ask a plurality of questions for the patient that correspond to the prescription issued to the patient. For example, when a patient returns to a dispensing pharmacy, the medical professional can approach the patient by asking specific questions that are appropriate for the patient, such as "Are you experiencing these symptoms?" or "Has there been any change in these symptoms?", rather than asking a general and vague question such as "Are you feeling well?". Moreover, the medical support system 1 presents not a single question but a group of questions. Therefore, a medical professional can ask a series of questions (for example, a series of questions regarding medication instruction) in sequence, and can smoothly proceed with medication instruction. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can more appropriately support the medical staff in asking a plurality of questions corresponding to the patient.

[0075] The disease name selection unit 152 selects a plurality of diseases that the patient may be suffering from. The question set presentation control unit 153 presents the multiple selected diseases as candidates to the medical worker, and presents to the medical worker a group of questions corresponding to a disease selected from the multiple diseases presented by the medical worker. This allows medical professionals who have referred to multiple disease candidates to select a disease from among the candidates with greater accuracy, taking into account their own findings.

[0076] The question set presentation control unit 153 receives, from the medical professional, an input of a patient's answer to a question that the medical professional asks the patient based on the presented question set. The disease name selection unit 152 selects new diseases that the patient may be suffering from, based on the answers from the patient received by the question set presentation control unit 153 . This allows for more accurate disease selection based on the patient's responses.

[0077] The question set presentation control unit 153 receives, from the medical professional, an input of a patient's answer to a question that the medical professional asks the patient based on the presented question set. The question set presentation control unit 153 further presents an evaluation result regarding the necessity of inquiries regarding the prescription based on the answers received from the patient. This allows for a more accurate determination of the need for inquiries based on the patient's responses.

[0078] The question set presentation control unit 153 receives, from the medical professional, an input of a patient's answer to a question that the medical professional asks the patient based on the presented question set. The medical support system 1 further includes a medical history registration unit 154 . The medical history registration unit 154 registers information based on the answers from the patient received by the question set presentation control unit 153 in the medical history of the patient. This can assist medical professionals in answering questions while also assisting them in registering medical histories.

[0079] The medical history registration unit 154 presents candidates for text to be registered in the medical history to the medical worker based on at least one of the answer from the patient and the medical worker's evaluation of the answer. The medical history registration unit 154 registers a document selected from candidates for documents to be registered in the medical history presented by the medical staff in the medical history of the patient. This makes it easier for medical professionals to register medication histories.

[0080] The question set acquired by the question set presentation control unit 153 includes a plurality of question sets classified in association with a plurality of symptoms. The question set presentation control unit 153 presents to the medical professional a set of questions corresponding to a symptom selected by the medical professional from among a plurality of symptoms. This allows the user to narrow down the set of questions to more appropriate ones depending on the symptoms.

[0081] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications and improvements within the scope of the present invention that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the medication instruction by a pharmacist is supported as a target is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the target of support in the present invention includes various medical information presented to various medical professionals.

[0082] The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. In other words, the functional configurations in the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples and are not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that any of the computers constituting the medical support system 1 has a function capable of executing the above-mentioned series of processes as a whole, and the type of functional block used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the examples shown. Furthermore, one functional block may be configured as a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination of both.

[0083] In addition, the recording medium containing the program for executing the series of processes described above may be composed not only of a removable medium distributed separately from the device body in order to provide the program to the user, but also of a recording medium etc. provided to the user in a state in which it is pre-installed in the device body.

[0084] Furthermore, the effects described in the above-mentioned embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the present embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1 Medical support system, 10 Medical support device, N Network, 151 User interface display control unit (UI display control unit), 152 Disease name selection unit, 153 Question set presentation control unit, 154 Medication history registration unit, 155 Database management unit (DB management unit), 171 Patient attribute database (Patient attribute DB), 172 Prescription database (Prescription DB), 173 Package insert database (Package insert DB), 174 Disease guideline database (Disease guideline DB), 175 Question set database (Question set DB), 176 Medication history database (Drug history DB), 800 Information processing device, 811 CPU, 812 ROM, 813 RAM, 814 Bus, 815 Input unit, 816 Output unit, 817 Memory unit, 818 Communication unit, 819 Drive, 831 Removable media

Claims

1. A screening means for screening a disease that the patient may be suffering from based on information written on a prescription issued to the patient; a presentation control means for acquiring a group of questions related to medical care corresponding to the disease selected by the selection means, and presenting the acquired group of questions to a medical worker who will ask the medical care questions to the patient; A medical support system comprising:

2. The selection means selects a plurality of diseases that the patient may be suffering from, the presentation control means presents the selected diseases as candidates to the medical worker, and presents to the medical worker a set of questions corresponding to a disease selected by the medical worker from the presented plurality of diseases; 2. The medical support system according to claim 1.

3. the presentation control means receives, from the medical worker, an input of a response from the patient to a question posed to the patient by the medical worker based on the presented set of questions; The selection means newly selects a disease that the patient may be suffering from based on the answer from the patient received by the presentation control means.

3. The medical support system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The presentation control means includes: receiving, from the medical practitioner, an input of a response from the patient to a question posed to the patient by the medical practitioner based on the presented set of questions; Further presenting an evaluation result regarding the necessity of inquiry regarding the prescription based on the received answer from the patient; 3. The medical support system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the presentation control means receives, from the medical worker, an input of a response from the patient to a question posed to the patient by the medical worker based on the presented set of questions; The present invention further includes a medical history registration means for registering information based on the answer from the patient received by the presentation control means in the medical history of the patient.

3. The medical support system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The medical history registration means includes: presenting candidates for sentences to be registered in the medical history to the medical worker based on at least one of the answer from the patient and the medical worker's evaluation of the answer; registering a document selected by the medical professional from among the candidates of documents to be registered in the medical history of the patient in the medical history; 6. The medical support system according to claim 5.

7. The question group acquired by the presentation control means includes a plurality of question groups classified in association with a plurality of symptoms, the presentation control means presents to the medical professional a group of questions corresponding to a symptom selected by the medical professional from the plurality of symptoms; 3. The medical support system according to claim 1 or 2.

8. A medical support method performed by a computer, comprising: A selection step of selecting a disease that the patient may be suffering from based on information described in a prescription issued to the patient; a presentation control step of acquiring a group of questions about medical care corresponding to the disease selected in the selection step, and presenting the acquired group of questions to a medical professional who will ask the patient questions about medical care; The medical support method is characterized in that the above is performed by the computer.

9. A selection function for selecting a disease that the patient may be suffering from based on information written on a prescription issued to the patient; a control function for acquiring a set of medical questions corresponding to the disease selected by the selection function, and presenting the acquired set of questions to a medical professional who will ask the patient medical questions; A medical support program characterized by causing a computer to realize the above.

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