Server device and computer program

Abstract

To improve the ability to maintain appropriate inventory levels of pharmaceuticals in medical institutions. [Solution] The server device 12 is capable of communicating with the client device 11. The communication interface 121 receives information on multiple patients from the client device 11. The processor 122 extracts at least one patient from the multiple patients who causes irregularity in the purchase order of pharmaceuticals to the pharmaceutical supplier, and provides the information of that at least one patient to the client device 11.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a server device capable of communicating with a client device. The present disclosure also relates to a computer program executable by a processor mounted on the server device.

Background Art

[0002] In a medical institution, when placing an order for purchasing pharmaceuticals from a pharmaceutical supplier, maintaining an appropriate inventory level in the medical institution is taken into consideration. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for changing the order content according to the possibility that a patient will come again. Specifically, when there is a high possibility that a patient will come again to receive a prescription for a certain pharmaceutical, a change is made to increase the purchase quantity of the pharmaceutical.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There is a demand to enhance the maintainability of an appropriate inventory level of pharmaceuticals in a medical institution.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One exemplary aspect that the present disclosure can provide is a server device capable of communicating with a client device, an interface that receives information of a plurality of patients from the client device, a processor that extracts at least one patient who causes irregularity in the purchase order of pharmaceuticals from the pharmaceutical supplier from the plurality of patients and causes the client device to provide information of the at least one patient, <000***033>and includes.

[0006] One possible embodiment provided by this disclosure is a computer program executable by a processor installed in a server device capable of communicating with a client device, By being executed, the server device will The client device receives information on multiple patients. From the aforementioned group of patients, select at least one patient who causes irregularity in the purchase orders for pharmaceuticals from the pharmaceutical supplier. The client device is provided with information about at least one of the aforementioned patients.

[0007] For example, if patients who wish to have a specific medication dispensed regularly visit a medical institution, the above demand forecast based on visit dates will function well. However, the existence of patients who wish to have the medication dispensed but visit irregularly reduces the accuracy of the above demand forecast. In other words, such patients introduce irregularity into the purchase orders for the medication from the pharmaceutical supplier. If the price of the medication accounts for a large proportion of the total pharmaceutical purchases by the medical institution, the reduced accuracy of the demand forecast can negatively impact the management of the medical institution.

[0008] According to the configurations described in each of the above examples, it is possible to inform the user of the client device of the existence of such a patient and provide them with an opportunity to confirm whether countermeasures are necessary. Therefore, it is possible to improve the ability to maintain an appropriate inventory level of pharmaceuticals in medical institutions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This illustrates the configuration of an inventory management system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of the inventory management system. [Figure 3] Figure 1 shows an example of the processing flow executed by the server device. [Figure 4] Figure 1 shows another example of the processing flow executed by the server device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Examples of embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In each drawing referenced in the following description, the elements shown have been made recognizable as necessary. The scale is being changed.

[0011] As used in this disclosure, the term "medical institution" refers to an institution where medical professionals provide patients with information about pharmaceuticals. Examples of "medical institutions" include hospitals, clinics, medical offices, pharmacies, drugstores, nursing homes, care homes, and elderly care facilities. Examples of "medical professionals" include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, care managers, and registered dietitians.

[0012] Figure 1 illustrates the configuration of an inventory management system 10 according to one embodiment. The inventory management system 10 includes a client device 11 and a server device 12.

[0013] Client device 11 is the device on which information is provided. Client device 11 is used in a medical institution. Therefore, there may be multiple client devices 11. Furthermore, the same client device used by multiple users with different accounts may be considered multiple client devices. Client device 11 may be a stationary device installed in a specific location, or it may be a portable device that can be carried by the user.

[0014] The server device 12 is installed at a location separate from the client device 11. The client device 11 and the server device 12 are configured to communicate data bidirectionally via the communication network 20.

[0015] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the client device 11 includes a communication interface 111. On the other hand, the server device 12 includes a communication interface 121. Each of the communication interface 111 and the communication interface 121 is a hardware interface configured to enable two-way data communication between the client device 11 and the server device 12.

[0016] The client device 11 includes a processor 112 and a user interface 113. The user interface 113 is a hardware interface that mediates the exchange of information between the user and the processor 112 and receives instructions from the user to cause the client device 11 to perform predetermined operations. In the present exemplary embodiment, the user interface 113 includes a display.

[0017] The processor 112 and the user interface 113 may be mounted in a common housing or provided in a distributed manner in independent housings.

[0018] The predetermined operation performed by the client device 11 includes transmitting patient information PT to the server device 12. The patient information PT is transmitted from the communication interface 111 and received by the communication interface 121.

[0019] The patient information PT includes information related to the prescription of pharmaceuticals for the patient. Examples of information that may be included in the patient information PT include the following items. However, not all of the listed items need to be included in the patient information PT. · Patient identification information · Patient's age, gender, measurable biological parameters · Patient's medical history, medication history, usage status of OTC (Over The Counter) pharmaceuticals and health foods · Number of visits by the patient to the medical institution that owns the client device 11 · Prescription identification information · Name, ingredients, pharmacological classification, dosage form, dosage, usage, number of days of medication, efficacy of the prescribed pharmaceuticals • Date the prescription was issued • Identification information of the prescribing physician • Identification information of the medical institution to which the prescribing physician belongs • Results of dispensing based on prescriptions • Date the medication was dispensed • Identification information of the healthcare professional who dispensed the medication • Identification information of the medical institution to which the healthcare professional who dispensed the medication belongs. • Medication history information

[0020] The server device 12 includes a processor 122 and storage 123. The processor 122 is configured to store patient information PT received via the communication interface 121 in the storage 123. The patient information PT stored in the storage 123 forms part of the patient information set. As patient information PT is transmitted from at least one client device 11 for multiple patients on multiple occasions, the amount of data included in the patient information set increases.

[0021] The storage device 123 is a memory device implemented by semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, etc. The processor 122 and the storage device 123 may be mounted in a common enclosure, or they may be provided in a distributed manner in separate enclosures.

[0022] A predetermined operation performed by the client device 11 includes the transmission of inventory information ST to the server device 12. Inventory information ST is generated when a certain pharmaceutical product is recorded in the inventory of a medical institution that owns the client device 11. Inventory information ST is configured to include information that can identify the pharmaceutical product, such as the quantity received, the date of receipt, and the expiration date. Inventory information ST is transmitted from the communication interface 111 and received by the communication interface 121.

[0023] The processor 122 is configured to store the inventory information ST received via the communication interface 121 in the storage 123. The inventory information ST stored in the storage 123 forms part of the inventory information set.

[0024] A predetermined operation performed by the client device 11 includes sending the outbound information DL to the server device 12. The outbound information DL is generated when a certain pharmaceutical product is removed from the above inventory. The outbound information DL is configured to include information that can identify the pharmaceutical product, such as the quantity issued and the date of issue. The outbound information DL is transmitted from the communication interface 111 and received by the communication interface 121.

[0025] The processor 122 is configured to modify the inventory information set stored in the storage 123 based on the outbound information DL received by the communication interface 121. Specifically, the quantity of pharmaceuticals issued by the outbound information DL is subtracted from the inventory quantity of pharmaceuticals identified by the inventory information ST.

[0026] The processor 122 is configured to calculate the reorder point for a drug based on the drug's inventory status at the healthcare facility as indicated by the inventory information set. As used in this disclosure, the term “drug reorder point” means the amount of the drug in stock that should be ordered for purchase. The reorder point varies based on the healthcare facility’s ordering policy (whether it prioritizes not increasing inventory or avoiding stockouts), the frequency and timing of drug deliveries, and other factors.

[0027] The calculation of the reorder point is also influenced by the number of patients visiting the medical institution. Therefore, in addition to or instead of calculating the reorder point based on the inventory level described above, the processor 122 predicts the demand for a particular drug based on the predicted patient visit dates using a model, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7101304, and calculates the reorder point for the drug based on the results.

[0028] The processor 122 is configured to send suggestion information SG, which proposes placing a purchase order for a specific drug, to the client device 11 via the communication interface 121 when the inventory level of that drug, as indicated by the inventory status, falls below or is likely to fall below the reorder point calculated as described above. In other words, the processor 122 is configured to propose the timing for placing a purchase order for that drug.

[0029] The processor 112 of the client device 11 is configured to display an order proposal screen on the user interface 113 display, which proposes ordering the above-mentioned pharmaceuticals based on the proposal information SG received via the communication interface 111.

[0030] When patients who wish to have a specific medication dispensed visit a medical institution regularly, the above demand forecast based on visit dates works well. However, the existence of patients who wish to have the medication dispensed but visit irregularly reduces the accuracy of the above demand forecast. In other words, such patients introduce irregularity into the purchase orders for the medication from the pharmaceutical supplier. If the price of the medication accounts for a large proportion of the total pharmaceutical purchases by the medical institution, the reduced accuracy of the demand forecast can negatively impact the management of the medical institution.

[0031] The processor 122 of the server device 12 according to this embodiment is configured to extract such patients based on patient information PT provided from the client device 11 and to have the client device 11 provide the patient information.

[0032] Referring to Figure 3, an example of the processing flow executed by the processor 122 configured in this way will be described in detail.

[0033] First, the processor 122 determines whether the patient information PT transmitted from the client device 11 has been received by the communication interface 121 (STEP 11). This process is repeated until it is determined that the patient information PT has been received (NO in STEP 11).

[0034] If it is determined that patient information PT has been received (YES in STEP 11), the processor 122 identifies the patient and the medications dispensed to that patient based on the patient information PT, and determines whether the patient will cause irregularities in the purchase order of those medications (STEP 12).

[0035] As an example, the regularity of the patient's visits to the medical institution to receive the medication in question is identified. If information relating to the patient's visit history to the medical institution is stored in storage 123, that information is referenced. If the visit date prediction using the aforementioned model is used, the degree of discrepancy with that prediction may be referenced. If the information is not stored in storage 123 (for example, if it is the patient's first visit to the medical institution that owns the client device 11), medication history information may be referenced. The regularity can be represented by numerical values ​​or indicators. If the numerical values ​​or indicators fall below a predetermined judgment criterion, it is determined that the patient brings irregularity to the purchase order of the medication in question.

[0036] As an alternative example, the percentage of the price of the drug in question relative to the total cost of drug purchases by the medical institution is identified. If this percentage exceeds a threshold, the patient is deemed to cause irregularity in the ordering of the drug.

[0037] As an alternative example, information relating to changes in the medications dispensed to the patient is identified. Based on the patient's medication history information stored in storage 123 or the medication history information included in patient information PT, at least one of the following is identified: a medication newly added to the prescription, a medication discontinued, and a medication whose prescription amount has been changed. The magnitude of the change may be expressed by a numerical value or indicator. If the numerical value or indicator falls below a predetermined judgment criterion, it is determined that the patient is causing irregularity in the purchase order of the medication.

[0038] At least one of the above-mentioned examples may be used to make a judgment regarding irregularity, or the judgment results from multiple examples may be indexed and used in the final judgment. Each judgment may be made using a rule-based algorithm or using a machine learning-based inference model. In the latter case, an inference model is created in which the judgment items in each of the above-mentioned examples are used as explanatory variables and whether or not irregularity is introduced into the purchase order is used as the dependent variable. In machine learning, a set of dispensing data containing the explanatory variables and a set of training labels indicating whether or not irregularity was introduced may be used.

[0039] If it is determined that a patient whose patient information PT is related to an irregularity in the purchase order of a specific drug (YES in STEP 12), the processor 122 sends report information RP from the communication interface 121 to the client device 11 to provide the patient's information (STEP 13). As illustrated in Figure 2, the report information RP is received by the communication interface 111 of the client device 11.

[0040] Based on the report information RP received via the communication interface 111, the processor 112 of the client device 11 provides information on patients who are determined to cause irregularities in the purchase order of specific pharmaceuticals, through the display of the user interface 113.

[0041] It is preferable that information be provided along with the basis for the decision. For example, messages such as "Patient A's visit intervals are irregular," "Patient A has been prescribed expensive medication B, but there is a possibility that they will not visit on the designated date," or "The amount of medication C prescribed to Patient A has been significantly reduced" may be displayed on the screen.

[0042] As mentioned above, the presence of patients who cause irregularities in the ordering of pharmaceuticals from drug providers can lead to instability in the inventory management of pharmaceuticals at medical institutions, potentially negatively impacting the management of those institutions. With the configuration described above, the user of the client device 11 can be made aware of the presence of such patients and given an opportunity to confirm whether countermeasures are necessary. Therefore, it is possible to improve the ability to maintain appropriate levels of pharmaceutical inventory at medical institutions.

[0043] The reporting information RP may include information that prompts the client device 11 to inquire whether or not to take into account the patients extracted as described above when calculating the reorder point for suggesting the timing of purchase orders.

[0044] For example, this might include a question about whether it is acceptable to exclude patients who are deemed to cause irregularity, as described above, from the data population used to calculate the reorder point. For instance, a message such as, "Patient A's visits are irregular, so is it okay to exclude them from the order for drug B?" might appear on the display.

[0045] This configuration allows users of the client device 11 to be prompted to confirm more specific measures for patients that could cause instability in the inventory management of pharmaceuticals at medical institutions.

[0046] In this case, the user interface 113 of the client device 11 may be configured to accept operations corresponding to the answers to the above-mentioned queries. As illustrated in Figure 2, the processor 112 may be configured to send answer information AS corresponding to the operations from the communication interface 111 to the server device 12.

[0047] The user of client device 11 may have knowledge of the background circumstances of a patient who has been judged to potentially cause instability. For example, in a situation where visits are irregular but a commitment has been made for the next visit, an operation corresponding to the answer "exclusion is not necessary" may be performed. If the user of client device 11 thinks that the judgment made by the processor 122 of server device 12 is appropriate, an operation corresponding to the answer "exclusion is necessary" will be performed.

[0048] As illustrated in Figure 3, the processor 122 of the server device 12 determines whether a change is necessary to the calculation conditions for the reorder point based on the response information AS received via the communication interface 121 (STEP 14). Specifically, if response information AS corresponding to the response "no exclusion is necessary" is received, the processor 122 determines that no change is necessary to the calculation conditions (NO in STEP 14).

[0049] In addition to this case, if it is determined that a patient identified based on patient information PT does not pose an instability to the purchase order (NO in STEP 12), the processor 122 calculates the reorder point based on the method that was set from the beginning (STEP 15).

[0050] If response information AS corresponding to the answer "exclusion is necessary" is received via the communication interface 121, the processor 122 determines that a change in the calculation conditions for the reorder point is necessary (YES in STEP 14). In this case, the processor 122 calculates the reorder point by excluding patients who are judged to bring irregularity to the data population (STEP 16).

[0051] With this configuration, it is possible to automate the process from receiving a user's indication of intent regarding whether or not measures are necessary for patients who may cause instability in the inventory management of pharmaceuticals at medical institutions, to calculating the reorder point based on the result of that indication.

[0052] Figure 4 shows another example of the processing flow executed by the processor 122 of the server device 12. Processing elements that are substantially the same as those described with reference to Figure 3 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[0053] In this example, when it is determined that patient information PT transmitted from the client device 11 has been received by the communication interface 121 (YES in STEP 11), the processor 122 identifies the patient and the pharmaceuticals dispensed to that patient based on the patient information PT and calculates the reorder point for those pharmaceuticals (STEP 21). The calculation of the reorder point is performed regardless of whether the patient causes irregularities in the purchase order of the pharmaceuticals.

[0054] Specifically, the processor 122 determines whether the patient causes the irregularity, similar to STEP 12 in the processing example in Figure 3. If it is determined that the patient does not cause the irregularity, the processor 122 calculates the reorder point based on the initially set method, similar to STEP 15 in the processing example in Figure 3. If it is determined that the patient causes the irregularity, the processor 122 excludes the patient from the data population and calculates the reorder point, similar to STEP 16 in the processing example in Figure 3.

[0055] Next, processor 122 determines whether at least one patient was excluded from the data population when calculating the reorder point (STEP 22). If there are no patients causing the above irregularity and the reorder point is calculated based on the method initially set (NO in STEP 22), the process ends.

[0056] If there is at least one patient causing the above irregularity, and the reorder point has been calculated based on the changed conditions (YES in STEP 22), the processor 122 sends a report information RP from the communication interface 121 to the client device 11 to provide information about that patient (STEP 23).

[0057] Based on the report information RP received via the communication interface 111, the processor 112 of the client device 11 provides information on patients who are determined to cause irregularities in the purchase order of specific pharmaceuticals, through the display of the user interface 113.

[0058] It is preferable that the information provided includes the reasons for exclusion when calculating the reorder point. For example, messages such as "Patient A's visit interval is irregular, so they were excluded when calculating the reorder point," "Patient A is prescribed expensive drug B, but there is a possibility that they will not visit on the designated date, so they were excluded when calculating the reorder point," or "The amount of drug C prescribed to Patient A fluctuates greatly, so it was excluded when calculating the reorder point," may be displayed on the screen.

[0059] In this example, the reporting information RP may include information that prompts the client device 11 to inquire about the appropriateness of excluding patients deemed to cause irregularity when calculating the reorder point. For example, a message such as, "Patient A's visits are irregular, so we excluded them when calculating the reorder point for drug B. Is this acceptable?" may be displayed on the screen.

[0060] In this case, the user interface 113 of the client device 11 is configured to accept operations corresponding to the answer to the above query. The processor 112 transmits the answer information AS corresponding to the operation from the communication interface 111 to the server device 12.

[0061] The user of client device 11 may have knowledge of the patient's background circumstances that may cause instability. For example, in a situation where visits are irregular but a commitment has been made for the next visit, an operation corresponding to the answer "I do not consent" may be performed. If the user of client device 11 thinks that the judgment made by the processor 122 of server device 12 is appropriate, an operation corresponding to the answer "I consent" will be performed.

[0062] As illustrated in Figure 4, the processor 122 of the server device 12 determines whether it is necessary to recalculate the reorder point based on the response information AS received via the communication interface 121 (STEP 24). Specifically, if response information AS corresponding to the response "I agree" is received, the processor 122 determines that it is not necessary to recalculate the reorder point (NO in STEP 24), and the process ends.

[0063] If response information AS corresponding to the answer "I do not agree" is received via the communication interface 121, the processor 122 determines that recalculation of the reorder point is necessary (YES in STEP 24). In this case, the processor 122 re-enrolls the patient in question in the data population and then calculates the reorder point (STEP 25).

[0064] This configuration allows for the acceptance of user input from the client device 11 regarding the necessity of measures for patients that could potentially cause instability in pharmaceutical inventory management at medical institutions, while also automating the process up to the calculation of reorder points based on the results of such input.

[0065] In each of the examples described so far, the reorder point is calculated by excluding data relating to at least one patient based on the user's response from the client device 11 to the query issued by the server device 12. However, the reorder point may be calculated with the data relating to at least one patient excluded based on the user's voluntary instruction.

[0066] For example, when a patient visits a medical institution that owns a client device 11 for the first time, it may be difficult for the user of the client device 11 to understand the regularity of the patient's visits. On the other hand, if the medication prescribed to the patient is for a transient illness, the user may recognize that the reorder point for the medication, calculated based on non-recurring prescriptions, is subject to inaccuracies. In other words, the patient may introduce irregularities into the purchase order of the medication. In such cases, the user may input instructions into the user interface 113 to actively exclude data related to the prescription for that patient when calculating the reorder point for the medication.

[0067] In this case, the processor 112 may be configured to transmit instruction information IS corresponding to the instruction via the communication interface 111, as illustrated in Figure 2. The processor 122 of the server device 12 calculates the reorder point by excluding the data related to the patient based on the instruction information IS received via the communication interface 121.

[0068] Furthermore, the user interface 113 may receive instructions requesting that patients who would normally be judged to cause irregularities in the purchase order of pharmaceuticals not be excluded from the calculation of the reorder point. In this case, the processor 122 transmits instruction information IS corresponding to the instruction from the communication interface 111 to the server device 12. Upon receiving such instruction information IS through the communication interface 121, the processor 122 calculates the reorder point without excluding the data related to the patient in question.

[0069] With the configuration described above, the degree of freedom of intervention for the user of the client device 11 in the calculation process of the reorder point for the pharmaceutical product, which is performed based on the selection of patients that introduce irregularities into the purchase order of the pharmaceutical product, can be increased.

[0070] Each of the processors 112 of the client device 11 and 122 of the server device 12, which have the various functions described above, can be realized by at least one general-purpose microprocessor operating in cooperation with at least one general-purpose memory. Examples of general-purpose microprocessors include CPUs, MPUs, and GPUs. Examples of general-purpose memory include ROM and RAM. In this case, the ROM may store a computer program that performs the above-described processing. ROM is an example of a non-temporary computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored. The general-purpose microprocessor selects at least a portion of the program stored in the ROM and loads it onto the RAM, and then performs the above-described processing in cooperation with the RAM. The computer program may be pre-installed in the general-purpose memory, or it may be downloaded from an external server device via a communication network and then installed in the general-purpose memory. In this case, the external server device is an example of a non-temporary computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored.

[0071] Each of processors 112 and 122 may be implemented by at least one dedicated integrated circuit capable of executing the above-described computer program. Examples of dedicated integrated circuits include microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, etc. In this case, the above-described computer program is pre-installed in a memory element included in the dedicated integrated circuit. This memory element is an example of a computer-readable medium in which the computer program is stored. Each of processors 112 and 122 can also be implemented by a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicated integrated circuit.

[0072] The configurations described herein are merely examples to facilitate understanding of this disclosure. Each configuration example may be modified or combined with other configuration examples as appropriate, as long as it does not deviate from the intent of this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0073] 11: Client device, 12: Server device, 121: Communication interface, 122: Processor, AS: Response information, IS: Instruction information, PT: Patient information, RP: Reporting information

Claims

1. A server device capable of communicating with client devices, An interface that receives information on multiple patients from the client device, A processor that extracts at least one patient from the plurality of patients who cause irregularities in the purchase orders of pharmaceuticals to pharmaceutical suppliers, and provides information of that at least one patient to the client device, It is equipped with Server device.

2. The processor causes the client device to provide an inquiry, along with information about the at least one patient, regarding whether or not to take the at least one patient into consideration when proposing the timing of the purchase order. The server device according to claim 1.

3. The interface is capable of receiving responses to the query from the client device. The processor determines the timing based on the answer. The server device according to claim 2.

4. The interface is capable of receiving information from the client device regarding instructions on whether or not to take into consideration at least one patient when proposing the timing of the purchase order. The processor determines the timing based on the information relating to the instruction. A server device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A computer program that can be executed by a processor installed in a server device capable of communicating with a client device, By being executed, the server device will The client device receives information on multiple patients. From the aforementioned group of patients, select at least one patient who causes irregularity in the purchase orders for pharmaceuticals from the pharmaceutical supplier. The client device is made to provide information on at least one of the aforementioned patients. Computer program.

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