Medicine delivery support system, medicine delivery support method, and medicine delivery support apparatus

Abstract

To enable a patient to receive the delivery of a prescribed medicine at a dispensing pharmacy desired by the patient as much as possible without performing troublesome operation by the patient as much as possible.SOLUTION: When an application for dispensing at one dispensing pharmacy specified by a patient is acquired, an application receiving unit 107 checks whether or not the one dispensing pharmacy has a stock of a medicine necessary for delivery of a prescribed medicine, and receives the application when it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy has the stock, and checks whether or not the medicine can be arranged in a stock at another dispensing pharmacy satisfying a predetermined condition in relation to the one dispensing pharmacy when it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy has no stock, and receives the application also when it is determined that the medicine can be arranged. Thus, the application is received not only when the medicine is in stock but also when it is not in stock in the one dispensing pharmacy to which the patient applies the dispensing, and the patient can receive the delivery of the prescribed medicine in the one dispensing pharmacy desired by the patient.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine delivery support system and a medicine delivery support method for supporting the delivery to patients of prescription drugs dispensed at a dispensing pharmacy based on a prescription at a medical institution, and a medicine delivery support device used in the system. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, patients who receive a prescription from a medical institution receive their prescription at an outside pharmacy. Specifically, the patient goes to a pharmacy, hands over the prescription they received from the medical institution, and requests that the medication be dispensed. Once the medication is dispensed, the patient receives medication instructions from a pharmacist, receives the prescribed medication, and pays for it. However, the pharmacy that the patient visits does not necessarily have the medications needed to dispense the prescription in stock. If the pharmacy they visit does not have the medication in stock, the patient must go to another pharmacy, which is extremely inconvenient.

[0003] There is also known a system that checks stock availability and displays a message when a prescription is received (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The dispensing pharmacy information providing device described in Patent Document 1 includes a dispensing pharmacy information storage means that stores location information and drug inventory information of dispensing pharmacies, an information processing means that identifies dispensing pharmacies that are located on a route from the patient's current location to their destination and that have the prescribed drug in stock, and a processing result transmission means that transmits to the patient's mobile terminal a processing result that shows the dispensing pharmacies identified by the information processing means together with the route on a map, allowing the patient to search for and select a dispensing pharmacy that has the prescribed drug in stock. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4934229 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, patients had to set a destination and search for a dispensing pharmacy, then check which pharmacy had the drug in stock and visit it, which was troublesome. Also, there are many cases where patients wish to receive their medicine at a dispensing pharmacy where their regular pharmacist is located or at their regular pharmacy, but even in that case, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, patients had to set a destination to check stock and search for a dispensing pharmacy, then check whether their regular pharmacist or regular pharmacy had the drug in stock, which was troublesome.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to enable patients to receive prescription drugs at their preferred pharmacy as much as possible, without having to perform any cumbersome operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, an application for dispensing at a dispensing pharmacy specified by the patient is acquired together with the prescription information recorded on the prescription, and based on the acquired prescription information and inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the dispensing pharmacy, it is confirmed whether the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription are in stock at the dispensing pharmacy. If it is determined that the medicines are in stock at the dispensing pharmacy, the application is accepted. However, if it is determined that the medicines are not in stock at the dispensing pharmacy, it is confirmed whether the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription can be procured from inventory at other dispensing pharmacies based on inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at other dispensing pharmacies that meet specified conditions in relation to the dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines can be procured from inventory at other dispensing pharmacies, the application is accepted. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention configured as described above, if the dispensing pharmacy specified and applied for by the patient has the drug in stock and can dispense the prescription drug, the application is accepted as is. On the other hand, even if the drug is not in stock at the dispensing pharmacy, the application is accepted if the drug can be procured from the inventory of another dispensing pharmacy that meets certain conditions in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy. This allows the patient to simply apply for dispensing at the dispensing pharmacy of their choice, and to receive the prescription drug from the dispensing pharmacy of their choice as much as possible, with as little cumbersome operations as possible for the patient. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a medicine delivery support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of a prescription acceptance machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a medicine delivery assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing another example of the functional configuration of the medicine delivery assistance device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medicine delivery support device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a medicine delivery support system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the medicine delivery support system of this embodiment is configured to include a prescription receiving machine 1, a dispensing reservation system 2, a patient terminal 3, a pharmacy terminal 4, and a medicine delivery support device 10. The prescription receiving machine 1, the dispensing reservation system 2, the patient terminal 3, the pharmacy terminal 4, and the medicine delivery support device 10 are connected via a communication network 100.

[0011] The communication network 100 may be, for example, the Internet and / or a mobile phone network, or part of it may be a LAN (Local Area Network), etc. For example, the prescription acceptance machine 1 and the pharmacy terminal 4 are installed inside a dispensing pharmacy and are connected by a LAN, etc. Furthermore, the dispensing reservation system 2, the patient terminal 3, and the medicine delivery support device 10 are installed outside the dispensing pharmacy and are connected to a wide area network such as the Internet and / or a mobile phone network.

[0012] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the prescription receiving machine 1. Note that Fig. 2 illustrates a state in which part of the housing is semi-transparent so that the internal configuration of the prescription receiving machine 1 can also be seen. As shown in Fig. 2, the prescription receiving machine 1 is equipped with a prescription insertion slot 11, a prescription collection box 12, a return slot 13, a touch panel display 14 (hereinafter simply referred to as the display 14), and a scanner 15. Furthermore, although not shown in Fig. 2, the prescription receiving machine 1 is equipped with a control computer inside the housing.

[0013] The prescription insertion slot 11 is equipped with an automatic paper feed mechanism, and when a patient inserts a prescription into the prescription insertion slot 11, the prescription is inserted from the prescription insertion slot 11 into the prescription acceptance machine 1. The patient visits a desired dispensing pharmacy that the patient has specified (corresponding to a "single dispensing pharmacy" in the claims) and applies for (requests) dispensing by inserting the prescription into the prescription insertion slot 11 of the prescription acceptance machine 1.

[0014] A prescription inserted through the prescription insertion slot 11 is transported to the return slot 13 via a transport path provided on the rear side of the display 14, where it stops temporarily. The return slot 13 can be rotated forward around the lower side as an axis, so that the prescription inserted through the prescription insertion slot 11 can be removed from the return slot 13 in cases such as when a prescription dispensing request is canceled.

[0015] While the prescription is being transported from the prescription insertion port 11 to the return port 13, the scanner 15 scans the prescription and generates a scanned image. The generated scanned image is transmitted to the medicine delivery support device 10. The medicine delivery support device 10 analyzes the scanned image of the prescription transmitted from the prescription receiving machine 1 and performs character recognition processing to generate prescription information. Note that the prescription receiving machine 1 may analyze the scanned image of the prescription to generate prescription information, and the prescription information may be transmitted from the prescription receiving machine 1 to the medicine delivery support device 10.

[0016] When the series of reception processes is completed through the patient's operation on the touch panel, the prescription that was temporarily stopped at return port 13 is transferred to and collected (stored) in prescription collection box 12. Prescription collection box 12 is a lockable drawer that can be pulled out by pharmacy staff at any time to retrieve the prescriptions stored inside.

[0017] 1 shows only one prescription receiving machine 1, but in reality there are multiple prescription receiving machines 1. That is, a prescription receiving machine 1 is installed in each of multiple dispensing pharmacies that use the medicine delivery support system of this embodiment.

[0018] The dispensing reservation system 2 accepts dispensing reservations sent from a patient terminal 3 used by a patient. The patient terminal 3 is configured, for example, as a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone. The patient can access the dispensing reservation system 2 using the function of a medicine notebook app installed on the patient terminal 3, identify a desired dispensing pharmacy (corresponding to "one dispensing pharmacy" in the claims), and apply (reserve) for dispensing.

[0019] When reserving dispensing by accessing the dispensing reservation system 2 from the patient terminal 3, the patient transmits a photographed image of the prescription together with desired visit date and time information to the dispensing reservation system 2. The dispensing reservation system 2 transmits the photographed image of the prescription and the desired visit date and time information transmitted from the patient terminal 3 to the medicine delivery support device 10. The medicine delivery support device 10 analyzes the photographed image of the prescription transmitted from the dispensing reservation system 2 and performs character recognition processing to generate prescription information.

[0020] 1 shows only one patient terminal 3, but in reality there are a plurality of patient terminals 3. That is, a patient terminal 3 is used for each of a plurality of patients who use the medicine delivery support system of this embodiment.

[0021] The pharmacy terminal 4 is configured by, for example, a personal computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. The pharmacy terminal 4 inputs inventory-related information for managing the inventory status of medicines according to operations by staff at the dispensing pharmacy, and transmits the information to the medicine delivery support device 10. The inventory-related information is, for example, information related to the receipt and delivery of medicines. In this case, the inventory quantity is basically managed as (number of receipts - number of deliveries). Information indicating the inventory quantity may be input from the pharmacy terminal 4 as the inventory-related information. Note that, instead of or in addition to the pharmacy terminal 4, inventory management may be automated using a medicine picking system or an automatic inventory system, and the automatically generated inventory-related information may be transmitted to the medicine delivery support device 10.

[0022] 1 shows only one pharmacy terminal 4, but in reality there are a plurality of pharmacy terminals 4. That is, a pharmacy terminal 4 is installed in each of a plurality of dispensing pharmacies that use the medicine delivery support system of this embodiment.

[0023] The medicine delivery support device 10 generates inventory information indicating the drug inventory status based on inventory-related information (drug inventory information or inventory quantity information) transmitted from the pharmacy terminal 4 or the automatic inventory system, and successively updates and stores the latest inventory information in an internal data storage device. The drug inventory information is information indicating the type and quantity of drugs in stock at each dispensing pharmacy. The term "drug" here refers to the individual pharmaceuticals used when dispensing prescription drugs based on a prescription.

[0024] The medicine delivery support device 10 is configured, for example, with a mainframe, an office computer, a workstation, or a personal computer. The medicine delivery support device 10 executes various processes, including accepting applications for dispensing, based on prescription information generated from a scanned image of a prescription supplied from the prescription acceptance machine 1 or a photographed image of a prescription supplied from the dispensing reservation system 2, and drug inventory information stored in the medicine delivery support device 10. Details of this process are described below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the medicine delivery support device 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the medicine delivery support device 10 of this embodiment includes, as functional components, a scanned image receiving unit 101, a captured image receiving unit 102, a prescription information generating unit 103, a pharmacy terminal transmitting unit 104, an inventory-related information acquiring unit 105, an inventory information recording unit 106, and an application accepting unit 107. The medicine delivery support device 10 of this embodiment also includes, as a storage medium, an inventory information storage unit 111.

[0026] The functional blocks 101 to 107 execute the following processes through the cooperation of hardware and software. For example, the processes of the functional blocks 101 to 107 are executed by the operation of a program stored in a storage medium such as RAM, ROM, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory under the control of a processor of a microcomputer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. In addition to the microcomputer, a DSP, etc. may also be included.

[0027] Although the example configuration in which the medicine delivery assistance device 10 includes the inventory information storage unit 111 is shown here, it may be provided outside the medicine delivery assistance device 10. For example, a data server may be connected to the communication network 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and the data server may include the inventory information storage unit 111.

[0028] The scanned image receiving unit 101 receives a scanned image of a prescription transmitted from the prescription acceptance machine 1. The captured image receiving unit 102 receives a captured image of a prescription transmitted from the dispensing reservation system 2. When the scanned image receiving unit 101 receives a scanned image of a prescription, the prescription information generating unit 103 analyzes the image and performs character recognition processing to generate prescription information. When the captured image receiving unit 102 receives a captured image of a prescription, the prescription information generating unit 103 analyzes the image and performs character recognition processing to generate prescription information.

[0029] The scanned image receiving unit 101, the captured image receiving unit 102, and the prescription information generating unit 103 correspond to the "application acquisition unit" in the claims. As described above, the scanned image of the prescription acquired by the prescription information generating unit 103 from the scanned image receiving unit 101 is generated when a patient visits one dispensing pharmacy (a desired dispensing pharmacy) and applies (requests) for dispensing by inserting the prescription into the prescription acceptance machine 1. The operations of the scanned image receiving unit 101 and the prescription information generating unit 103 in this case correspond to acquiring an application for dispensing at one dispensing pharmacy specified by the patient, together with the prescription information recorded on the prescription.

[0030] Furthermore, the photographed image of the prescription that the prescription information generating unit 103 acquires from the photographed image receiving unit 102 is generated when the patient specifies one dispensing pharmacy (desired dispensing pharmacy) and applies for (reserves) dispensing. In this case, the operations of the photographed image receiving unit 102 and the prescription information generating unit 103 also correspond to acquiring an application for dispensing at one dispensing pharmacy specified by the patient, together with the prescription information recorded on the prescription.

[0031] The prescription information generated by the prescription information generation unit 103 includes information that can identify the patient and information that indicates the prescription contents. The information that can identify the patient includes, for example, information such as the patient's name. The information that indicates the prescription contents includes, for example, information such as the prescribed drugs and the number of prescriptions (number of drugs and number of days). The prescription information generated by the prescription information generation unit 103 is supplied to the pharmacy terminal transmission unit 104 and the application reception unit 107.

[0032] The pharmacy terminal sending unit 104 sends the prescription information supplied from the prescription information generating unit 103 to the pharmacy terminal 4. The application receiving unit 107 determines which dispensing pharmacy's pharmacy terminal 4 the prescription information is sent to. The pharmacy terminal 4 displays the prescription information received from the medicine delivery support device 10 on its screen. This allows the staff at the dispensing pharmacy to understand the prescription contents by checking the screen display, dispense the medicine, and deliver the prescribed medicine to the patient. Note that the pharmacy terminal sending unit 104 may send the scanned image of the prescription received by the scanned image receiving unit 101 and the captured image of the prescription received by the captured image receiving unit 102 to the pharmacy terminal 4 instead of or in addition to the prescription information generated by the prescription information generating unit 103.

[0033] The inventory-related information acquisition unit 105 acquires drug inventory-related information from the pharmacy terminal 4. The inventory-related information transmitted from the pharmacy terminal 4 is accompanied by information identifying the dispensing pharmacy that transmitted the information. The inventory information recording unit 106 generates drug inventory information for each dispensing pharmacy based on the inventory-related information acquired by the inventory-related information acquisition unit 105 and records the information in the inventory information storage unit 111. That is, each time the inventory-related information acquisition unit 105 acquires drug inventory-related information from the pharmacy terminal 4, the inventory information recording unit 106 generates drug inventory information for the dispensing pharmacy and updates the inventory information stored in the inventory information storage unit 111.

[0034] The application acceptance unit 107 determines whether to accept the dispensing application acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103, and notifies the result of the decision to either the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2, and to the pharmacy terminal 4. This notification of the decision result includes information indicating the acceptance or cancellation of the application, and information indicating the dispensing pharmacy that accepted the application. Furthermore, the notification of the decision result sent to the pharmacy terminal 4 further includes information indicating the source of the medicine, as necessary.

[0035] When an application for dispensing is made through the prescription receiving machine 1, the application receiving unit 107 notifies the prescription receiving machine 1 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the determination result. The prescription receiving machine 1 displays the notification content on the display 14. On the other hand, when an application for dispensing is made through the dispensing reservation system 2, the application receiving unit 107 notifies the dispensing reservation system 2 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the determination result. In this case, the patient can check the notification content on a screen provided by the dispensing reservation system 2 through the medicine notebook app on the patient terminal 3.

[0036] Furthermore, the application acceptance unit 107 notifies the pharmacy terminal transmission unit 104 of information indicating the dispensing pharmacy that accepted the application. The pharmacy terminal transmission unit 104 transmits the prescription information generated by the prescription information generation unit 103 (instead of or in addition to this, the scanned image of the prescription received by the scanned image receiving unit 101 and the photographed image of the prescription received by the photographed image receiving unit 102) to the pharmacy terminal 4 of the notified dispensing pharmacy. Note that the pharmacy terminal transmission unit 104 may also notify the pharmacy terminal 4 of the determination result by the application acceptance unit 107 together with transmitting the prescription information.

[0037] The application receiving unit 107 basically accepts the application if it determines that there is stock of the medicines necessary to dispense the prescription medicine (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "prescription medicine stock"), and cancels the application if it determines that there is no stock of the prescription medicine. Here, "no stock of prescription medicine" means that at least one of the one or more medicines used to dispense the prescription medicine is out of stock, or that there is not enough quantity to dispense the prescription medicine for the number of doses or number of days specified in the prescription. When it is decided to cancel the application, the notification sent to the prescription receiving machine 1 and the dispensing reservation system 2 may include an explanation that stock is not available. Below, a detailed example of the processing by the application receiving unit 107 is described.

[0038] The application acceptance unit 107 checks whether the dispensing pharmacy has the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription in stock, based on the prescription information acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103 regarding an application for dispensing to the dispensing pharmacy and the inventory information indicating the inventory status of the medicines stored in the inventory information storage unit 111 regarding the dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines are in stock at the dispensing pharmacy, it accepts the application acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103.

[0039] On the other hand, if it is determined that the first dispensing pharmacy does not have the prescription drug in stock, the application receiving unit 107 checks whether the drug necessary for dispensing the prescription drug can be procured from the other dispensing pharmacy's inventory based on inventory information indicating the drug inventory status at other dispensing pharmacies that meet certain conditions in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy. If it is determined that the drug can be procured from the other dispensing pharmacy's inventory, the application for dispensing from the first dispensing pharmacy acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103 is accepted. In this case, the application receiving unit 107 notifies the pharmacy terminal 4 of the first dispensing pharmacy that has accepted the application of the dispensing pharmacy that has been determined as the drug procurement destination. Upon receiving this notification, the first dispensing pharmacy procures the drug necessary for dispensing the prescription drug from the inventory of the other dispensing pharmacy, dispenses the drug using the drug, and dispenses the prescription drug to the patient. The application receiving unit 107 may also notify the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy that has been determined as the drug procurement destination.

[0040] Here, other dispensing pharmacies that satisfy predetermined conditions in relation to a certain dispensing pharmacy can be, for example, dispensing pharmacies that are within a predetermined distance from the certain dispensing pharmacy. The reason for limiting the dispensing pharmacies to those within the predetermined distance is to ensure that the time required to arrange for pharmaceuticals falls within a predetermined time, thereby preventing patients from having to wait too long between applying for prescription and receiving the medicine.

[0041] For example, the medicine delivery support device 10 has an internal map database, and the application reception unit 107 uses the map database to search for other dispensing pharmacies that are within a predetermined distance from a given dispensing pharmacy. Then, based on the inventory information stored in the inventory information storage unit 111 for the searched other dispensing pharmacies, it is confirmed whether the other dispensing pharmacies have the prescribed drug in stock. If it is determined that the other dispensing pharmacies have the drug in stock, it is determined that the drug required for dispensing the prescribed drug can be procured from the inventory of the other dispensing pharmacies. The map database may be provided in an external data server or the like connected to the medicine delivery support device 10 via the communication network 100.

[0042] If this search finds multiple other dispensing pharmacies within a predetermined distance from the one dispensing pharmacy, the application receiving unit 107 checks the inventory at each of the multiple dispensing pharmacies. If multiple dispensing pharmacies are determined to have inventory, the application receiving unit 107 extracts the dispensing pharmacy that is closest to the one dispensing pharmacy and determines to arrange for the medicine based on the inventory at that pharmacy.

[0043] Before determining the dispensing pharmacy to which the drug will be delivered, the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy to which the drug will be delivered may be notified to confirm whether the drug can be dispensed (reduced into smaller portions), and if an acceptance reply is received from the pharmacy terminal 4, that dispensing pharmacy may be determined as the dispensing pharmacy to which the drug will be delivered. If acceptance is not received from the other dispensing pharmacy that is closest to a certain dispensing pharmacy, the next nearest dispensing pharmacy may be notified to confirm whether reducibility is possible. The same process may be repeated thereafter, and the dispensing pharmacy that has accepted the drug may be determined as the dispensing pharmacy to which the drug will be delivered.

[0044] Furthermore, other dispensing pharmacies that satisfy certain conditions in relation to a certain dispensing pharmacy may be dispensing pharmacies that belong to the same group as the certain dispensing pharmacy and are located within a certain distance from the certain dispensing pharmacy. The reason for further limiting the dispensing pharmacies to dispensing pharmacies in the same group as the certain dispensing pharmacy is that it is possible to shorten the time required to arrange for pharmaceuticals compared to arranging them using the inventory of a dispensing pharmacy outside the group, which may further shorten patient waiting times.

[0045] Therefore, the application receiving unit 107 may perform the following processing: That is, when it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy does not have the prescription drug in stock, the application receiving unit 107 checks whether the drug necessary for dispensing the prescription drug can be procured from the stock of a dispensing pharmacy that is in the same family as the one dispensing pharmacy and is located within a predetermined distance from the one dispensing pharmacy, and when it is determined that the drug can be procured from the stock of the same family dispensing pharmacy, the application receiving unit 107 accepts the application for dispensing to the one dispensing pharmacy acquired by the prescription information generating unit 103 and determines the same family dispensing pharmacy as the source from which the drug is procured.

[0046] On the other hand, if it is determined that the medicine cannot be procured from the stock of a related dispensing pharmacy, the application receiving unit 107 checks whether the medicine necessary for dispensing the prescription can be procured from the stock of a non-related dispensing pharmacy that is located within a specified distance from the first dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicine can be procured from the stock of a non-related dispensing pharmacy, it accepts the application for dispensing to the first dispensing pharmacy obtained by the prescription information generation unit 103 and determines the non-related dispensing pharmacy as the source from which the medicine will be procured.

[0047] Confirmation of dispensing pharmacies belonging to the same family and dispensing pharmacies not belonging to the same family within a predetermined distance from a single dispensing pharmacy can be performed in the same manner as searching the map database described above. In this example, the dispensing pharmacy information recorded in the map database includes information that makes it possible to identify whether a dispensing pharmacy is a dispensing pharmacy of the same family. Furthermore, processing when multiple dispensing pharmacies belonging to the same family within a predetermined distance from a single dispensing pharmacy are searched for, and processing for confirming whether subdivision is possible before deciding on a dispensing pharmacy to arrange for delivery, can also be performed in the same manner as described above.

[0048] When it is determined that the medicine required for dispensing the prescription drug can be procured from the inventory of a fellow dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 further determines whether or not the particular dispensing pharmacy will procure the medicine from the fellow dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicine will be procured, it may accept the application obtained by the prescription information generation unit 103 as an application to the particular dispensing pharmacy, while if it is determined that the medicine will not be procured, it may transfer the application obtained by the prescription information generation unit 103 to the fellow dispensing pharmacy.

[0049] For example, when it is determined that a pharmaceutical can be procured from the inventory of a related dispensing pharmacy, the application receiving unit 107 sends a notification to the pharmacy terminal 4 of the first dispensing pharmacy to notify the related dispensing pharmacy that has been determined as the procurement destination, and prompts the pharmacy to respond as to whether or not to procure the pharmaceutical from the related dispensing pharmacy. Then, when a response to the effect that the pharmaceutical will be procured is received from the pharmacy terminal 4, the first dispensing pharmacy decides to procure the pharmaceutical from the related dispensing pharmacy. On the other hand, when a response to the effect that the pharmaceutical will not be procured is received from the pharmacy terminal 4, the first dispensing pharmacy decides to transfer the dispensing application to the related dispensing pharmacy.

[0050] When it is decided to transfer the dispensing application to a dispensing pharmacy of the same family, the application acceptance unit 107 notifies the result of the decision to either the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2, and to the pharmacy terminal 4 of the one dispensing pharmacy and the dispensing pharmacy to which the dispensing application is to be transferred. The prescription acceptance machine 1 displays the notification content on the display 14. Furthermore, the dispensing reservation system 2 displays the notification content on the patient terminal 3 through the medicine notebook app of the patient terminal 3. Furthermore, the application acceptance unit 107 controls the pharmacy terminal transmission unit 104 to transmit the prescription information generated by the prescription information generation unit 103 (instead of or in addition to this, the scanned image of the prescription received by the scanned image receiving unit 101 or the photographed image of the prescription received by the photographed image receiving unit 102) to the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy to which the dispensing application is to be transferred.

[0051] Before deciding to transfer the dispensing order to a dispensing pharmacy belonging to the same family, the patient may be asked whether or not to consent to the transfer, and the transfer may be decided if consent is obtained. For example, the application acceptance unit 107 displays a confirmation screen on the display 14 of the prescription acceptance machine 1, or on the display of the patient terminal 3 via the dispensing reservation system 2, asking whether or not to consent to the transfer of the dispensing order to a dispensing pharmacy belonging to the same family. Then, when the patient operates the "Accept" button displayed on the confirmation screen, the decision is made to transfer the dispensing order to a dispensing pharmacy belonging to the same family. Here, if there are multiple dispensing pharmacies belonging to the same family that can procure pharmaceuticals within a specified distance of a particular dispensing pharmacy, these multiple dispensing pharmacies may be presented, allowing the patient to select the desired dispensing pharmacy and give their consent. On the other hand, when the patient operates the "Not Accept" button displayed on the confirmation screen, the process proceeds to confirm whether the pharmaceuticals can be procured from the inventory of a dispensing pharmacy not belonging to the same family.

[0052] If the patient agrees to the transfer of the dispensing application, the patient who applied for dispensing using the prescription acceptance machine 1 of one dispensing pharmacy will move from the one dispensing pharmacy to the dispensing pharmacy to which the prescription has been transferred and will receive the prescribed medicine. At the dispensing pharmacy to which the prescription has been transferred, the patient does not need to re-enter the prescription into the prescription acceptance machine 1. If the patient made a dispensing reservation by accessing the dispensing reservation system 2 from the patient terminal 3, the patient will move directly to the dispensing pharmacy to which the prescription has been transferred and will receive the prescribed medicine. The patient does not need to make a new dispensing reservation with the dispensing pharmacy to which the prescription has been transferred in the dispensing reservation system 2.

[0053] If the application reception unit 107 determines through the above processing that the one dispensing pharmacy does not have the medicines necessary to dispense the prescription medicines in stock and that the medicines cannot be procured from the stocks of other dispensing pharmacies (including dispensing pharmacies of the same or different family), it cancels the patient's application for dispensing and notifies either the prescription reception machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the one dispensing pharmacy where the application was made of the result of the decision.

[0054] As shown in Fig. 4, the system may further include a pharmacy search unit 108. When the application receiving unit 107 determines that one dispensing pharmacy does not have the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription in stock and that the medicines cannot be procured from the stock of another dispensing pharmacy, the pharmacy search unit 108 prompts the patient to input desired conditions, searches for dispensing pharmacies that meet the input desired conditions and have the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription in stock, and presents the search results to the patient. The desired conditions are conditions that can be searched using a map database, such as within a specified distance from the patient's home or workplace, or within a specified distance from a specified station of a specified transportation facility.

[0055] For example, the pharmacy search unit 108 displays an input screen for inputting desired conditions on the display 14 of the prescription receiving machine 1, or displays it on the display of the patient terminal 3 via the dispensing reservation system 2. The desired conditions input via the input screen are then acquired from the prescription receiving machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2, and a map database is used to search for dispensing pharmacies that meet the desired conditions. From the searched dispensing pharmacies, dispensing pharmacies that have stock of the medicines required for dispensing the prescription are extracted and displayed on the display 14 of the prescription receiving machine 1 or the display of the patient terminal 3. The patient selects the desired dispensing pharmacy from the displayed dispensing pharmacies and makes a new application for dispensing with the selected dispensing pharmacy.

[0056] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medicine delivery support device 10 according to this embodiment configured as described above. Fig. 5 shows an example of the operation of the scanned image receiving unit 101, the captured image receiving unit 102, the prescription information generating unit 103, and the application accepting unit 107, and omits the operations of the pharmacy terminal transmitting unit 104, the inventory-related information acquiring unit 105, and the inventory information recording unit 106. The operations of the inventory-related information acquiring unit 105 and the inventory information recording unit 106 are executed as needed, separately from the operations shown in Fig. 5.

[0057] First, either the scanned image receiving unit 101 or the captured image receiving unit 102 and the prescription information generating unit 103 acquire an application for dispensing at a dispensing pharmacy specified by the patient, together with prescription information recorded on the prescription (step S1). As described above, the medicine delivery support device 10 recognizes the application for dispensing by receiving a scanned image of the prescription by the scanned image receiving unit 101 or a captured image of the prescription by the captured image receiving unit 102, and acquires the prescription information by the prescription information generating unit 103.

[0058] When the prescription information generation unit 103 acquires prescription information regarding an application for dispensing to a certain dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 checks whether the certain dispensing pharmacy has in stock the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescribed medicine, based on the acquired prescription information and inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines stored in the inventory information storage unit 111 for the certain dispensing pharmacy (step S2).

[0059] Here, if it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy has the prescribed drug in stock, the application acceptance unit 107 accepts the application for dispensing to the one dispensing pharmacy acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103, and notifies either the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the one dispensing pharmacy of this fact (step S3). This ends the processing of the flowchart shown in Figure 5. In this case, the patient can receive the prescribed drug at the one dispensing pharmacy (desired dispensing pharmacy) that made the application for dispensing.

[0060] On the other hand, if it is determined that the first dispensing pharmacy does not have the prescribed drug in stock, the application receiving unit 107 checks whether the drug required for dispensing the prescription drug can be procured from the stock at a similar dispensing pharmacy, based on inventory information indicating the drug inventory status at other similar dispensing pharmacies that belong to the same group as the first dispensing pharmacy and are located within a specified distance from the first dispensing pharmacy (step S4).

[0061] If it is determined that the drug can be procured from the stock of the affiliated dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 further determines whether the first dispensing pharmacy will procure the drug from the affiliated dispensing pharmacy (step S5). If it is determined that the drug will be procured from the affiliated dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 accepts the application acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103 as an application for the first dispensing pharmacy (step S6). In this case, the application acceptance unit 107 notifies the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the first dispensing pharmacy of the determination result, notifies the pharmacy terminal 4 of the first dispensing pharmacy of the dispensing pharmacy that will receive the drug, and notifies the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy that the dispensing pharmacy has been determined as the drug procurement destination. This ends the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the patient can receive the prescribed drug at the first dispensing pharmacy that made the dispensing application (the desired dispensing pharmacy).

[0062] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 above that the medicine will not be procured from a related dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 displays a confirmation screen on the display 14 of the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the display of the patient terminal 3 asking whether or not to agree to transfer the dispensing application to a related dispensing pharmacy, and determines whether or not consent has been obtained from the patient to transfer the application (step S7).

[0063] If consent is obtained from the patient, the application acceptance unit 107 decides to transfer the application acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103 to a dispensing pharmacy of the same family, and notifies the result of the decision to either the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2, the dispensing pharmacy, and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy of the same family that has been decided as the transfer destination (step S8). This ends the processing of the flowchart shown in Figure 5.

[0064] In this case, the patient will receive the prescription drug from another dispensing pharmacy rather than the one where the dispensing application was made. Even in this case, the patient can receive the prescription drug from a dispensing pharmacy within a specified distance from the first dispensing pharmacy without having to make a new application for dispensing. Furthermore, by presenting multiple dispensing pharmacies and allowing the patient to select the desired dispensing pharmacy, the patient can choose the desired dispensing pharmacy from among the pharmacies that have the prescription drug in stock and receive the prescription drug.

[0065] If consent to transferring the application is not obtained from the patient in step S7 above, the application receiving unit 107 checks whether the medicines required for dispensing the prescription can be procured from the stock at a non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy, based on inventory information indicating the stock status of medicines at other dispensing pharmacies that are not in the same group as the first dispensing pharmacy and are located within a specified distance from the first dispensing pharmacy (step S9).

[0066] If it is determined that the drug can be procured from the stock at the non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy, the application acceptance unit 107 notifies the pharmacy terminal 4 of the non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy to confirm whether the drug can be provided (in smaller portions), and determines whether a reply of acceptance has been received from the pharmacy terminal 4 (step S10). If acceptance is obtained, the application acceptance unit 107 accepts the application acquired by the prescription information generation unit 103 as an application to the one dispensing pharmacy, specifying the non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy that has obtained the acceptance as the drug procurement destination (step S11). In this case, the application acceptance unit 107 notifies either the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the dispensing reservation system 2 and the pharmacy terminal 4 of the one dispensing pharmacy of the determination result, and notifies the pharmacy terminal 4 of the one dispensing pharmacy of the dispensing destination. This completes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the patient can receive the prescribed drug at the one dispensing pharmacy that made the dispensing application (the desired dispensing pharmacy).

[0067] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 above that the drug cannot be procured from the stock of the non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy, or if consent to subdivide the drug is not obtained from the non-affiliated dispensing pharmacy in step S10 above, the pharmacy search unit 108 displays a desired condition input screen containing a message indicating that the drug cannot be dispensed due to insufficient stock on the display 14 of the prescription acceptance machine 1 or the display of the patient terminal 3, and acquires the desired conditions entered through the input screen (step S12). The pharmacy search unit 108 then searches for dispensing pharmacies that meet the acquired desired conditions and have stock of the drug necessary for dispensing the prescription drug, and presents the search results to the patient (step S13). This ends the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5.

[0068] After the processing of step S4, similarly to step S10, it may be confirmed whether consent to subdivide the medicine has been obtained from the dispensing pharmacy of the same family, and if consent has been obtained, the processing may proceed to step S5, and if consent has not been obtained, the processing may proceed to step S9. In this case, in step S6, the application acceptance unit 107 does not need to notify the pharmacy terminal 4 of the dispensing pharmacy that it has been selected as the destination for dispensing the medicine.

[0069] Furthermore, if consent to the subdivision of a drug is obtained from a non-affiliated pharmacy in step S10, a dispensing pharmacy may determine whether or not to procure the drug from the non-affiliated pharmacy, as in step S5, and if it is determined that the drug will be procured, proceed to step S11 to accept the application, or if it is determined that the drug will not be procured, proceed to step S12 to present a dispensing pharmacy that meets the patient's desired conditions.

[0070] As explained in detail above, in the medicine delivery support system of this embodiment, when a patient applies for prescription delivery specifying a certain dispensing pharmacy, it is confirmed whether the certain dispensing pharmacy has the medicines necessary for delivery of the prescription in stock, and if it is determined that the certain dispensing pharmacy has the medicines in stock, the application is accepted. However, if it is determined that the certain dispensing pharmacy does not have the medicines in stock, it is confirmed whether the medicines necessary for delivery of the prescription can be procured from stock at another dispensing pharmacy that meets certain conditions in relation to the certain dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines can be procured, the application is accepted.

[0071] According to this embodiment, if the pharmacy to which the patient has applied for dispensing has the drug in stock and can dispense the prescription drug, the application is accepted as is. On the other hand, even if the drug is not in stock at the pharmacy, the application is accepted if the drug can be procured from the inventory of another pharmacy that meets certain conditions in relation to the first pharmacy. This allows the patient to simply apply for dispensing at the pharmacy of their choice, minimizing the patient's need for cumbersome operations and allowing the patient to receive the prescription drug from the pharmacy of their choice whenever possible.

[0072] In the above embodiment, an example of a configuration has been described in which the prescription receiving machine 1 has the function of accepting dispensing requests and the dispensing reservation system 2 has the function of accepting dispensing requests, but the configuration may have only one of the functions.

[0073] In the above embodiment, the dispensing reservation system 2 and the medicine delivery support device 10 are configured separately, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the dispensing reservation system 2 may be configured to have the functional configuration of the medicine delivery support device 10 shown in FIG. 3 or 4.

[0074] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of specific embodiments for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereby. In other words, the present invention can be carried out in various forms without departing from the gist or main characteristics thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 1 Prescription reception machine 2. Pharmacy reservation system 3 Patient terminal 4 Pharmacy terminals 10. Medicine delivery support device 101 Scanned image receiving unit (application acquisition unit) 102 Photographed image receiving unit (application acquisition unit) 103 Prescription information generation unit (application acquisition unit) 104 Pharmacy terminal transmitter 105 Inventory-related information acquisition unit 106 Inventory Information Recording Section 107 Application Reception Department 108 Pharmacy Search Department 111 Inventory information storage unit

Claims

1. an application acquisition unit that acquires an application for dispensing at one dispensing pharmacy specified by a patient together with prescription information recorded on the prescription; an application receiving unit that, based on the prescription information acquired by the application acquiring unit and inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the one dispensing pharmacy, confirms whether the one dispensing pharmacy has inventory of medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine, and if it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy has inventory, accepts the application acquired by the application acquiring unit; and, if it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy does not have inventory, confirms whether the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy based on inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the other dispensing pharmacy that satisfies a predetermined condition in relation to the one dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy, accepts the application acquired by the application acquiring unit; The other dispensing pharmacies that satisfy the predetermined conditions in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy are dispensing pharmacies that belong to the same group as the first dispensing pharmacy and are located within a predetermined distance from the first dispensing pharmacy. A medicine delivery support system characterized by:

2. The drug delivery support system of claim 1, wherein the application acceptance unit further determines whether the one dispensing pharmacy will procure the drug from the same dispensing pharmacy if it is determined that the drug necessary for the delivery of the prescription drug can be procured from the inventory of the same dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the drug will be procured, it accepts the application acquired by the application acquisition unit as an application for the one dispensing pharmacy, while if it is determined that the drug will not be procured, it transfers the application acquired by the application acquisition unit to the same dispensing pharmacy.

3. 3. The drug delivery support system according to claim 1, further comprising a pharmacy search unit that, when the application acceptance unit determines that the drug required for delivery of the prescription drug is not in stock at the one pharmacy and cannot be procured from the stock at the other pharmacy, prompts the patient to input desired conditions, searches for a dispensing pharmacy that meets the input desired conditions and has the drug required for delivery of the prescription drug in stock, and presents the search results to the patient.

4. A first step in which an application acquisition unit of the computer acquires an application for dispensing at a dispensing pharmacy specified by a patient along with prescription information recorded on the prescription; a second step in which an application acceptance unit of the computer confirms whether or not the first dispensing pharmacy has stock of the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine, based on the prescription information acquired by the application acquisition unit and inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the first dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the first dispensing pharmacy has stock, accepts the application acquired by the application acquisition unit; and if it is determined that the first dispensing pharmacy does not have stock, confirms whether or not the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy, based on inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the other dispensing pharmacy that satisfies a predetermined condition in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy, accepts the application acquired by the application acquisition unit; The other dispensing pharmacies that satisfy the predetermined conditions in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy are dispensing pharmacies that belong to the same group as the first dispensing pharmacy and are located within a predetermined distance from the first dispensing pharmacy. A medicine delivery support method characterized by:

5. an application acquisition unit that acquires an application for dispensing at one dispensing pharmacy specified by a patient together with prescription information recorded on the prescription; an application receiving unit that, based on the prescription information acquired by the application acquiring unit and inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the one dispensing pharmacy, confirms whether the one dispensing pharmacy has inventory of medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine, and if it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy has inventory, accepts the application acquired by the application acquiring unit; and, if it is determined that the one dispensing pharmacy does not have inventory, confirms whether the medicines necessary for dispensing the prescription medicine can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy based on inventory information indicating the inventory status of medicines at the other dispensing pharmacy that satisfies a predetermined condition in relation to the one dispensing pharmacy, and if it is determined that the medicines can be procured from inventory at the other dispensing pharmacy, accepts the application acquired by the application acquiring unit; The other dispensing pharmacies that satisfy the predetermined conditions in relation to the first dispensing pharmacy are dispensing pharmacies that belong to the same group as the first dispensing pharmacy and are located within a predetermined distance from the first dispensing pharmacy. A medicine delivery support device characterized by:

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