Medication support systems, medication support methods, and medication support programs

Abstract

We provide a medication support system, methods, and programs that are easy for foreign workers and inexperienced medication assistants to use, and that minimize psychological burden on the person taking the medication. [Solution] The medication support system uses a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit and a medication package-capturing unit. The system includes a medication-taker name acquisition unit that generates face image data from a photograph of the face of the person scheduled to take medication taken by the face-capturing unit, and uses a resident information database in which the face data and names of residents receiving medication care are set to acquire the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication; a medication package display name acquisition unit that performs character recognition processing on a photograph of the medication package taken by the medication package-capturing unit and acquires the name displayed on the medication package as the name displayed on the medication package; and an authentication unit that compares the name of the person scheduled to take medication with the name displayed on the medication package and authenticates whether the name of the person scheduled to take medication and the name displayed on the medication package match. The system acquires the name displayed on the medication package after acquiring the name of the person scheduled to take medication.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the aging society has advanced, and many elderly people live in facilities for the elderly, such as nursing homes and care facilities. A high proportion of elderly people have multiple diseases, and most elderly people take medicine regularly, and it is not uncommon for those who have been prescribed six or more medicines. Since multiple medicines are prescribed, they are prescribed in the form of medicine packets in which multiple medicines are bundled together. The medicine packet indicates the name of the resident for whom it is prescribed, the time zone for taking the medicine, etc.

[0003] Currently, in facilities for the elderly, the staff of the facility sorts the medicine packets for each resident and delivers them to the residents at appropriate time zones for them to take. Since there are many residents in the facility and the facility receives and stores medicine packets for 1 to 2 weeks from the pharmacy for each resident, the staff has to select the appropriate medicine packet from a large number of medicine packets and make the corresponding resident take it.

[0004] To prevent the occurrence of wrong medicines caused by the staff accidentally delivering different medicine packets to the residents, the staff provides medication assistance while taking precautions. If a wrong medicine occurs due to a mistake of the staff and the physical condition of the resident deteriorates, the social credibility of the facility will be damaged. Therefore, the staff who provides medication assistance is under great mental fatigue.

[0005] To suppress the occurrence of wrong medicines due to mistakes of the staff, for example, there are medication support systems such as those in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In Patent Documents 1 and 2, first, the medicine packet is photographed and the name written on it is extracted as the printed name. Next, the face of the user is photographed, and the name corresponding to the image is extracted from the database of registered face image data by a face recognition system, and it is verified whether the printed name and the name corresponding to the image are the same. If it can be verified that they are the same, a certification success display is shown indicating that the correct user has been certified.

Prior Art Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7426449 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-45099 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Patent documents 1 and 2 have the following problems. In these facilities, one staff member is responsible for administering medication to multiple residents. Due to the recent labor shortage, the number of staff members who are foreign workers has increased, and many of these staff members have difficulty reading names written in Japanese, such as kanji. Even if such staff members can match the faces of residents with the pronunciation of their names, they cannot recognize which resident is associated with a name written in kanji or other characters.

[0008] Furthermore, some staff members have little experience in medication administration, while others, even experienced veterans, may have only recently started working at the facility. In such cases, even if they can read the names written on the medication packets without difficulty, they may not be able to match the names of residents with their faces.

[0009] When such a person in charge uses the medication support system described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, after photographing the medication package and extracting the printed name, it is not possible to determine which resident the person in question belongs to. Therefore, the person in charge must search for the relevant resident among many other residents. Consequently, this becomes a very laborious task for the person in charge.

[0010] Furthermore, if the cameras are to photograph residents' faces one after another in an attempt to identify the resident in question, the psychological burden on residents cannot be ignored, as many residents feel aversion to having their faces photographed.

[0011] This invention has been made in view of the above matters, and its purpose is to provide a medication support system, medication support method, and medication support program that are easy to use even for foreign workers and inexperienced medication assistants, and that place less psychological burden on the person taking the medication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] A medication support system according to the first aspect of the present invention is: A medication support system that assists in medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, A medication recipient name acquisition unit generates facial image data from a photograph of the face of the person scheduled to take medication taken by the facial imaging unit, and uses a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set to acquire the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication. A package name acquisition unit performs character recognition processing on a photograph of the package taken by the package photography unit and acquires the name displayed on the package as the package name; The system includes an authentication unit that compares the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package and authenticates whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication matches the name indicated on the medication package. After obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, obtain the name indicated on the medication package. It is characterized by the following:

[0013] Furthermore, the face-capturing unit is an in-camera and the drug packaging-capturing unit is an out-camera. It is preferable that the front camera is activated when photographing the person scheduled to take the medication, and the rear camera is activated when photographing the medication package.

[0014] Furthermore, when activating the aforementioned drug packaging imaging unit, a skip button is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal. If a skip operation is performed, the name of the person scheduled to take the medication may be obtained as the name displayed on the medication package.

[0015] A medication support method according to a second aspect of the present invention is: A medication support method used in a medication support system that assists with medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, The computer generates facial image data from the facial photograph of the person scheduled to take medication, taken by the facial imaging unit, and uses a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set, to obtain the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication. The computer performs character recognition processing on the photograph of the chemical packet taken by the chemical packet imaging unit, and obtains the name displayed on the chemical packet as the name displayed on the chemical packet. The computer compares the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package and authenticates whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication and the name indicated on the medication package match. The computer obtains the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, and then obtains the name indicated on the medication package. It is characterized by the following:

[0016] A medication support program according to the third aspect of the present invention is: A medication support program used in a medication support system that assists with medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, On the computer, The process involves generating facial image data from a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication taken by the facial imaging unit, and obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication using a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set. A process for obtaining a name displayed on a package, which involves performing character recognition processing on a photograph of the package taken by the package photography unit and obtaining the name displayed on the package as the name displayed on the package, The authentication process involves comparing the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package, and verifying whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication matches the name indicated on the medication package. After obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take the medicine, execute the process of obtaining the name shown on the medicine package. It is characterized by this.

Effects of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a medicine-taking support system, a medicine-taking support method, and a medicine-taking support program that are easy to use even for foreign workers or inexperienced medicine-taking assistants, and that also impose less psychological burden on the medicine-taker.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the medicine-taking support system. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the resident database information. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the person-in-charge database information. [Figure 6] It is an overall flowchart showing the operation of the medicine-taking support system. [Figure 7] It is a flowchart of the process for obtaining the name of the person in charge of correspondence. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart of the process for obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take the medicine. [Figure 12] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 13] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 14] It is a diagram showing an example of the screen display of the mobile terminal. [Figure 15] It is a flowchart of the process for obtaining the name shown on the medicine package. [Figure 16] This figure shows an example of a mobile device screen display. [Figure 17] This figure shows an example of a mobile device screen display. [Figure 18] This figure shows an example of a mobile device screen display. [Figure 19] This is a flowchart for the process of obtaining the name displayed on the medicine packaging. [Figure 20] This figure shows an example of a mobile device screen display. [Figure 21] This figure shows an example of a mobile device screen display. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] The medication support system, medication support method, and medication support program according to this embodiment are intended to help prevent medication errors caused by human error by staff responsible for medication assistance in nursing homes and other care facilities where multiple elderly people reside, and in hospitals and other medical institutions where multiple patients are hospitalized, and to reduce the burden of medication assistance work on staff.

[0020] The medication support system, medication support method, and medication support program according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the figures. As shown in Figure 1, the medication support system 1 comprises a mobile terminal 100 and a server 200. The mobile terminal 100 and the server 200 communicate via network N.

[0021] <Mobile device 100> The mobile terminal 100 is a computer, such as a smartphone or tablet, that has a display / operation screen and a camera function, and is operated by a facility staff member.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113.

[0023] The CPU 111 is an example of a processor that comprehensively controls all parts of the mobile terminal 100. The ROM 112 stores various programs. The RAM 113 is a workspace for displaying programs and various data.

[0024] The CPU 111, ROM 112, and RAM 113 are connected via a bus or the like to form a control unit 110 of the computer configuration. In the control unit 110, the CPU 111 operates according to the program stored in the memory unit 150 and loaded into the RAM 113, thereby executing various processes.

[0025] The mobile terminal 100 also includes a display unit 120, an operation unit 130, a communication unit 140, a storage unit 150, a face capture unit 160, a drug packaging capture unit 170, and the like.

[0026] The display unit 120 is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display unit 120 displays various information under the control of the CPU 111.

[0027] The operation unit 130 is an input device such as a keyboard or pointing device. The operation unit 130 outputs the operation content received from the operator to the CPU 111. The operation unit 130 may also be a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 120.

[0028] The communication unit 140 is a communication interface for communicating with each device connected to the network N. Under the control of the CPU 111, the communication unit 140 sends and receives various types of data with the server 200 connected to the network N.

[0029] The memory unit 150 is an auxiliary storage device such as flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The memory unit 150 stores various programs and configuration information that the CPU 111 can execute.

[0030] The face-capturing unit 160 and the drug-packaging unit 170 are digital cameras, each having an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The face-capturing unit 160 is positioned on the screen side of the mobile terminal 100 and is a so-called front-facing camera that captures the screen side. The drug-packaging unit 170 is positioned on the back side of the mobile terminal 100 and is a so-called rear-facing camera that captures the back side. The face-capturing unit 160 and the drug-packaging unit 170 output the image data obtained through capture to the CPU 111.

[0031] <Server 200> Server 200 is a computer and is typically managed by the administrator of a facility or other organization that operates a medication support system. Server 200 is operated by the administrator of the facility or organization and is used, for example, to input information about residents and staff into various databases.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3, an example of the hardware configuration of server 200 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, and a RAM 213.

[0033] The CPU 211 is an example of a processor that provides comprehensive control over the various parts of the server 200. The ROM 212 stores various programs. The RAM 213 is a workspace for displaying programs and various data.

[0034] The CPU 211, ROM 212, and RAM 213 are connected via a bus or the like to form a control unit 210 of the computer configuration. In the control unit 210, the CPU 211 operates according to the program stored in the memory unit 250 and loaded into the RAM 213, thereby executing various processes.

[0035] The server 200 also includes a display unit 220, an operation unit 230, a communication unit 240, and a storage unit 250, among other things.

[0036] The display unit 220 is a display device such as an LCD. The display unit 220 displays various information under the control of the CPU 211. The operation unit 230 is an input device such as a keyboard or pointing device. The operation unit 230 outputs the operation content received from the administrator, etc., to the CPU 211. The operation unit 230 may also be a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 220.

[0037] The communication unit 240 is a communication interface for communicating with each device connected to the network N. Under the control of the CPU 211, the communication unit 240 sends and receives various types of data with the mobile terminal 100 connected to the network N.

[0038] The memory unit 250 is an auxiliary storage device such as flash memory, HDD, or SSD. The memory unit 250 stores various programs and setting information that the CPU 211 can execute. The memory unit 250 also stores the names of the person in charge 251, the names of people scheduled to take medication 252, the names on the medication packaging 253, the authentication unit 254, the person in charge information database 255, the resident information database 256, the medication information database 257, and so on.

[0039] The staff member name acquisition unit 251 generates staff member facial image data from the facial photograph of the staff member responsible for medication care that has been taken, and compares the staff member facial image data with the facial image data registered in the staff member information database 255. It then identifies the staff member and obtains the staff member's name. The staff member name acquisition unit 251 identifies the staff member by performing a known facial recognition process.

[0040] The medication-taking person name acquisition unit 252 generates medication-taking person facial image data from the photographed facial image of the person taking medication, and compares the medication-taking person facial image data with the facial image data registered in the resident information database 256. It then identifies the person taking medication and obtains the person's name. The medication-taking person name acquisition unit 252 identifies the person taking medication by performing a known facial recognition process.

[0041] The drug package name acquisition unit 253 extracts the text information displayed on the drug package by performing character authentication from the image data of the captured drug package and acquires the name displayed on the drug package. Various known character authentication processes can be used for the character authentication process.

[0042] The authentication unit 254 determines whether it can authenticate that the character information of the name of the person scheduled to take the medication is the same as the character information of the name displayed on the medication package. The authentication unit 254 can make this determination by performing an authentication process that compares known character data.

[0043] The personnel information database 255 contains attributes for each personnel, and information such as personnel ID, personnel name, phonetic spelling, and facial data are linked and registered, for example, as shown in the configuration example in Figure 4. The facial data is data generated based on the personnel's facial image, for example, data that digitizes the facial image. Other information such as age, gender, and years of experience in caregiving may also be registered.

[0044] The resident information database 256 contains attributes for each resident. For example, as shown in the configuration example in Figure 5, information such as the facility ID, resident ID, resident name, phonetic spelling of the name, facial data, and residential floor are linked and registered. The facial data is data generated based on the resident's facial image, for example, data that digitizes the facial image. Other information such as age, gender, and regularly used medications may also be registered.

[0045] The medication information database 257 stores information on the medication results for each resident who received medication support through this medication support system 1, such as when the resident took their medication and which staff member was in charge of administering it.

[0046] <How the medication support system works> Next, we will explain how the medication support system 1 works.

[0047] The operating procedure of the medication support system 1 described below corresponds to the medication support method.

[0048] Furthermore, the program that enables the operation of the medication support system 1 corresponds to the medication support program. The medication support program is executed on each device, the mobile terminal 100 and the server 200. The medication support program is loaded into CPUs 111 and 211 and executed by CPUs 111 and 211.

[0049] Figure 6 shows the overall flow of operation of the medication support system 1. First, the person in charge operates the mobile terminal 100, which starts the medication support system 1 and begins the medication support process.

[0050] <Process to obtain the name of the person in charge: Step S100> In step S110, the process of obtaining the name of the person in charge is executed. The detailed flow of the process of obtaining the name of the person in charge is shown in Figure 7.

[0051] First, the control unit 110 activates the front camera of the mobile terminal 100 (step S101). Also, as illustrated in Figure 8, the control unit 110 displays a message on the operation instruction unit 122 of the display unit 120 of the mobile terminal 100 instructing the person in charge to take a picture, for example, "Please take a picture of the person in charge."

[0052] The person in charge follows the instructions and, as illustrated in Figure 9, presses button 121 so that their face is within the frame of the operation instruction unit 122, and takes a picture of their face (step S102).

[0053] The face capture unit 160 generates the face image data of the person in charge (step S103), and the generated face image data of the person in charge is transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 to the server 200.

[0054] The server 200 receives the employee's facial image data, and the employee name acquisition unit 251 compares it with the employee's facial image data registered in the employee information database 255 (step S104). If there is a facial image data in the employee information database 255 that can be authenticated as identical to the employee's facial image data (step S104: Yes), the employee's name is acquired. The acquired employee name is stored in the storage unit 250 (step S105), and the information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 100. Then, as illustrated in Figure 10, the acquired employee's name is displayed on the employee display unit 123 of the mobile terminal 100.

[0055] In step S104, if no facial image data that can be authenticated as identical is found in the personnel information database 255 (step S104: No), that information is sent to the mobile terminal 100. Then, the process returns to step S101, the front camera is activated, and the procedure of instructing the device to take another picture of the personnel's face is repeated.

[0056] <Processing to obtain the name of the person scheduled to take medication: Step S110> Returning to Figure 6, after the name of the person in charge is obtained, the process proceeds to the acquisition of the names of those scheduled to take medication (S110). The detailed flow of the acquisition of the names of those scheduled to take medication is shown in Figure 11.

[0057] The control unit 110 activates the front camera of the mobile terminal 100 (step S111). The control unit 110 also displays instructions for the person in charge on the operation instruction unit 122 of the display unit 120 of the mobile terminal 100, as illustrated in Figure 12, for example, "Please take a picture of the person taking medication."

[0058] The person in charge follows the instructions and, as illustrated in Figure 13, presses button 121 so that the face of the person scheduled to take the medication is within the frame of the operation instruction unit 122, and takes a photograph of the person scheduled to take the medication (step S112).

[0059] The face imaging unit 160 generates facial image data of the person scheduled to take medication (step S113), and the generated facial image data of the person scheduled to take medication is transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 to the server 200.

[0060] Server 200 receives facial image data of the person scheduled to take medication and compares it with the facial image data of the resident registered in the resident information database 256 by the person scheduled to take medication name acquisition unit 252 (step S114). If there is facial image data in the resident information database 256 that can be authenticated as being identical to the facial image data of the person scheduled to take medication (step S114: Yes), the name of the person scheduled to take medication is acquired. The acquired name of the person scheduled to take medication is stored in the storage unit 250 (step S115). The information of the name of the person scheduled to take medication is also transmitted to the mobile terminal 100. Then, on the display unit 120 of the mobile terminal 100, the name of the person scheduled to take medication is displayed in the person scheduled to take medication name display unit 124, as illustrated in Figure 14.

[0061] In step S114, if no facial image data that can be authenticated as identical is found in the resident information database 256 (step S114: No), that information is sent to the mobile terminal 100. Then, returning to step S111, the front camera is activated and instructed to take a picture of the face of the person scheduled to take medication.

[0062] <Processing to obtain the name displayed on the medicine package: Step S120 ~ Authentication process: Step S130> Returning to Figure 6, after the name of the person scheduled to take the medication has been obtained, the process proceeds to the acquisition of the name indicated on the medication package S120. The detailed flow of the acquisition of the name indicated on the medication package is shown in Figure 15.

[0063] The control unit 110 activates the rear camera of the mobile terminal 100 (step S121). The control unit 110 also displays instructions for the operator on the operation instruction unit 122 of the display unit 120 of the mobile terminal 100, as illustrated in Figure 16, for example, "Please take a picture of the medicine."

[0064] The person in charge follows the instructions and presses button 121 so that the name displayed on the drug packet is entered into the frame of the operation instruction unit 122, as illustrated in Figure 17, and takes a photograph of the drug packet (step S122). The drug packet imaging unit 170 generates drug packet image data from the photograph of the drug packet, and the drug packet image data is transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 to the server 200.

[0065] The drug package name acquisition unit 253 extracts character information from the drug package image data received by the server 200 to obtain the drug package name (step S123). The obtained drug package name is stored in the storage unit 250 (step S124). Then the process proceeds to step S130.

[0066] In step S130, it is determined whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, obtained in step S110, and the name displayed on the medication package, obtained in step S120, can be authenticated as being the same.

[0067] If the name of the person scheduled to take the medication and the name displayed on the medication package are authenticated as being the same (Step S130: Yes), that information is stored in the storage unit 250. The name displayed on the medication package is also transmitted to the mobile terminal 100, and as illustrated in Figure 18, the name displayed on the medication package is displayed on the medication package name display unit 125 of the mobile terminal 100. This allows the person in charge to recognize that the medication package they are about to hand over is prescribed for the person scheduled to take the medication. By opening the package and handing it to the person scheduled to take the medication, the person in charge can prevent medication errors due to human error.

[0068] On the other hand, if the answer in step S130 is "No", the process returns to step S120, the rear camera is activated again, and the procedure of instructing the operator to perform an operation on the display unit 122 of the mobile terminal 100 is repeated.

[0069] If the answer in step S130 is "Yes," the process proceeds to step S140. If there is no patient to whom the medication package should be handed (step S140: No), the medication support process ends.

[0070] In step S140, if there is another person scheduled to take the medication who should be given a medication packet next (step S140: Yes), the process returns to step S110, and the same procedure as above is performed for the next person scheduled to take the medication.

[0071] In step S140, it should be set to "Yes" by default, and the person in charge should be configured to take a photo of the next person scheduled to take medication. Typically, a person in charge is responsible for assisting multiple residents with their medication. For example, they might carry 5 to 10 packets of medication and go around to the residents sitting at the dining table during mealtime to assist them with their medication. In such cases, if step S140 is set to "Yes" by default, there is no need to select "No" in step S140 for each process. The person in charge can then move in the order the residents are seated, perform the operation described above, and hand over the medication packets to the residents one by one. After handing over the medication packets to all residents, the medication support process should end when the person in charge logs out.

[0072] <Effects> As explained above, in this embodiment, the person scheduled to take medication is photographed, and their name is obtained first. Then, the medication package is photographed to obtain the name indicated on the package. This allows the person in charge to perform medication assistance tasks smoothly, thereby reducing their workload.

[0073] For example, in a typical facility, a staff member carries multiple medication packets during meal times and distributes them to multiple residents one by one. By photographing the residents and then the medication packets, the staff member can distribute the packets to the residents in the order they are lined up. This reduces the burden on the staff member in providing medication assistance.

[0074] If the procedure were reversed—that is, if the medication package was photographed to obtain the name indicated on the package, and then the person scheduled to take the medication was photographed to obtain the name of the person scheduled to take the medication—the person in charge would have to photograph the medication package, then find the resident whose name is displayed on the package, and then go to that resident, which would be inconvenient.

[0075] In this embodiment, the name of the person scheduled to take medication is obtained first, and then the medication package is photographed to obtain the name displayed on the package. This makes it easy to use even for staff members who have difficulty reading names displayed on medication packages or who do not remember the names and faces of residents. For example, this is useful for staff members who work with foreign workers, staff members with little experience in medication assistance, or experienced staff members who have recently started working at the facility. In this embodiment, after the staff member photographs the person scheduled to take medication, they photograph the multiple medication packages they have brought in sequence, and as a result, the appropriate medication package is selected from among them.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when photographing the face of a person scheduled to take medication, the front camera is activated and used to take the picture. Many people feel aversion to being photographed with an outward-facing camera. In particular, having an outward-facing camera pointed at them during meals can be a significant psychological burden and may lead to a decrease in appetite. However, even such people are less likely to feel aversion to being photographed with an inward-facing camera together with a caregiver. Therefore, this configuration places less psychological burden on residents and is effective in maintaining their physical condition.

[0077] Furthermore, even experienced staff members can make human errors when they lack concentration or are feeling unwell, such as misreading the name on the medication packet or mistaking a resident for someone else. Even in such situations, this medication support system can minimize the occurrence of human errors by staff members.

[0078] <Other forms> Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented in various forms and modified without departing from its scope. The embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0079] For example, in the drug package name acquisition process S120, it is conceivable that the name displayed on the drug package may be difficult to read or handwritten, and therefore cannot be processed by known character authentication processes. To accommodate such cases, steps S122 to S123 can be omitted in the drug package name acquisition process S120.

[0080] Figure 19 shows a flowchart of the process for obtaining the name displayed on the medicine package in such a case. In step S121, when the rear camera is activated and a message instructing the mobile terminal 100 to take a picture of the medicine package, as illustrated in Figure 20, is displayed, the skip button 126 is shown.

[0081] If the person in charge presses the skip button 126 (step S125: Yes), the control unit 210 acquires the name of the person scheduled to take the medication as the name to be displayed on the medication package (step S126). This information is then stored in the storage unit 250 (step S124) and transmitted to the mobile terminal 100. As illustrated in Figure 21, the name to be displayed on the medication package is then displayed on the medication package name display unit 125 of the mobile terminal 100.

[0082] If the person in charge does not press the skip button 126 in step S125 (step S125: No), the processes described in steps S122 to S123 above will be performed.

[0083] The skip function described above is effective when the person in charge can clearly understand that the name displayed on the medication package matches the name of the person scheduled to take the medication.

[0084] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the server 200's storage unit 250 stores the person in charge name acquisition unit 251, the person scheduled to take medication name acquisition unit 252, the name displayed on the medication package acquisition unit 253, the authentication unit 254, the person in charge information database 255, the resident information database 256, and the medication information database 257. These may be stored in the storage unit 150 of the mobile terminal 100, or they may be distributed and stored between the mobile terminal 100 and the server 200. If the person in charge name acquisition unit 251, the person scheduled to take medication name acquisition unit 252, the name displayed on the medication package acquisition unit 253, the authentication unit 254, the person in charge information database 255, the resident information database 256, and the medication information database 257 are stored in the mobile terminal 100, then all of the above-described medication support processing will be performed in the mobile terminal 100.

[0085] Furthermore, the mobile terminal 100 may be configured to acquire and synchronize information from the server 200 each time the medication support system 1 is started, including information from the person in charge name acquisition unit 251, the person scheduled to take medication name acquisition unit 252, the name on the medication package display acquisition unit 253, the authentication unit 254, the person in charge information database 255, the resident information database 256, and the medication information database 257.

[0086] Furthermore, although the above description explained each part of each device in the medication support system 1 as an independent functional block, the configuration of each device in the medication support system 1 can be any configuration as long as it can realize the functions described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0087] 1. Medication support system 100 mobile devices 110 Control Unit 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 120 Display section 121 buttons 122 Operation instruction section 123 Person in charge display section 124 Section for displaying the name of the person scheduled to take medication 125. Name and label section on the medicine packaging. 126 Skip button 130 Operation section 140 Communications Department 150 Storage section 160 Face Photography Department 170 Medicine Packaging Photography Department 200 servers 210 Control Unit 211 CPU 212 ROM 213 RAM 220 Display section 230 Operation section 240 Communications Department 250 Storage section 251 Department for obtaining the name of the person in charge 252 Department for obtaining names of patients scheduled to take medication 253 Drug Packaging Name Acquisition Unit 254 Authentication Department 255 Person in Charge Information Database 256 Resident Information Database 257 Medication Information Database N Network

Claims

1. A medication support system that assists in medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, A medication recipient name acquisition unit generates facial image data from a photograph of the face of the person scheduled to take medication taken by the facial imaging unit, and uses a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set to acquire the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication. A package name acquisition unit performs character recognition processing on a photograph of the package taken by the package photography unit and acquires the name displayed on the package as the package name; The system includes an authentication unit that compares the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package and authenticates whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication matches the name indicated on the medication package. After obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, obtain the name indicated on the medication package. A medication support system characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned face-capturing unit is an in-camera, and the aforementioned drug packaging-capturing unit is an out-camera. The front camera is activated when photographing the person scheduled to take the medication, and the rear camera is activated when photographing the medication package. The medication support system according to feature 1.

3. When activating the aforementioned drug packaging imaging unit, a skip button is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal. If a skip operation is performed, the name of the person scheduled to take the medication will be obtained as the name displayed on the medication package. The medication support system according to feature 1.

4. A medication support method used in a medication support system that assists with medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, The computer generates facial image data from the facial photograph of the person scheduled to take medication, taken by the facial imaging unit, and uses a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set, to obtain the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication. The computer performs character recognition processing on the photograph of the chemical packet taken by the chemical packet imaging unit, and obtains the name displayed on the chemical packet as the name displayed on the chemical packet. The computer compares the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package and authenticates whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication and the name indicated on the medication package match. The computer obtains the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, and then obtains the name indicated on the medication package. A method for supporting medication adherence, characterized by the following features.

5. A medication support program used in a medication support system that assists with medication administration using a mobile terminal having a face-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication and a medication package-capturing unit for taking a photograph of the medication package, On the computer, The process involves generating facial image data from a photograph of the person scheduled to take medication taken by the facial imaging unit, and obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take medication as the name of the person scheduled to take medication using a resident information database in which the facial data and names of residents receiving medication care are set. A process for obtaining a name displayed on a package, which involves performing character recognition processing on a photograph of the package taken by the package photography unit and obtaining the name displayed on the package as the name displayed on the package, The authentication process involves comparing the name of the person scheduled to take the medication with the name indicated on the medication package, and verifying whether the name of the person scheduled to take the medication matches the name indicated on the medication package. The process of obtaining the name of the person scheduled to take the medication, and then obtaining the name indicated on the medication package, is executed. A medication support program characterized by the following features.

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