Medical support system, medical support method, and medical support program
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HIGASHI NIHON MEDICOM
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-12
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
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] Doctors usually make diagnoses based on comparing the patient's test results with standard values and the results of interviewing the patient, and then issue prescriptions based on the diagnostic results. The patient then takes the issued prescription to a dispensing pharmacy where it is inspected by a pharmacist. If the pharmacist has any doubts about the prescription, they can inquire with the doctor to prevent problems such as duplicate administration or contraindications. An example of a technology for supporting such medical procedures is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the contents of the package insert that is the basis for the inquiry are electronically transmitted to the doctor in response to the pharmacist's operation. This can support the pharmacist who makes the inquiry and the doctor who responds to it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-067763 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] As described above, prescription auditing is a very important medical procedure for preventing problems such as duplicate administration and administration contraindications. Therefore, in order to perform more accurate prescription auditing, it is desirable for medical professionals such as pharmacists and patients to be able to more appropriately understand information related to drug prescriptions. In this regard, there is still room for improvement in the general technology disclosed in Patent Document 1.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to make it possible to more appropriately grasp information related to drug prescriptions. [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: When there are multiple different standards defined by multiple different entities, a prescription information acquisition means for acquiring prescription information indicating reference values used by a medical professional who prescribed the drug as the basis for diagnosis and test values of the patient; a specifying means for specifying which of the plurality of reference values is the reference value used as the basis for the diagnosis; a presentation means for presenting the reference value on which the diagnosis specified by the specification means is based and other reference values together with the test value to the person to be presented so that they can be compared; The present invention is characterized by comprising: [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately grasp information related to drug prescriptions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a medical support system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an information processing device 800 that constitutes a medical support device 10 (including a patient terminal 20 of a modified example). [Figure 3] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an information processing device 800 that constitutes each device. [Figure 4] 10 is a table showing specific examples of comparison information generated by a comparison information generating unit 154. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a comparison information presentation process executed by the medical support device 10. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a medical support system 1a according to a first modification. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a patient terminal 20. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a comparison information presentation process executed by the patient terminal 20. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[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 one 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. Hereinafter, 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. Also, as an example for the purpose of explanation, it is assumed that the medical procedure to be supported is a prescription audit performed at the time of dispensing. 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 to this, this embodiment can also 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, as well as a hospital terminal, a pharmacy computer, and an external server. These devices that make up 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] Although the diagram shows one of each device and one of each terminal, this is not limiting. For example, there may be multiple medical support devices 10 and pharmacy computers corresponding to multiple insurance pharmacies. Alternatively, there may be multiple hospital terminals corresponding to the medical professionals who use them to perform medical procedures. Alternatively, 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 performs processing 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' medication histories (medication history management function).
[0014] The external server is an information processing device such as a server computer that works in conjunction with the pharmacy computer, and has the function of a server that stores various medical information related to electronic medicine notebooks, electronic prescriptions, MID-NET (Medical Information Database Network), etc. as a database, and the function of a server that realizes various medical systems that utilize this information.
[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. To support medical procedures, the medical support device 10 receives various information managed by a pharmacy computer (or each pharmacy computer if there are multiple computers), an external server (or each external server if there are multiple computers), or a hospital terminal (or each hospital terminal if there are multiple computers), which are connected via a network N. The medical support device 10 also manages the received various data in a database group (including a medication history database) similar to that of the pharmacy computer, the external server, or the hospital terminal. That is, the medical support device 10 acquires some or all of the various information managed by the pharmacy computer, the external server, or the hospital terminal.
[0016] In this configuration, the medical support device 10 executes a "comparison information presentation process." Here, the comparison information presentation process is a series of processes that present various pieces of information, including information that a medical professional (e.g., a doctor) has used as the basis for diagnosis, as comparative information (hereinafter referred to as "comparison information").
[0017] Specifically, when there are multiple different reference values defined by multiple different entities, the medical support device 10 acquires prescription information indicating the reference values that the medical professional who prescribed the medication used as the basis for diagnosis and the patient's test values. Furthermore, the medical support device 10 identifies which of the multiple reference values is the reference value that is the basis for the diagnosis. Furthermore, the medical support device 10 presents the reference value that is the basis of the identified diagnosis and other reference values together with the test values so that the person to whom the information is provided can compare them.
[0018] In this way, the medical support system 1 presents the reference values that medical professionals (e.g., doctors) used as the basis for their diagnosis when prescribing medicines and the patient's test values in a manner that allows them to compare them. Therefore, the person receiving the information (e.g., a pharmacist) can properly understand the perspective from which the doctor made the diagnosis.
[0019] Furthermore, medical professionals compare test values with standard values when making diagnoses, but standard values are not uniformly defined. There are multiple standard values corresponding to various organizations, such as medical societies, hospitals, and universities, and the values of each standard value vary. Therefore, the medical support system 1 presents other standard values in addition to the standard value used as the basis for diagnosis, allowing for further comparison. By referencing this, the person receiving the presentation can properly understand what values are used as the basis for other standard values and whether it would be better to adopt other standard values rather than the standard value used by the medical professional as the basis for diagnosis. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to more appropriately grasp information related to drug prescriptions.
[0020] [Hardware configuration] Next, the hardware configuration of the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 will be described. As described above, the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC or server computer, or a tablet terminal or smartphone that communicates with these. Note that the patient terminal 20, which will be described later as a modified example, is also configured by general information processing, and its basic hardware configuration is also the same as that of the medical support device 10.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an information processing device 800 that constitutes the medical support device 10 (including the patient terminal 20 of a modified example). As shown in Figure 2, the information processing device 800 that constitutes 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 the ROM 812 or a program loaded from the storage unit 817 into the RAM 813 . The RAM 813 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 811 to execute various processes.
[0023] The CPU 811, ROM 812, and 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 various information is input 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 configured with a hard disk or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), etc., 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, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or 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 needed.
[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, the CPU 811 of the medical support device 10 functions as a user interface information generation unit (UI information generation unit) 151, a prescription information acquisition unit 152, an information identification unit 153, a comparison information generation unit 154, a presentation unit 155, and a database management unit (DB management unit) 156.
[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 medication history database (medication history DB) 173, a reference value database (reference value DB) 174, and a comparison information database (comparison information DB) 175 are formed.
[0030] Patient attribute DB 171 stores data on patient attributes, such as the patient's address, name, date of birth, age, sex, underlying medical condition, commonly used medications (including quasi-drugs), language spoken, insurance card number, and emergency contact information, in association with information identifying each patient. These patient attributes are composed of information acquired by pharmacists through conversations with patients, information provided by patients in response to questionnaires, and doctor's findings, and include, for example, the patient's hobbies, occupation, family composition, and favorite foods. Other patient attributes include, for example, information on the patient's lifestyle, such as whether or not they consume alcoholic beverages, whether or not they drive, and whether or not they exercise regularly. Other patient attributes include, for example, test results for various items examined during health checkups and other tests, as well as fluctuations in test results (e.g., recent weight gain).
[0031] The prescription DB 172 stores data on prescriptions issued to patients (such as the name of the health insurance medical institution and the name of the health insurance physician who prescribed the drug, the prescription date, and prescription contents) in association with information identifying each patient and the date the prescription was brought in. In this embodiment, in addition to these general prescription contents, the prescription also includes reference values that the medical professional who prescribed the drug (e.g., a doctor) used as the basis for diagnosis. Therefore, the prescription DB 172 also stores information identifying the reference values that were the basis for this diagnosis, such as information indicating the organization, such as a medical society, hospital, or university, that defined these reference values.
[0032] The medication history DB 173 stores data on the history (medication history) of drugs prescribed to patients (prescription history, information on medical history including complications, whether or not the patient has visited other departments, etc.) in association with information identifying each patient and information identifying each pharmacist who prescribed the drug. In addition, the medication history also stores data on the history of medication instructions given to patients by pharmacists (medication instruction statements, etc.).
[0033] The reference value DB 174 stores a plurality of reference values defined by a plurality of organizations, such as various medical societies, hospitals, and universities. For example, a reference range is defined for each reference value in relation to a disease or the like corresponding to each organization. For example, if a single reference value is defined, a patient's test value is determined to be within the reference range if it exceeds (or falls below) that reference value, and conversely, if it falls below (or exceeds) that reference value, it is determined to be outside the reference range. Alternatively, for example, if a plurality of reference values indicating upper and lower limits are defined, a patient's test value is determined to be within the reference range if it is below the upper limit and above the lower limit, and conversely, if it is above the upper limit or below the lower limit, it is determined to be outside the reference range.
[0034] Generally, medical professionals (e.g., doctors) compare a patient's test values with any of the reference values selected as the basis for diagnosis, and if many test items are outside the reference range or the deviation from the reference value is large, they diagnose the patient as abnormal (i.e., suffering from a disease).On the other hand, if few test items are outside the reference range or the deviation from the reference value is not so large, they diagnose the patient as normal (i.e., not suffering from a disease and healthy).
[0035] In some cases, multiple reference values are defined depending on the patient's gender and age. In this case, a reference value appropriate for the patient's gender and age is selected. In this embodiment, the reference values are assumed to include prescription conditions such as maximum dosages set by the organization that defined the reference values and drug combinations that are contraindicated for administration.
[0036] The comparison information DB 175 stores comparison information generated by the comparison information generating unit 154 based on prescription information included in a prescription, reference values included in the reference value DB 174, and identification results by the information identifying unit 153. More specific content of the comparison information will be described later with reference to FIG. 4 when explaining the comparison information generating unit 154.
[0037] The UI information generation unit 151 generates various types of information (hereinafter referred to as "UI information") for the medical support device 10 (including the medical support device 10 of a modified example) to display a user interface screen (hereinafter referred to as "UI screen"), thereby realizing the display of various input / output screens that function as user interfaces. For example, in the comparison information presentation process, the UI information generation unit 151 outputs and displays, on a display included in the output unit 816, a screen as the UI screen, including a display area for displaying various information such as a prescription and a patient's medication history, a display area for displaying icons for accepting various operations from a pharmacist, and a display area for comparison information. In addition, the UI information generation 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.
[0038] For this purpose, for example, the UI information generating unit 151 generates, as UI information, a frame format for displaying a UI screen and substantial content to be inserted into the format. The substantial content to be inserted into the format includes, for example, various types of information such as prescriptions and patient medication history stored in each database in the comparison information presentation process. The UI information generating unit 151 also receives various information and operation instructions based on input from a pharmacist on a UI screen generated in accordance with the UI information.
[0039] The prescription information acquisition unit 152 acquires prescription information from a prescription brought by a patient. To do this, the contents of the prescription are first input into a pharmacy computer that functions as a receipt computer, or into the medical support device 10. The input method may involve a medical professional (for example, a pharmacy counter clerk or a pharmacist) manually inputting the contents of the prescription printed on paper using an input device such as a keyboard included in the input unit 815. Alternatively, at least a portion of the prescription data 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 input by acquiring an electronic prescription from an external server.
[0040] In this way, the prescription information acquisition unit 152 acquires prescription information from the contents of the prescription input to the pharmacy computer or the medical support device 10. In this embodiment, the prescription information includes, for example, the patient's test results, information (for example, the name of the organization and the identification code of the organization) for identifying the reference values (hereinafter referred to as "basis reference values") that are the basis for the diagnosis by a medical professional (for example, a doctor) when prescribing a drug, and the drug prescription contents. The prescription information acquiring unit 152 outputs the acquired prescription information to the information identifying unit 153.
[0041] The information identifying unit 153 identifies information necessary for generating comparison information based on the prescription information input from the prescription information acquiring unit 152, a plurality of reference values included in the reference value DB 174, the patient's medication history included in the medication history DB 173, and the like. The information necessary for generating comparison information is, for example, the value of the basis reference value itself corresponding to information for identifying the basis reference value (for example, the name of an organization or an identification code of the organization). The information identifying unit 153 can identify the value of the corresponding basis reference value itself by searching the reference value DB 174 using the information for identifying the basis reference value as a search key. In this case, the information identifying unit 153 also identifies the values themselves of reference values other than the basis reference value (hereinafter referred to as "other reference values").
[0042] In addition, for example, when a reference range related to a disease is defined by the reference values, the information identification unit 153 further identifies whether the test value is within the reference range or outside the reference range for each of the multiple reference values. Additionally, the information identifying unit 153 further identifies which of the multiple reference values was the reference value that the medical professional used as the basis for diagnosis when the drug was prescribed to the patient in the past. Additionally, when the drug prescription conditions are determined by the reference values, the information identifying unit 153 further identifies whether the prescribed drug satisfies the drug prescription conditions for each of the multiple reference values. The information specifying unit 153 outputs the specified information necessary for generating the acquired comparison information to the comparison information generating unit 154.
[0043] The comparison information generation unit 154 generates the comparison information based on information necessary for generating the comparison information input from the information identification unit 153. Specific examples of the comparison information generated by the comparison information generation unit 154 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a table showing specific examples of the comparison information generated by the comparison information generation unit 154.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 4, the comparison information has rows (columns) corresponding to multiple test items used in the diagnosis when a medical professional prescribes a drug. In the figure, test items A to N are shown as an example. In addition, the last row is a row corresponding to prescription conditions rather than test items. In the figure, as an example, the prescription conditions include the usage and dosage of the prescribed drug. In addition, columns (records) are provided corresponding to patient test values, evidence reference values, and multiple reference values. Corresponding information is stored in each field (cell) where a row and column intersect.
[0045] This comparative information allows a comparison between the reference standard values and the patient's test values, allowing the recipient (e.g., a pharmacist) to properly understand the perspective from which the medical professional (e.g., a doctor) made the diagnosis. Furthermore, such comparison information also shows other standard values for comparison in addition to the evidence standard value, so that the recipient can properly understand what values are used as standards for the other standard values and whether it would be more appropriate to adopt other standard values rather than the diagnostic standard value. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to more appropriately grasp information related to drug prescriptions.
[0046] Furthermore, such comparison information indicates whether the test value is within the reference range or outside the reference range for each of multiple reference values in a comparative manner. This allows for a more accurate understanding of which test values are within the reference range and considered normal, and which test values are outside the reference range and considered abnormal. Furthermore, this relationship between normality and abnormality can be more accurately understood not only for the underlying reference value, but also for other reference values. In particular, in this example, when a test value is outside the reference range, the background color of the corresponding field (cell) is made different from the background color of other fields (cells), making it easier to understand. In addition to this, similar effects can be achieved by changing the display mode of the corresponding field (cell) using other methods, such as changing the text size or color.
[0047] Furthermore, such comparison information indicates which of multiple reference values was used by a medical professional as the basis reference value when a drug was previously prescribed to a patient. For example, as shown as "history count" in the figure, it indicates how many times a reference value has been used as the basis reference value for that patient in the past. This allows for a more accurate understanding of whether the basis reference value for a current prescription matches the basis reference value for previous prescriptions.
[0048] Furthermore, such comparison information indicates, in a comparative manner, whether the prescribed drug satisfies the drug prescription conditions for each of a plurality of reference values. This allows for a more accurate understanding of whether or not the prescription conditions (here, dosage and administration) of a drug determined by the evidence standard value are met. Also, when other standard values are used as the basis, it allows for a more accurate understanding of whether or not the prescription conditions of a drug determined by other standard values are met. The comparison information generating unit 154 outputs the generated comparison information to the presenting unit 155 and also stores it in the comparison information DB 175.
[0049] The presentation unit 155 presents the comparison information input from the comparison information generation unit 154 to the presentation recipient. In this case, the presentation recipient is a pharmacist operating the medical support device 10. The presentation can be realized, for example, by displaying the comparison information in the table format shown in FIG. 4 on a display included in the output unit 816, by printing the comparison information on a paper medium or the like using a printer (not shown) connected to the communication unit 818, or by transmitting the comparison information to another terminal (not shown) and displaying the comparison information on this other terminal. When presenting the comparison information in this manner, the comparison information may be presented alone or as part of other information. For example, the comparison information may be presented as part of information included in an "instruction slip" issued to a pharmacist from a pharmacy computer that functions as a receipt computer. Here, the instruction slip is a document instructing the pharmacist to dispense medication.
[0050] In addition, if there are multiple drugs being prescribed this time, the information identification unit 153 identifies information for each of the multiple drugs, the comparison information generation unit 154 generates comparison information, and the presentation unit 155 presents the comparison information.
[0051] The recipient (here, a pharmacist) who refers to the comparison information presented in this manner can obtain various pieces of information indicated by the comparison information, as described with reference to FIG. 4. This allows the recipient to more appropriately understand information related to the drug prescription. For example, if the comparison information is presented as part of the information included in the prescription slip as described above, the pharmacist can perform prescription audits while taking into consideration the information obtained from the comparison information. This allows for more reliable detection of doubts about the prescription and for inquiries about the doubts to be made.
[0052] In such a situation, the comparison information is utilized, for example, as follows. Maximum dosages and contraindicated drug combinations differ depending on the society. Therefore, for example, if the standard values of society A are used, pharmacists can check whether they are within the maximum dosage range stipulated by society A and whether they are contraindicated by society A. For example, errors such as administering the maximum dosage stipulated by society B (a dosage higher than that stipulated by society A) can be discovered.
[0053] In addition, some academic societies have multiple standard values depending on gender and age. Therefore, for example, if the patient is a "female," it is possible to discover errors such as whether the standard value for "males" from Association A has been mistakenly adopted. Furthermore, while the reference values of Society A are outside the reference range for multiple test items, the reference values of Society B are outside the reference range for an even larger number of test items. Therefore, it is possible to discover doubts as to whether the reference values of Society B should be used for diagnosis rather than Society A in the first place.
[0054] Furthermore, if it is possible to refer to the patient's past medication history, it is possible to discover doubts such as whether the standard values of Society A have been used at the multiple hospitals the patient has visited up until now, but the new hospital where the prescription was received is using the standard values of Society B (a society related to a completely different disease from Society A), and whether this is correct.
[0055] In particular, whether a patient's test results are within the reference range or not is a "point" of data in the results of a single prescription, but as the number of prescriptions increases, the data becomes a "line" like a graph, allowing for inquiries about doubts from a broader perspective. For example, it becomes possible to consider which reference value was used as the basis for test results that were outside the reference range in the past. It is also possible to understand that the basis reference value is not consistent and is different each time. Furthermore, by printing this data on a print medium for the patient or sending it to the patient's device, it is possible to share information about past diagnostic history with the patient. In this way, by presenting comparative information, it is possible to support pharmacists in making inquiries about doubts from various perspectives.
[0056] The DB management unit 156 manages the synchronization of data in various databases managed by the pharmacy computer, the external server, and the hospital terminal with data in various databases provided in the medical support device 10. For example, the DB management unit 156 transmits updated data in the various databases managed by the medical support device 10 to the pharmacy computer, the external server, and the hospital terminal at a preset time (for example, 3:00 a.m., when the servers are not frequently used) or when the various databases are updated, and also receives updated data in the various databases in the pharmacy computer, the external server, and the hospital terminal from the pharmacy computer or the external server, thereby updating the various databases provided in the medical support device 10. As a result, the contents of the data in the various databases provided in the medical support device 10 are updated to the latest contents as appropriate.
[0057] In addition to synchronization with the pharmacy computer or the external server, the DB management unit 156 may also update the contents of the various databases by other methods. For example, the contents of the various databases may be updated in response to an input operation by a pharmacist or a data manager to the medical support device 10. Alternatively, the contents of the various databases may be updated based on data acquired via communication or the like from a computer other than the pharmacy computer or the external server, or data read from the removable media 831. Furthermore, when each functional block acquires or generates information in the comparison information presentation process, the DB management unit 156 may update the contents of the various databases based on this information.
[0058] [Operation] Next, the operation of the medical support device 10 in the medical support system 1 during the comparison information presentation process will be described.
[0059] [Operation of medical support device 10] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the comparison information presentation process executed by the medical support device 10. The comparison information presentation process in the medical support device 10 starts when the power of the medical support device 10 is turned on, and is repeatedly performed while the power is on. Note that, as a premise for the explanation, while the comparison information presentation process is being executed, the UI information generation unit 151 is constantly generating UI information and displaying a UI screen.
[0060] In step S11, the prescription information acquisition unit 152 determines whether or not new prescription details have been input to the medical support device 10. If new prescription details have been input, the determination in step S11 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if new prescription details have not been input, the determination in step S11 is No, and the process repeats the determination in step S11.
[0061] In step S12, the prescription information acquisition unit 152 acquires prescription information from the contents of the input prescription. In step S13, the information identifying unit 153 identifies information necessary to generate comparison information.
[0062] In step S14, the comparison information generating unit 154 generates comparison information based on information necessary for generating the comparison information. In step S15, the presentation unit 155 presents the generated comparison information to the person to whom the comparison information is to be presented. The presentation is realized, for example, by presenting the comparison information as part of the information included in the instruction sheet issued to the pharmacist as described above.
[0063] In step S16, the DB management unit 156 determines whether the pharmacist who referenced the comparison information made an inquiry about the drug. This determination can be made, for example, based on whether an instruction operation related to the inquiry about the drug has been received from the pharmacist. If the pharmacist made an inquiry about the drug, step S16 is determined as Yes, and the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if the pharmacist did not make an inquiry about the drug, step S16 is determined as No, and the process proceeds to step S17.
[0064] In step S17, the DB management unit 156 stores the content of the inquiry as history information in each DB. For example, the content of the inquiry is linked to prescription information in the prescription DB 172 and medication history information in the medication history DB 173, and stored as history information in each DB. Note that, to support the inquiry, the content of the inquiry by the pharmacist may be sent from the medical support device 10 to the hospital terminal by email, videophone, or the like.
[0065] In step S18, the DB management unit 156 stores the comparison information presented in this process in the comparison information DB 175. This ends this process for now. However, this process will be repeatedly performed again while the medical support device 10 is powered on.
[0066] By performing the comparison information presentation process described above, the medical support system 1 presents the comparison information, and the recipient who refers to this information can more appropriately understand the information regarding the drug prescription.
[0067] [Variations] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely illustrative and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take on various other embodiments and can undergo various modifications such as omissions and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In such cases, these embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention described in this specification, etc., and are also 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.
[0068] [Variation 1] In the above-described embodiment, as an example, when a pharmacist performs a prescription audit or the like, the medical support device 10 presents comparison information to the pharmacist. That is, real-time support for medical procedures such as prescription audits is realized. However, the presenting of comparison information may be performed at other times. For example, after a drug is dispensed to a patient, the presenting of comparison information may be performed when the patient takes the drug at home.
[0069] 6 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a medical support system 1a according to this modification. This medical support system 1a is basically the same as the medical support system 1 in the above-described embodiment, but differs in that it further includes a patient terminal 20.
[0070] The patient terminal 20 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC, smartphone, or tablet terminal owned by the patient. The patient terminal 20 also has the hardware configuration of an information processing device 800, similar to the medical support device 10. The patient terminal 20 is also capable of communicating with the medical support device 10 and the like via the network N.
[0071] In this modification, the patient terminal 20 presents the comparison information at any timing in response to the patient's operation. For example, the comparison information is presented when the patient takes a medicine at home. This allows the patient to check the comparison information and take the medicine appropriately even after receiving medication instructions from the pharmacist. In other words, it is possible to support the medical practice of medication instructions even at the patient's home.
[0072] [Functional configuration of patient terminal 20] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the patient terminal 20. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, in the CPU 811 of the patient terminal 20, a user interface display control unit (UI display control unit) 251, a comparison information acquisition unit 252, and a presentation unit 253 function.
[0073] As shown in FIG. 7, the storage unit 817 of the patient terminal 20 includes a user interface information storage unit (UI information storage unit) 271 and a comparison information storage unit 272.
[0074] Based on the UI information, the UI display control unit 251 controls the display of a UI screen in the comparison information presentation process in the patient terminal 20. For example, in the comparison information presentation process in the patient terminal 20, the UI display control unit 251 outputs and displays a screen including a display area for displaying various information such as a prescription and a patient's medication history, a display area for displaying icons for accepting various operations from the patient, and a display area for comparison information, on a display included in the output unit 816. In addition, the UI display control unit 251 outputs music, sound effects, voice, and the like from a speaker included in the output unit 816 together with these displays, as necessary.
[0075] In order to realize such a UI screen display, the UI display control unit 251 transmits an acquisition request for UI information, which includes information for identifying the patient, to the medical support device 10. Then, in response to the request, the UI display control unit 251 receives UI information suitable for the patient from the medical support device 10, thereby acquiring the UI information. The UI display control unit 251 also stores the acquired UI information in the UI information storage unit 271. Then, the UI display control unit 251 appropriately reads out the UI information stored in the UI information storage unit 271 to realize the display of the UI screen. That is, the UI information storage unit 271 functions as a storage unit that stores UI information. Furthermore, the UI display control unit 251 outputs various information input by the patient on the UI screen and the contents of operation instructions input by the patient to other functional blocks or transmits them to the medical support device 10.
[0076] The comparison information acquisition unit 252 acquires the comparison information. To do this, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 transmits an acquisition request including information for identifying the patient as a request for acquiring the comparison information to the medical support device 10. Then, in response to the request, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 receives from the medical support device 10 the comparison information that is generated based on the prescription prescribed for this patient and is suited to this patient. Furthermore, the comparison information acquisition section 252 stores the acquired comparison information in the comparison information storage section 272. That is, the comparison information storage section 272 functions as a storage section that acquires the comparison information.
[0077] The presentation unit 253 presents to the patient the comparison information stored in the comparison information storage unit 272. The presentation method is the same as that of the presentation unit 155 of the medical support device 10, and is realized by displaying the information on a display included in the output unit 816, printing it on a paper medium, or the like.
[0078] [Operation of patient terminal 20] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the comparison information presentation process executed by the patient terminal 20. The comparison information presentation process in the patient terminal 20 starts when the patient terminal 20 is powered on, and is repeatedly performed while the power is on. As a premise for the explanation, while the comparison information presentation process is being executed, the UI display control unit 251 constantly displays the UI screen. In this case, the UI information for display may be obtained in advance from the medical support device 10 and stored in the UI information storage unit 271, or may be obtained in real time at the time of display.
[0079] In step S21, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 determines whether or not an acquisition instruction operation for comparison information has been received from a pharmacist. If an acquisition instruction operation has been received from a pharmacist, the determination in step S21 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if an acquisition instruction operation has not been received from a pharmacist, the determination in step S21 is No, and the process repeats the determination in step S21.
[0080] In step S22, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 transmits to the medical support device 10 an acquisition request for comparison information, the acquisition request including information for identifying the patient.
[0081] In step S23, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 acquires, in response to the acquisition request, comparison information suitable for this patient, which was generated based on the prescription prescribed for this patient, by receiving it from the medical support device 10.
[0082] In step S24, the comparison information acquisition unit 252 stores the acquired comparison information in the comparison information storage unit 272. In step S25, the presentation unit 253 presents the comparison information stored in the comparison information storage unit 272 to the user of the patient terminal 20. This completes the process.
[0083] This allows the user of the patient terminal 20, who is the recipient of the presented comparison information and who has referred to the presented comparison information, to more appropriately understand the information regarding the drug prescription, just like the pharmacist who uses the medical support device 10. Note that the user of the patient terminal 20 may be, for example, the patient himself / herself, his / her family, or a medical professional related to the patient (for example, a visiting caregiver). In other words, according to this modification, the comparison information can be shared among various parties.
[0084] [Variation 2] In the above-described embodiment, the comparison information is presented by including all other reference values stored in the reference value DB 174. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only some of the other reference values may be included in the comparison information for presentation. In this case, for example, other reference values for which a predetermined number or more test items have test values outside the reference range may be included in the comparison information. Conversely, other reference values for which the test values are not outside the reference range (or only a small number of them) may not be included in the comparison information, as they are not related to the suspected disease.
[0085] Alternatively, other reference values that have not been used as evidence reference values in the past (or have been used only a few times) may be deemed unrelated to the disease suspected to be present, and may not be included in the comparison information. Alternatively, other reference values to be included in the comparison information may be arbitrarily selected based on an operational instruction from a person to whom the information is presented, such as a pharmacist or a patient. According to this modified example, the other reference values to be included in the comparison information can be limited to those that are more relevant to the patient, making it easier for the recipient to refer to them.
[0086] [Configuration example] As described above, the medical support system 1 according to this embodiment includes the prescription information acquisition unit 152, the information identification unit 153, and the presentation units 155 and 253. In addition, there are multiple different reference values defined by multiple different subjects. In this case, the prescription information acquisition unit 152 acquires prescription information indicating the reference values that the medical professional who prescribed the medicine used as the basis for diagnosis and the patient's test results. The information identifying unit 153 identifies which of the multiple reference values is the reference value that is the basis for the diagnosis. The presenting units 155 and 253 present the reference value that was the basis of the diagnosis identified by the information identifying unit 153 and other reference values together with the test values so that the presentee can compare them.
[0087] In this way, the medical support system 1 presents the reference values that medical professionals (e.g., doctors) used as the basis for their diagnosis when prescribing medicines and the patient's test values in a manner that allows them to compare them. Therefore, the person receiving the information (e.g., a pharmacist) can properly understand the perspective from which the doctor made the diagnosis. Furthermore, medical professionals compare test values with standard values when making diagnoses, but standard values are not uniformly defined. For example, multiple standard values exist for different organizations, such as medical societies, and each standard value has a different value. Therefore, the medical support system 1 presents other standard values in addition to the standard value used as the basis for diagnosis, allowing for further comparison. Therefore, by referring to this, the person receiving the presentation can properly understand what values are used as the standard for the other standard values, and whether it would be better to adopt other standard values rather than the standard value used by the medical professional as the basis for diagnosis. Therefore, the medical support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to more appropriately grasp information related to drug prescriptions.
[0088] Reference values define the reference range associated with any disease. In this case, information identification unit 153 further identifies whether the test value is within the reference range or outside the reference range for each of the multiple reference values. The presenting units 155 and 253 also present the information further identified by the information identifying unit 153 so that it is possible to compare the information to which reference value it corresponds. This allows for a more accurate understanding of which test values are within the reference range and considered normal, and which test values are outside the reference range and considered abnormal.Furthermore, this relationship between normality and abnormality can be more accurately understood not only for the reference values that serve as the basis for diagnosis, but also for other reference values.
[0089] The information identifying unit 153 further identifies which of the multiple reference values was the reference value that the medical professional used as the basis for diagnosis when the drug was prescribed to the patient in the past. The presenting units 155 and 253 also present the information further identified by the information identifying unit 153 so that it is possible to compare the information to which reference value it corresponds. This makes it possible to more appropriately determine whether the reference values used as the basis for diagnosis in the current prescription match the reference values used as the basis for diagnosis in prescriptions given in the past.
[0090] The prescription conditions for drugs are determined based on the standard values. In this case, the information identifying unit 153 further identifies whether the prescribed medicine satisfies the prescription conditions for the medicine for each of the plurality of reference values. The presenting units 155 and 253 also present the information further identified by the information identifying unit 153 so that it is possible to compare the information to which reference value it corresponds. This makes it possible to more appropriately determine whether or not the prescription conditions (e.g., dosage, administration contraindications) of the drug determined by the reference values used as the basis for the diagnosis are met. Also, when other reference values are used as the basis, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether or not the prescription conditions of the drug determined by the other reference values are met.
[0091] When a medical worker other than the medical worker intends to execute a medicine prescription based on the prescription information, the presenting unit 155, 253 presents the other medical worker as a person to whom the prescription is to be presented. This allows pharmacists to utilize information more appropriately grasped by the medical support system 1 when performing prescription audits, etc.
[0092] When a drug is dispensed to a patient based on a prescription, the presenting unit 155, 253 presents the patient as a presented person. This allows the patient to utilize information more appropriately grasped by the medical support system 1 in situations such as when actually taking medication.
[0093] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and any modifications and improvements that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where prescription audits by pharmacists are supported is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the objects to be supported in the present invention include various types of medical information.
[0094] The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. In other words, the functional configurations in the above-described 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-described series of processes as a whole, and the functional blocks used to realize this function are 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 thereof.
[0095] Furthermore, the recording medium containing the program for executing the above-mentioned series of processes may be configured not only as a removable medium distributed separately from the device main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also as a recording medium provided to the user in a state where it is pre-installed in the device main body.
[0096] Furthermore, the effects described in the above-described embodiments are merely a list of the most favorable 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]
[0097] 1, 1a medical support system, 10 medical support device, 20 patient terminal, N network, 151 user interface information generation unit (UI information generation unit), 152 prescription information acquisition unit, 153 information identification unit, 154 comparison information generation unit, 155 presentation unit, 156 database management unit (DB management unit), 171 patient attribute database (patient attribute DB), 172 prescription database (prescription DB), 173 medication history database (medication history DB), 174 reference value database (reference value DB), 175 comparison information database (comparison information DB), 251 user interface display control unit (UI display control unit), 252 comparison information acquisition unit, 253 presentation unit, 271 user interface display storage unit (UI information storage unit), 272 comparison information storage unit, 800 information processing device, 811 CPU, 812 ROM, 813 RAM, 814 bus, 815 Input unit, 816 output unit, 817 storage unit, 818 communication unit, 819 drive, 831 removable media
Claims
1. When there are multiple different reference values defined by multiple different entities, A means for obtaining prescription information that shows the reference values used as the basis for diagnosis by the healthcare professional who prescribed the medication, and the prescribed medication, A storage means for storing as a history which of the multiple different reference values the reference value used as the basis for the aforementioned diagnosis is, Based on the history stored in the memory means, when the same drug was prescribed to the same patient in the past, the presentation means identifies the number of times the healthcare professional used each of the multiple different reference values as the basis for diagnosis, and presents to the recipient the identified number of times corresponding to each of the multiple reference values in a comparative manner. A medical support system characterized by having the following features.
2. The presentation means makes the presentation to a healthcare professional other than the healthcare professional who prescribed the prescription information, when that professional intends to prescribe a drug based on the prescription information, designating the other healthcare professional as the recipient of the presentation. The medical support system according to feature 1.
3. The presentation means, when a drug is dispensed to the patient based on the prescription information, makes the presentation with the patient as the recipient of the presentation. The medical support system according to feature 1.
4. A medical support method performed by a computer, When there are multiple different standard values defined by multiple different entities, A prescription information acquisition step involves obtaining prescription information that shows the reference values used by the healthcare professional who prescribed the medication as the basis for the diagnosis, and the prescribed medication. A storage step that stores as a history which of the multiple different reference values the reference value used as the basis for the diagnosis is, A presentation step in which, based on the history stored in the memory step, the number of times the same drug was prescribed to the same patient in the past, the number of times the healthcare professional used each of the multiple different reference values as the basis for diagnosis, and the number of times each of the identified multiple reference values is compared with the recipient, A medical support method characterized by comprising the following features.
5. When there are multiple different reference values defined by multiple different entities, A prescription information acquisition function that obtains prescription information showing the reference values used by the healthcare professional who prescribed the medication as the basis for the diagnosis, and the prescribed medication. A memory function that stores as a history which of the multiple different reference values the reference value used as the basis for the aforementioned diagnosis corresponds to, Based on the history stored by the memory function, the presentation function identifies the number of times the healthcare professional used each of the multiple different reference values as the basis for diagnosis when the same drug was prescribed to the same patient in the past, and presents these identified reference values to the recipient in a comparative manner. A medical support program characterized by enabling computers to implement the following.