Patient support apparatus

Abstract

To provide guidance to a hospital and a doctor suitable for a patient in accordance with symptoms reported by the patient, and to provide an approximate time required until a medical consultation.SOLUTION: A patient support apparatus includes: symptom reception means that receives symptom report information and position information relating to one patient; provisional medical examination information extraction means that extracts provisional medical examination information associated with the symptom report information; medical consultation form extraction means that extracts medical consultation form information associated with the provisional medical examination information; hospital requirement extraction means that extracts facility information and specialization information associated with the provisional medical examination information; hospital extraction means that extracts hospital information satisfying the medical consultation form information, the facility information, and the specialization information; required time specification means that specifies a travel time for one patient to travel to each hospital on the basis of the position information and location information included in the extracted hospital information, and specifies a required medical examination start time being an approximate time until a medical examination is received at each hospital on the basis of the specified travel time; and hospital information provision means that provides the specified required medical examination start time for each hospital.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This technology provides information about hospitals and doctors that patients should visit based on their symptoms. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) has brought about revolutionary changes in the medical field, which have the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of medical care and add a new dimension to patient care.

[0003] Against this background, Patent Document 1 proposes a technology that estimates the injury or illness of an injured person, identifies medical institutions that can treat that injury or illness, and displays the identified medical institutions on an ambulance crew terminal as candidates for medical institutions to which the patient should be transported. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-021179 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above-mentioned conventional technologies have the problem that they cannot provide information that patients need when searching for a medical institution on their own, such as which hospital or doctor they should turn to (whether they should be examined), and how long it will take to be examined.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a patient support device that guides patients to the most suitable hospitals and doctors based on their reported symptoms, and also provides an estimate of the time required for them to be seen by a doctor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One embodiment of the patient support device to be disclosed includes provisional examination information storage means for storing, in association with each other, symptom declaration information, which is information about a patient's symptoms, and provisional examination information, which is information about the patient's predicted injury or illness based on the symptom declaration information; examination form storage means for storing, in association with each other, the provisional examination information and examination form information, which is information specifying the form in which the patient will visit a medical institution; provision requirement storage means for storing, in association with each other, the provisional examination information, information about facilities that a hospital that examines a patient to which the provisional examination information applies should have, and information about expertise that a doctor that examines a patient to which the provisional examination information applies; individual hospital information storage means for storing, in association with each other, hospital information including location information, the examination form information that can be provided by a hospital identified by the hospital information, information about facilities that the hospital identified by the hospital information has, and information about expertise of a doctor that belongs to the hospital identified by the hospital information; symptom reception means for receiving the symptom declaration information about one patient and location information of the one patient; a hospital requirement extraction means for extracting the facility information and the expertise information associated with the extracted provisional examination information from the provision requirement storage means; a hospital extraction means for extracting the hospital information that satisfies the extracted facility information, the expertise information, and the examination style information from the hospital individual information storage means; a required time specification means for specifying a travel time for the patient to travel to each hospital identified in the extracted hospital information based on the received position information and the location information included in the extracted hospital information, and specifying a required time for examination start that is an estimate of the time it will take for the patient to receive an examination at each hospital based on the specified travel time; and a hospital information provision means for providing the specified required time for examination start for each hospital to present to the patient. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The disclosed patient support device guides patients to the hospitals and doctors most suitable for them based on their reported symptoms, and also provides an estimate of the time required for them to be seen by a doctor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a patient support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram of a patient support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a provisional examination information storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a medical examination form storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a provision requirement storage unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hospital individual information storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hospital individual information storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hospital individual information storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hospital individual information storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a waiting time reference storage means according to the present embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a patient support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for notifying a patient of the required time to start an examination, performed by the patient support device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a waiting time calculation process performed by the patient support device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Operation principle of the patient support device according to this embodiment)

[0011] The operating principle of a patient support device 100 according to this embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as "the device") will be described using Figures 1 to 10. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the connection relationship between the device 100 and other devices, and Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the device 100.

[0012] 1, the device 100 is connected via a communication network 440 to a patient terminal 430 operated by a patient 420 who complains of symptoms, a medical institution terminal 450 managed by a medical institution, and other external systems 460. The communication network 440 may be either wireless or wired. The patient terminal 430, the medical institution terminal 450, and the external system 460 may be in any form as long as they are a portable mobile terminal, a personal computer, a server device, or any other computer.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, the device 100 includes a provisional examination information storage means 110, a consultation type storage means 120, a provision requirement storage means 130, an individual hospital information storage means 140, a waiting time standard storage means 150, a symptom reception means 160, a provisional examination information extraction means 170, a consultation type extraction means 180, a hospital requirement extraction means 190, a hospital extraction means 200, a number of people waiting for examination reception means 210, a waiting time calculation means 220, a required time determination means 230, and a hospital information provision means 240.

[0014] In addition, the present device 100 may adopt a form in which it is connected to one or more of the provisional examination information storage means 110, consultation type storage means 120, provision requirement storage means 130, individual hospital information storage means 140, and waiting time standard storage means 150 via a communication network 440, without being equipped with these.

[0015] The provisional examination information storage means 110 stores symptom declaration information 310, which is information about symptoms declared by a patient 420, and provisional examination information 320, which is information about an injury or illness of the patient 420 predicted based on the symptom declaration information 310, in association with each other.

[0016] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the provisional examination information storage means 110. As shown in Fig. 3, in the provisional examination information storage means 110, the symptom reporting information 310 is information about symptoms reported by the patient 420, such as (reported symptom information-site, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...). In the provisional examination information storage means 110, the provisional examination information 320 is information about the predicted injury or illness of the patient 420, such as respiratory 1, trauma 1, for example.

[0017] In the provisional examination information storage means 110, for example, symptom declaration information 310 such as (reported symptom information-area, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...) is stored in association with provisional examination information 320 such as respiratory system 1. The consultation type storage means 120 stores the provisional examination information 320 in association with consultation type information 330, which is information specifying the type of consultation the patient 420 will have at the medical institution.

[0018] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the consultation type storage means 120. As shown in Fig. 4, in the consultation type storage means 120, for example, consultation type information 330: outpatient treatment, house call, and online consultation are each stored in association with provisional consultation information 320: respiratory system 1. This means that consultation type information 330: outpatient treatment, house call, and online consultation are each stored as being permitted for provisional consultation information 320: respiratory system 1.

[0019] In addition, in the consultation type storage means 120, for example, the provisional examination information 320: trauma X is associated with the consultation type information 330: outpatient visit and house call, respectively, and this stores that the consultation type information 330: outpatient treatment and house call are each allowed for the provisional examination information 320: trauma X.

[0020] The provision requirement storage means 130 stores provisional examination information 320, equipment information 340 that a hospital that examines a patient 420 to which the provisional examination information 320 applies must have, and expertise information 350 that a doctor that examines a patient 420 to which the provisional examination information 320 applies must have in association with each other.

[0021] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the provision requirement storage means 130. As shown in Fig. 5, the provision requirement storage means 130 stores, for example, "equipment X" as equipment information 340 that should be provided by a hospital and doctor who examines a patient 420 corresponding to provisional examination information 320: gastrointestinal surgery 1, and information such as "gastrointestinal surgery specialist" and "specialty disease - stomach" as specialty information 350. Also, the provision requirement storage means 130 stores, for example, "NULL" as equipment information 340 and specialty information 350 that should be provided by a hospital and doctor who examines a patient 420 corresponding to provisional examination information 320: respiratory system 1.

[0022] The individual hospital information storage means 140 stores, in association with each other, hospital information 360 including location information, consultation type information 330 that can be provided by the hospital identified by the hospital information 360, equipment information 340 equipped at the hospital identified by the hospital information 360, expertise information 350 of doctors affiliated with the hospital identified by the hospital information 360, service provision time information 400 indicating the time periods during which the equipment equipped at the hospital identified by the hospital information 360 and the doctors affiliated with the hospital identified by the hospital information are available to work, and waiting time information 410, which is information that indicates the time it will take to receive medical treatment at the hospital identified by the hospital information 360.

[0023] The service provision time information 400 is information that includes information on whether doctors and equipment belonging to the hospital identified in the hospital information 360 are available and available at that time. The service provision time information 400 may also be information that excludes (in real time) the time when a doctor is treating another patient or when equipment is in use.

[0024] 6 to 10 are diagrams showing an example of the individual hospital information storage means 140. As shown in Figs. 6 and 8, in the individual hospital information storage means 140, for example, hospital information 360: A Hospital, Digestive Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery includes location information such as XX 1-1-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.

[0025] 6, for example, hospital information 360: Hospital A, Cardiovascular Surgery Department stores information 330: information indicating that outpatient care is provided. Also, for example, hospital information 360: Clinic D, Internal Medicine Department stores information 330: information indicating that online medical care is provided, and hospital information 360: Clinic C, Internal Medicine Department stores information 330: information indicating that house calls are provided.

[0026] 6, in the individual hospital information storage means 140, for example, hospital information 360: A Hospital, Digestive Surgery is stored with information indicating that the hospital information 360: A Hospital, Digestive Surgery is equipped with equipment information 340: Equipment X, Equipment Y, and Equipment Z. On the other hand, also as shown in FIG. 6, in the individual hospital information storage means 140, for example, hospital information 360: A Hospital, Cardiovascular Surgery is stored with information indicating that the hospital information 360: A Hospital, Cardiovascular Surgery does not have any particular equipment.

[0027] 7, for example, hospital information 360: Hospital A, gastrointestinal surgery, doctor A101 stores information indicating the specialty information 350: neurosurgery specialist in the individual hospital information storage means 140. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, hospital information 360: Hospital A, gastrointestinal surgery, doctor A102 stores information indicating the specialty information 350: gastrointestinal surgery specialist, specialized disease: stomach in the individual hospital information storage means 140.

[0028] 6, the individual hospital information storage means 140 stores, for example, information indicating that the service provision time information 400 of the hospital information 360: Hospital A, Department of Gastroenterology is from 9:00 to 17:00. Also, the individual hospital information storage means 140 stores, for example, information indicating that the service provision time information 400 of the hospital information 360: Clinic C, Department of Internal Medicine is from 10:00 to 21:00. Note that, as shown in FIG. 9, the individual hospital information storage means 140 may store, for example, information indicating that the service provision time information 400 of the hospital information 360: Hospital A, Department of Gastroenterology, Doctors A101 and A102 is currently available.

[0029] As shown in Figure 8, the hospital individual information storage means 140 stores, for example, information such as "Number of patients waiting to be seen: 3" as waiting time information 410 for hospital information 360: C Clinic / Internal Medicine, and "Number of patients waiting to be seen: 0" as waiting time information 410 for hospital information 360: D Clinic / Internal Medicine.

[0030] The waiting time standard storage means 150 stores an estimate of the waiting time per patient waiting to be examined for each piece of hospital information 360. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the waiting time standard storage means 150. As shown in Fig. 10, the waiting time standard storage means 150 stores, for example, information that the estimated waiting time for hospital information 360: Hospital A, Gastroenterological Surgery is 10 minutes / person, and information that the estimated waiting time for hospital information 360: Hospital A, Cardiovascular Surgery is 15 minutes / person.

[0031] The symptom receiving means 160 receives symptom declaration information 310 related to one patient 420, location information 370 of one patient 420, and a desired examination date and time that is the date and time at which the one patient 420 wishes to be examined. The symptom receiving means 160 may be configured to obtain the above information from a patient terminal 430 operated by one patient 420, or may be configured to obtain the information from another terminal. Furthermore, the symptom receiving means 160 may be configured to obtain the above information from a plurality of terminals.

[0032] 3, the symptom receiving means 160 receives symptom reporting information 310 about one patient 420, such as (reported symptom information-region, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...). This allows the physical condition of one patient 420 to be known.

[0033] The provisional examination information extraction means 170 extracts provisional examination information 320 associated with the symptom report information 310 received by the symptom receiving means 160 from the provisional examination information storage means 110. As shown in Fig. 3, for example, for the received symptom report information 310 of (reported symptom information-region, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...), the provisional examination information extraction means 170 extracts provisional examination information 320 called "respiratory system 1." This makes it possible to identify the injury or illness of the patient 420, albeit provisionally.

[0034] The consultation type extraction means 180 extracts consultation type information 330 associated with the provisional examination information 320 extracted by the provisional examination information extraction means 170 from the consultation type storage means 120. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, when the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory system 1", the consultation type extraction means 180 extracts information such as "outpatient consultation available", "house call available", and "online medical treatment available" as the consultation type information 330. This makes it possible to identify a consultation type that is appropriate for the illness or injury of the patient 420.

[0035] The hospital requirement extraction means 190 extracts, from the provision requirement storage means 130, equipment information 340 and expertise information 350 associated with the provisional examination information 320 extracted by the provisional examination information extraction means 170. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, when the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," the hospital requirement extraction means 190 extracts information such as "Equipment X required," "Gastrointestinal surgery specialist required," and "Specialized disease: Stomach required" as the equipment information 340 and expertise information 350. This makes it possible to identify the conditions that a hospital and doctor must meet to be suitable for the illness or injury of the patient 420.

[0036] The hospital extraction means 200 extracts from the hospital individual information storage means 140 hospital information 360 that satisfies the consultation type information 330 extracted by the consultation type extraction means 180, the facility information 340 extracted by the hospital requirement extraction means 190, and the expertise information 350.

[0037] 6 to 9, for example, when the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory 1," the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "Hospital A: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor A101, Doctor A102," "Hospital A: Cardiovascular Surgery: Doctor A201," "Hospital B: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor B101," "Clinic C: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101," and "Clinic D: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101" as hospital information 360. When the provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory 1," there are few requirements for the equipment information 340 and the specialty information 350, so a lot of hospital information 360 is extracted.

[0038] On the other hand, for example, if the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "Hospital A: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor A102" as hospital information 360. When the provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," there are many requirements for the equipment information 340 and the specialty information 350, so the amount of hospital information 360 extracted is small. This makes it possible to extract hospitals and doctors that are suitable for the injury or illness of the patient 420.

[0039] Furthermore, the hospital extraction means 200 may be configured to extract, from the individual hospital information storage means 140, hospital information 360 in which the time of processing by the hospital extraction means 200 (current time) is included in the service provision time information 400. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the current time is 6:00 p.m., the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "C Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101" and "D Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101." This makes it possible to extract hospitals and doctors that are suitable for the patient 420 in real time.

[0040] Furthermore, the hospital extraction means 200 extracts, from the individual hospital information storage means 140, hospital information 360 whose service provision time information 400 includes the desired consultation date and time 380 accepted by the symptom acceptance means 160. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, if the desired consultation date and time 380 is 6:00 p.m., the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "C Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101" and "D Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101." This makes it possible to extract the most suitable hospital and doctor to suit the patient's 420's schedule.

[0041] The waiting patient number receiving means 210 receives the number of patients waiting to be examined from each hospital and department identified by the hospital information 360. This allows the user to know the congestion status of each hospital and the waiting time until an examination.

[0042] The waiting time calculation means 220 calculates waiting time information 410 by multiplying the number of patients waiting to be examined, accepted by the waiting number acceptance means 210, by the estimated waiting time stored in the waiting time standard storage means 150, for each hospital information 360. This allows the user to know the congestion status of each hospital and the waiting time until an examination.

[0043] The required time specification means 230 specifies the travel time required for one patient 420 to travel to each hospital identified in the hospital information 360 based on the location information 370 received by the symptom reception means 160 and the location information included in the hospital information 360 extracted by the hospital extraction means 200, and specifies the required time to start examination 390, which is an estimate of the time it will take for one patient 420 to receive examination at each hospital, based on the specified travel time.

[0044] The required time determination means 230 may extract waiting time information 410 associated with the hospital information 360 extracted by the hospital extraction means 200 from the individual hospital information storage means 140, and may add up the extracted waiting time information 410 and the above-mentioned specified travel time to determine the required time 390 to start the consultation.

[0045] The required time specifying means 230 may specify the travel time by using a processing result of an external system 460 based on the location information received by the symptom receiving means 160 and the location information included in the hospital information 360 extracted by the hospital extraction means 200. The external system 460 is assumed to be, for example, an external route search engine. By these processes, it is possible to identify and calculate the estimated time required for the patient 420 to receive medical treatment at each hospital.

[0046] The hospital information providing means 240 provides the required time to start examination 390 identified by the required time identifying means 230 for each hospital identified in the hospital information 360 extracted by the hospital extracting means 200 to present to one patient 420. The hospital information providing means 240 may be configured to notify a patient terminal 430 operated by one patient 420 of the required time to start examination 390.

[0047] Based on the above-described operating principle, the device 100 guides the patient 420 to the hospital and doctor that are most suitable for the patient 420 in accordance with the symptoms reported by the patient 420, and also provides an estimate 390 of the time required until the patient can be seen. (Hardware configuration of the patient support device according to this embodiment)

[0048] An example of the hardware configuration of the present device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the present device 100. As shown in Fig. 11, the present device 100 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 510, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 520, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 530, an auxiliary storage device 540, a communication I / F 550, an input device 560, a display device 570, and a recording medium I / F 580.

[0049] CPU 510 is a device that executes programs stored in ROM 520, performs arithmetic processing on data loaded into RAM 530 in accordance with program instructions, and controls the entire device 100. ROM 520 stores programs and data to be executed by CPU 510. When CPU 510 executes a program stored in ROM 520, the programs and data to be executed are loaded into RAM 530, and RAM 530 temporarily holds the arithmetic data during the calculation.

[0050] The auxiliary storage device 540 is a device that stores the OS (Operating System), which is basic software, the application program according to this embodiment, and the like, together with related data. The auxiliary storage device 540 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory.

[0051] The communication I / F 550 is an interface for connecting to a communication network 440 such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, and for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices that provide communication functions.

[0052] The input device 560 is a device such as a keyboard for inputting data into the device 100. The display device (output device) 570 is a device formed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and functions as a user interface when the user uses the functions of the device 100 or when making various settings. The recording medium I / F 580 is an interface for sending and receiving data to and from a recording medium 590 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or USB memory.

[0053] Each of the means included in device 100 may be realized by CPU 510 executing a program corresponding to each of the means stored in ROM 520 or auxiliary storage device 540. Each of the means included in device 100 may also be realized by hardware that performs the processing associated with the means. Alternatively, device 100 may be caused to execute the program by reading the program according to the present invention from an external server device via communication I / F 550 or by reading the program according to the present invention from recording medium 590 via recording medium I / F 580. (Example of processing by the patient support device according to this embodiment) (1) Notification of the required time for starting consultation

[0054] An example of the notification process of the required time to start the examination by the device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the example of the notification process of the required time to start the examination by the device 100.

[0055] In S10, the symptom receiving means 160 receives the symptom declaration information 310, location information 370, and desired consultation date and time for one patient 420. The symptom receiving means 160 may acquire the above information from a patient terminal 430 operated by one patient 420, or from another terminal. The symptom receiving means 160 may also acquire the above information from a plurality of terminals.

[0056] 3, the symptom receiving means 160 receives symptom reporting information 310 about one patient 420, such as (reported symptom information-region, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...). This allows the physical condition of one patient 420 to be known.

[0057] In S20, the provisional examination information extraction means 170 extracts provisional examination information 320 associated with the symptom report information 310 received in S10 from the provisional examination information storage means 110. As shown in Fig. 3, for example, in response to the received symptom report information 310 of (reported symptom information-region, reported symptom information-symptoms, ..., vital sign information-blood oxygen saturation, ...) = (chest, pain, ..., 95%, ...), the provisional examination information extraction means 170 extracts provisional examination information 320 called "respiratory system 1." This makes it possible to identify the illness or injury of the patient 420, albeit provisionally.

[0058] In S30, the consultation form extraction means 180 extracts consultation form information 330 associated with the provisional examination information 320 extracted in S20 from the consultation form storage means 120. As shown in Fig. 4, for example, when the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory system 1", the consultation form extraction means 180 extracts information such as "outpatient consultation available", "house call available", and "online medical treatment available" as the consultation form information 330. This makes it possible to identify a consultation form that is appropriate for the illness or injury of the patient 420.

[0059] In S40, the hospital requirement extraction means 190 extracts, from the provision requirement storage means 130, equipment information 340 and expertise information 350 associated with the provisional examination information 320 extracted in S20. As shown in Fig. 5, for example, if the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," the hospital requirement extraction means 190 extracts information such as "Equipment X required," "Gastrointestinal surgery specialist required," and "Specialized disease: Stomach required" as the equipment information 340 and expertise information 350. This makes it possible to identify the conditions that a hospital and doctor must meet to be suitable for the illness or injury of the patient 420.

[0060] In S50, the hospital extraction means 200 extracts, from the individual hospital information storage means 140, hospital information 360 that satisfies the consultation type information 330, facility information 340, and specialty information 350 extracted in S30 and S40.

[0061] 6 to 9, for example, when the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory 1," the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "Hospital A: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor A101, Doctor A102," "Hospital A: Cardiovascular Surgery: Doctor A201," "Hospital B: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor B101," "Clinic C: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101," and "Clinic D: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101" as hospital information 360. When the provisional examination information 320 is "Respiratory 1," there are few requirements for the equipment information 340 and the specialty information 350, so a lot of hospital information 360 is extracted.

[0062] On the other hand, for example, if the identified provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "Hospital A: Gastrointestinal Surgery: Doctor A102" as hospital information 360. When the provisional examination information 320 is "Gastrointestinal Surgery 1," there are many requirements for the equipment information 340 and the specialty information 350, so the amount of hospital information 360 extracted is small. This makes it possible to extract hospitals and doctors that are suitable for the injury or illness of the patient 420.

[0063] The hospital extraction means 200 may be configured to extract, from the individual hospital information storage means 140, hospital information 360 in which the time of processing by the hospital extraction means 200 (current time) is included in the service provision time information 400. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the current time is 6:00 p.m., the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "C Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101" and "D Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101." This makes it possible to extract hospitals and doctors that are suitable for the patient 420 in real time.

[0064] The hospital extraction means 200 may be configured to extract, from the individual hospital information storage means 140, hospital information 360 in which the desired consultation date and time 380 accepted by the symptom acceptance means 160 is included in the service provision time information 400. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, if the desired consultation date and time 380 is 6:00 p.m., the hospital extraction means 200 extracts "C Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor C101" and "D Clinic: Internal Medicine: Doctor D101." This makes it possible to extract the most suitable hospital and doctor to suit the patient's 420's schedule.

[0065] Furthermore, in S50, the required time specification means 230 specifies the travel time required for one patient 420 to travel to each hospital identified in the hospital information 360 based on the location information 370 received in S10 and the location information included in the hospital information 360 extracted in S50, and specifies the required time to start examination 390, which is an estimate of the time it will take for one patient 420 to receive examination at each hospital, based on the specified travel time.

[0066] The required time determination means 230 may extract waiting time information 410 associated with the hospital information 360 extracted in S50 from the hospital individual information storage means 140, and may add up the extracted waiting time information 410 and the above-mentioned determined travel time to determine the required time 390 to start the consultation.

[0067] The required time specifying means 230 may specify the travel time by using a processing result of an external system 460 based on the location information received in S10 and the location information included in the hospital information 360 extracted by the hospital extraction means 200. The external system 460 may be, for example, an external route search engine. By these processes, it is possible to identify and calculate the estimated time required for the patient 420 to receive medical treatment at each hospital.

[0068] In S60, the hospital information providing means 240 provides the required consultation start time 390 identified in S50 for each hospital identified in the hospital information 360 extracted in S50 to present to one patient 420. The hospital information providing means 240 may be configured to notify the required consultation start time 390 to a patient terminal 430 operated by one patient 420.

[0069] By performing the above-described processing, the device 100 guides the patient 420 to a hospital and doctor that is suitable for the patient 420 according to the symptoms reported by the patient 420, and also provides an estimate 390 of the time required until the patient can be seen. (2) Waiting time calculation process

[0070] An example of the waiting time calculation process performed by the device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of an example of the waiting time calculation process performed by the device 100.

[0071] In S110, the means 210 for receiving the number of patients waiting to be examined receives the number of patients waiting to be examined from each hospital and department identified in the hospital information 360. This allows the user to know the congestion status of each hospital and the waiting time until an examination.

[0072] In S120, the waiting time calculation means 220 calculates waiting time information 410 by multiplying the number of patients waiting to be examined, which was received in S110, by the estimated waiting time stored in the waiting time standard storage means 150, for each hospital information 360. This allows the user to know the congestion status of each hospital and the waiting time until an examination.

[0073] In S130, the waiting time calculation means 220 stores the waiting time information 410 calculated in S120 for each hospital information 360 in the individual hospital information storage means 140. This makes it possible to calculate and register the waiting time information 410 for each hospital information 360 to be used in the processing of the required time identification means 230 in S50.

[0074] By performing the above-described processing, the device 100 can generate information that serves as the basis for calculating the estimated time 390 required for the patient 420 to receive medical treatment.

[0075] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 100 Patient support equipment 110 Provisional medical examination information storage means 120 Consultation form storage means 130 Providing requirements storage means 140 Hospital individual information storage means 150 Waiting time reference storage means 160 Symptom Reception Method 170 Provisional medical examination information extraction means 180 Extraction method of consultation form 190 Hospital requirements extraction method 200 Hospital Extraction Method 210 Number of people waiting for medical treatment Reception method 220 Waiting time calculation method 230 Required time identification means 240 Hospital Information Provision Methods 310 Symptom Report Information 320 Provisional Examination Information 330 Consultation type information 340 Equipment information 350 Specialty Information 360 Hospital Information 370 Location information 380 Desired appointment date and time 390 Required time to start consultation 400 Service Hours Information 410 Waiting Time Information 420 patients 430 Patient Terminals 440 Communication Network 450 Medical Institution Terminals 460 External Systems 510 CPU 520 ROM 530 RAM 540 Auxiliary storage 550 Communication Interface 560 Input Device 570 Output Device 580 Recording Media Interface 590 Recording Media

Claims

1. a provisional examination information storage means for storing symptom report information, which is information about a patient's symptoms, and provisional examination information, which is information about a patient's predicted injury or illness based on the symptom report information, in association with each other; a medical examination form storage means for storing the provisional examination information and medical examination form information, which is information specifying the form in which a patient visits a medical institution, in association with each other; a provision requirement storage means for storing the provisional examination information, information on facilities that should be provided by a hospital that examines a patient to whom the provisional examination information applies, and information on expertise that should be provided by a doctor that examines a patient to whom the provisional examination information applies, in association with each other; an individual hospital information storage means for storing, in association with each other, hospital information including location information, the consultation type information that can be provided by the hospital identified by the hospital information, information on facilities provided by the hospital identified by the hospital information, and information on the expertise of doctors who belong to the hospital identified by the hospital information; a symptom receiving means for receiving the symptom report information related to one patient and location information of the one patient; a provisional examination information extracting means for extracting the provisional examination information associated with the received symptom report information from the provisional examination information storing means; a consultation type extraction means for extracting the consultation type information associated with the extracted provisional examination information from the consultation type storage means; a hospital requirement extraction means for extracting the facility information and the expertise information associated with the extracted provisional examination information from the provision requirement storage means; a hospital extraction means for extracting, from the individual hospital information storage means, the hospital information that satisfies the extracted consultation type information, the extracted facility information, and the extracted specialty information; a required time specifying means for specifying a travel time required for the patient to travel to each hospital identified in the extracted hospital information based on the received location information and the location information included in the extracted hospital information, and for specifying a required time for the patient to start medical examination, which is an estimate of the time it will take for the patient to receive medical examination at each hospital, based on the specified travel time; and a hospital information providing means for providing the identified required consultation start time for each of the hospitals to present to the one patient.

2. the hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with service provision time information indicating time periods during which the facilities of the hospital identified by the hospital information and the doctors belonging to the hospital identified by the hospital information are available to work; 2. The patient support device according to claim 1, wherein the hospital extraction means extracts, from the individual hospital information storage means, the hospital information whose processing time point by the hospital extraction means is included in the service provision time information.

3. the hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with service provision time information indicating time periods during which the facilities of the hospital identified by the hospital information and the doctors belonging to the hospital identified by the hospital information are available to work; the symptom receiving means receives a desired consultation date and time for the one patient; 2. The patient support device according to claim 1, wherein the hospital extraction means extracts, from the individual hospital information storage means, the hospital information in which the received desired consultation date and time is included in the service provision time information.

4. the hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with waiting time information, which is information that indicates the time until a patient can receive medical treatment at the hospital identified by the hospital information; The patient support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the required time specification means extracts the waiting time information associated with the extracted hospital information from the hospital individual information storage means, and specifies the required time to start the examination based on the extracted waiting time information and the specified travel time.

5. a waiting time standard storage means for storing an estimate of the waiting time per patient waiting for examination for each of the hospital information; a waiting patient number receiving means for receiving the number of patients waiting to be examined from each of the hospitals; 5. The patient support device according to claim 4, further comprising a waiting time calculation means for calculating the waiting time information for each of the hospital information based on the number of patients waiting to be examined and the estimated waiting time stored in the waiting time standard storage means.

6. 2. The patient support device according to claim 1, wherein the required time specification means specifies the travel time by using a processing result of an external system based on the received location information and the location information included in the extracted hospital information.

7. a provisional examination information storage means for storing symptom report information, which is information about a patient's symptoms, and provisional examination information, which is information about a patient's predicted injury or illness based on the symptom report information, in association with each other; a medical examination form storage means for storing the provisional examination information and medical examination form information, which is information specifying the form in which a patient visits a medical institution, in association with each other; a provision requirement storage means for storing the provisional examination information, information on facilities that should be provided by a hospital that examines a patient to whom the provisional examination information applies, and information on expertise that should be provided by a doctor that examines a patient to whom the provisional examination information applies, in association with each other; The method is carried out on a computer including: a hospital individual information storage means for storing, in association with each other, hospital information including location information, the consultation type information that can be provided by the hospital identified by the hospital information, information on facilities provided by the hospital identified by the hospital information, and information on the expertise of doctors who belong to the hospital identified by the hospital information, a symptom receiving means receiving the symptom report information related to one patient and location information of the one patient; A step in which a provisional examination information extracting means extracts the provisional examination information associated with the received symptom report information from the provisional examination information storage means; A step in which a consultation form extraction means extracts the consultation form information associated with the extracted provisional examination information from the consultation form storage means; A step in which a hospital requirement extraction means extracts the facility information and the expertise information associated with the extracted provisional examination information from the provision requirement storage means; a step in which a hospital extraction means extracts, from the individual hospital information storage means, the hospital information that satisfies the extracted consultation type information, the facility information, and the specialty information; a step in which a required time specifying means specifies a travel time required for the patient to travel to each hospital identified in the extracted hospital information based on the received location information and the location information included in the extracted hospital information, and specifies a required time for consultation start, which is an estimate of the time it will take for the patient to receive a consultation at each hospital, based on the specified travel time; and a step in which a hospital information providing means provides the identified required consultation start time for each of the hospitals for presentation to the one patient.

8. The hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with service provision time information indicating time periods during which the facilities of the hospital identified by the hospital information and the doctors belonging to the hospital identified by the hospital information are available to work, and 8. The patient support method according to claim 7, wherein the hospital extraction means extracts from the individual hospital information storage means the hospital information whose processing time point by the hospital extraction means is included in the service provision time information.

9. The hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with service provision time information indicating time periods during which the facilities of the hospital identified by the hospital information and the doctors belonging to the hospital identified by the hospital information are available to work, and the symptom receiving means receives a desired consultation date and time for the one patient; 8. The patient support method according to claim 7, wherein the hospital extraction means extracts from the individual hospital information storage means the hospital information in which the received desired consultation date and time is included in the service provision time information.

10. the hospital information storage means stores the hospital information in association with waiting time information, which is information that indicates the time until a patient can receive medical treatment at the hospital identified by the hospital information; The patient support method according to claim 7, characterized in that the required time specification means extracts the waiting time information associated with the extracted hospital information from the hospital individual information storage means, and specifies the required time to start the examination based on the extracted waiting time information and the specified travel time.

11. the computer further comprises a waiting time standard storage means for storing an estimate of a waiting time per patient waiting for examination for each of the hospital information; a step in which a waiting number receiving means receives the number of patients waiting to be examined from each of the hospitals; 11. The patient support method according to claim 10, further comprising a step in which a waiting time calculation means calculates the waiting time information for each of the hospital information based on the number of patients waiting to be examined and the estimated waiting time stored in the waiting time standard storage means.

12. The patient support method according to claim 7, characterized in that the required time specification means specifies the travel time by utilizing processing results of an external system based on the received location information and the location information included in the extracted hospital information.

13. A patient assistance program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.

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