Information provision system

Abstract

To provide an information provision system and method capable of meeting unmet needs and the like.SOLUTION: An information provision system 1 that uses a computer includes: drug information storage means 3 for storing drug information that includes, for each drug, a name of a drug and information about countries in which the drug has been approved; import drug information input means 5 for inputting import drug information that includes a drug name and a country that are desired to import; and approval information output means 7 for reading, when import drug information related to a certain drug is input from the import drug information input means 5, drug information related to the certain drug from the drug information storage means 3, and outputting approval information indicating whether the certain drug has been approved in a country to which the certain drug is desired to import.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent No. 3816326 describes a medical product information providing device. This device uses an information communication terminal connected to a network to provide customers with medical products, including medicines, that are useful for health management and services.

[0003] Pharmaceuticals are approved in some countries and not in others. For this reason, certain pharmaceuticals are only distributed in countries where they have been approved. This has led to the problem that even effective pharmaceuticals are not distributed in unapproved countries. On the other hand, there is a need to verify the usefulness of certain pharmaceuticals even in unapproved countries. Furthermore, even in countries where a certain pharmaceutical is not approved, there may be other pharmaceuticals with the same active ingredient that are distributed as different pharmaceuticals. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3816326 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a system that can provide necessary information to give people an opportunity to learn about medicines and to procure them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information providing system 1 disclosed in this specification has a drug information storage means 3, an imported drug information input means 5, and an approval information output means 7. The drug information storage means 3 is an element for storing drug information including information about each drug, such as the drug name and the country in which the drug is approved. The imported drug information input means 5 is an element for inputting imported drug information including the name and country of the drug desired to be imported. The approval information output means 7 is an element that, when imported drug information regarding a certain drug is input from the imported drug information input means 5, reads drug information regarding the certain drug from the drug information storage means 3, and outputs approval information, which is information regarding whether the certain drug has been approved in the country into which it is desired to import the certain drug.

[0007] A preferred example of the approval information output means 7 is one that outputs a warning if a certain drug is not approved in the country into which it is desired to import it.

[0008] The drug information may further include information regarding the target disease for each drug. The system 1 preferably further includes a means for outputting target disease-related drug information 9. The means for outputting target disease-related drug information 9 reads out information on a target disease related to a certain drug from the drug information storage means 3 using information on the target disease, and This is an element for reading out the name of a drug related to the target disease from the drug information storage means 3 and outputting the read out drug name as a drug related to a certain drug.

[0009] Preferably, the drug information further includes information regarding the active ingredients for each drug. It is preferable that the system 1 further comprises an output means 11 for outputting information on identical active ingredients in a drug. The output means 11 of active ingredient same drug information is, Using the information on the active ingredient, information on the active ingredient of a certain drug is read from the drug information storage means 3, This is an element for reading out the name of a drug containing the active ingredient from the drug information storage means 3, and outputting the read out drug name as a drug having the same active ingredient as a certain drug.

[0010] This specification also discloses a program for causing a computer to function as the above-mentioned information providing system, and an information recording medium that can be read by a computer and that stores the program.

[0011] This specification also discloses a method of providing information using a computer, which stores drug information including the drug name and information about the country in which the drug is approved for each drug, inputs imported drug information including the name and country of the drug desired to be imported, and, when the imported drug information for a certain drug is input, reads out the drug information for the certain drug and outputs approval information, which is information regarding whether the certain drug has been approved in the country into which it is desired to import the certain drug. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing system that provides necessary information to provide an opportunity to learn about medicines and to procure medicines. This system can provide drug information that meets unmet needs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information providing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a system according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of this system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of drug information stored in the storage unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of output from a user's terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and includes appropriate modifications of the embodiments described below within the scope obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information provision system. As shown in Fig. 1, this system 1 has a drug information storage means 3, an imported drug information input means 5, and an approval information output means 7. Also, as shown in Fig. 1, this system may further include either or both of a target disease related drug information output means 9 and an active ingredient same drug information output means 11. This system is a computer-based system.

[0016] Each means in this specification can be realized by each part, element, or process in a computer. They may be realized by software or hardware, or by the cooperation of software and hardware. This system may be implemented by a computer, or by a server-client system using a computer and a server. The computer may be any one of a mobile terminal, a desktop personal computer, and a server, or a combination of two or more. These are usually connected so that information can be exchanged via the Internet (intranet), etc. Functions may be shared by using multiple computers, such as having some functions on one of the computers.

[0017] A computer has an input unit, an output unit, a control unit, a calculation unit, and a memory unit, and each element is connected by a bus or the like so as to be able to send and receive information. For example, a control program may be stored in the memory unit, or various information may be stored. When specific information is input from the input unit, the control unit reads out the control program stored in the memory unit. The control unit then reads out the information stored in the memory unit as appropriate and transmits it to the calculation unit. The control unit also transmits the input information as appropriate to the calculation unit. The calculation unit performs calculation processing using the various information received, and stores it in the memory unit. The control unit reads out the calculation results stored in the memory unit and outputs them from the output unit. In this way, various processing is performed. The various processing is performed by each means and each unit.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a system of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the system of the present invention (a system including the device of the present invention) 1 may include a terminal 25 connected to the Internet or an intranet 23, and a server 27 connected to the Internet or an intranet 23. Of course, a single computer or a mobile terminal may function as the device of the present invention, and multiple servers may exist.

[0019] The drug information storage means 3 is an element for storing drug information including information about each drug, such as the drug name and the country in which the drug is approved. Each drug includes commercially available medicines and their generic drugs. Drug name means the name of the drug. Approved country means the country in which each drug has been approved. Drug information including these is stored in the memory unit, for example, in association with the drug's ID (identification number). Each piece of information can then be used to read out information about each drug. Drug information may include information about the target disease and active ingredients for each drug.

[0020] The imported drug information input means 5 is an element for inputting imported drug information including the name and country of the drug desired to be imported. The input unit functions as the imported drug information input means 5. For example, a user inputs the necessary information on a website using a keyboard or mouse. The input information is then entered into the system via the input unit of the system. In this way, the input unit of the system functions as the imported drug information input means 5.

[0021] The approval information output means 7 is an element for reading out drug information on a certain drug from the drug information storage means 3 when imported drug information on a certain drug is input from the imported drug information input means 5, and outputting approval information, which is information on whether or not the certain drug is approved in a country into which the user wishes to import the certain drug. Each element of the computer functions as the approval information output means 7. A preferred example of the approval information output means 7 may output a warning when a certain drug is not approved in a country into which the user wishes to import the certain drug.

[0022] The output means 9 of the target disease-related drug information reads out information on the target disease related to a certain drug from the drug information storage means 3 using the information on the target disease, It is an element for reading out the drug name related to the target disease from the drug information storage means 3 and outputting the read out drug name as a drug related to a certain drug. Each element of the computer functions as an output means for target disease related drug information.

[0023] The output means 11 of same active ingredient drug information uses information about active ingredients to read out information about active ingredients related to a certain drug from the drug information storage means 3, reads out the name of a drug containing the active ingredient from the drug information storage means 3, and outputs the read out drug name as a drug having the same active ingredient as the certain drug. Each element of the computer functions as the output means 11 of same active ingredient drug information.

[0024] Next, a method of providing information using this system will be described. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of this system. Note that this flowchart is conceptual. Therefore, the order does not have to be exactly as shown in the chart. Also, the invention can be established with only any of the steps included in this flowchart. Any of the steps shown in this flowchart do not have to be present. As a premise, the memory unit of this system stores drug information. An example of drug information is as shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, it is preferable that the drug information is stored so that various items can be used to search for other items.

[0025] (Import) Drug information input process (S101) A user accesses a website. Then, the user inputs information on the drug name, disease name, or active ingredient into the website using a pointing device. Various drug names may be displayed on the website, and the drug name may be selected by clicking on the displayed drug name. The drug information input from the user's terminal in this manner is entered into the system via the Internet. This drug information may be information on a drug that the user wishes to import.

[0026] The user's address or the mailing address of the product may be stored in the memory unit of the system. In this case, when the user's information is input into the system, the system may read out the country information stored in association with the user's address or the mailing address of the product from the memory unit. The website may also have a section where the country from which the drug is to be imported can be selected, and country information may be input into the system by inputting information into that section from the user's terminal. In this way, country information is input into the system. In this way, imported drug information including the name of the drug to be imported and the country is input into the system.

[0027] Approval information output process (S102) The control unit reads out drug information related to the drug from the storage unit using drug information such as the drug name. The drug information also includes information on the country in which the drug is approved. The control unit causes the calculation unit to perform a calculation to compare the read-out approval country with the input desired import country. As a result, if the desired import country is an approved country, an output is made to the effect that the import country is an approved country. On the other hand, if the desired import country is not an approved country, an output is made to the effect that the import country is not an approved country. At this time, a warning may be issued to alert the would-be importer. In this case, the control unit reads out information related to the warning (display information or audio information) from the storage unit and outputs the warning. Then, the warning is output from the user's terminal. In any case, through the above-mentioned process, approval information, which is information on whether or not a drug is approved in the country in which the user wishes to import it, is output from the system and is also output from the user's terminal.

[0028] This allows users who are trying to import (purchase) a certain drug to obtain information to determine whether the drug is approved in the country they are trying to import it into. Furthermore, if the drug is approved in that country, the user can obtain the drug at a low cost by having it shipped from a branch in the country they are trying to import into. Furthermore, if the drug they are trying to import is not approved, this fact is displayed on the user's terminal, so the user can import the drug knowing that it is not approved in that country.

[0029] Output process of target disease-related drug information (S103) In the previous step, the imported drug information such as the drug name was used to read out the drug information on the drug from the storage unit. This drug information may also include information on the target disease. The control unit reads out information on disease-related drugs, which are drugs related to the same target disease, from the storage unit using the information on the target disease. The system then outputs the drug information including the names of drugs related to the same disease as disease-related drugs. The user's terminal receives the information on the disease-related drugs and outputs it to an output unit such as a monitor. In this way, when the user inputs information on a drug into the system, other drugs that have the same target disease as the drug are also displayed. In this way, information on disease-related drugs is also displayed. Then, the user may think about purchasing related drugs at the same time, and the list information on related drugs can be easily obtained. This step is particularly effective when the approval information output step is NO (the import-desired country is not an approved country), and it is possible to provide information on candidates for drugs other than unapproved drugs related to the target disease as appropriate.

[0030] Output step of information on the same active ingredient drug (S104) In the previous step, drug information regarding the drug was read from the memory unit using drug information such as the drug name. This drug information may also include information regarding the drug's active ingredients. The control unit reads information regarding equivalent drugs, which are drugs containing the same active ingredients, from the memory unit using the information regarding the active ingredients. The control unit then outputs the drug information including the drug name of the equivalent drug. The user's terminal receives this drug information including the drug name of the equivalent drug, and outputs the drug name of the equivalent drug to an output unit such as a monitor.

[0031] In this way, when a user inputs information about a drug into the system, they can obtain information about other drugs that have the same active ingredient as the drug. Even if the drug has not been approved in a country, the user can obtain information on other drugs that have the same active ingredient and are approved in that country.

[0032] This system is an information provision system in which a computer or processor stores drug information including the drug name and information about the country in which the drug is approved for each drug, inputs imported drug information including the name and country of the drug to be imported, and, when the imported drug information for a certain drug is input, reads out the drug information for the certain drug and outputs approval information, which is information about whether the certain drug has been approved in the country into which it is desired to import the certain drug.

[0033] This specification also describes a program for causing a computer to function as the information provision system described above. This specification also provides an information recording medium that can be read by a computer and that stores such a program. Examples of information recording media include CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, USB memories, and hard disks. EXAMPLES

[0034] For example, let us consider an example where a server is located in country A. User B in country B accesses website A in country A. Server A associated with this website A stores user information for user B. User information for user B includes mailing address information for user B's products. The mailing address information for user B's products is an address in country B. User B accesses website A and specifies drug X that he wishes to import. At this time, user B may select country B as the country from which drug X will be imported. The system may also read user B's information from the memory unit and select country B as the import country.

[0035] For example, information regarding drug X and country B, which is the importing country, is input into the system. At this time, the system reads out the approved countries (country A, country C) for drug X from the memory unit. The system may also read out information regarding the target disease (disease X) and active ingredient (ingredient α) of drug X from the memory unit. The system then determines whether country B is included in the read-out approved countries. The system then outputs to user B's terminal whether drug X is a drug approved in country B, which is the country in which the user wishes to import the drug. The monitor (output unit) of user B's terminal displays whether drug X is a drug approved in country B, which is the country in which the user wishes to import the drug.

[0036] Information about the target disease of drug X (disease X) is read from the memory unit. The system reads from the memory unit the drug names (drug Y, drug Z) and information about the country of approval for other drugs stored in association with disease X (drug Y: country A, country D; drug Z: countries B, C, D). The system then outputs the read drug names and information about the country of approval for each drug name. The output unit of the user's terminal displays drug information including names of drugs other than drug X related to disease X (drug Y, drug Z) and information about the country of approval for each drug (drug Y: country A, country D; drug Z: countries B, C, D).

[0037] Information about the active ingredient of drug X (ingredient α) is read from the memory unit. The system reads from the memory unit the names of other drugs stored in association with the active ingredient α (drug V, drug W) and information about the countries of approval (drug V: country A; drug W: countries B, C). The system then outputs the retrieved drug names and information about the country of approval for each drug name. The output section of the user's terminal displays drug information including names of drugs other than drug X that contains ingredient α as an active ingredient (drug V, drug W) and information about the country of approval for each drug (drug V: country A; drug W: countries B and C).

[0038] The above information is displayed on User B's terminal. User B can select the desired medicine by considering the displayed information and purchase the appropriate medicine using Website A. The mechanism for purchasing products and the mechanism for shipping products can be appropriately used from known websites. [Industrial Applicability]

[0039] This system can be used on trading sites, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Information provision system 3. Drug information storage means 5. Imported drug information input method 7 Approval information output method 9. Output means for target disease-related drug information 11. Output means for information on drugs containing the same active ingredient

Claims

1. A drug information storage means (3) for storing drug information including the drug name and the country in which the drug is approved for each drug; An import drug information input means (5) for inputting import drug information including the name and country of the drug to be imported; an approval information output means (7) for reading out the drug information on a certain drug from the drug information storage means (3) when the imported drug information on a certain drug is input from the imported drug information input means (5) and outputting approval information as to whether the certain drug has been approved in a country into which the certain drug is desired to be imported; An information provision system (1) using a computer, comprising: The drug information further includes information regarding a target disease and an active ingredient of the drug, The present invention further includes an output means (11) for outputting information on identical active ingredients, which reads out a name of a drug containing the active ingredient from the drug information storage means (3) using information on the active ingredient, and outputs the read-out drug name as a drug having the same active ingredient as the certain drug, The approval information output means (7) further outputs information regarding whether a drug having the same active ingredient as the certain drug is approved in a country into which the certain drug is to be imported. system.

2. An information providing system (1) according to claim 1, The approval information output means (7) outputs a warning if the drug is not approved in the country into which the user wishes to import the drug.

3. Computer, A drug information storage means (3) for storing drug information including the drug name and the country in which the drug is approved for each drug; An import drug information input means (5) for inputting import drug information including the name and country of the drug to be imported; an approval information output means (7) for reading out the drug information on a certain drug from the drug information storage means when the imported drug information on a certain drug is input from the imported drug information input means (5) and outputting approval information which is information regarding whether the certain drug has been approved in a country into which the user wishes to import the certain drug; An information provision system using a computer, comprising: The drug information further includes information regarding a target disease and an active ingredient of the drug, The present invention further includes an output means (11) for outputting information on identical active ingredients, which reads out a name of a drug containing the active ingredient from the drug information storage means (3) using information on the active ingredient, and outputs the read-out drug name as a drug having the same active ingredient as the certain drug, The approval information output means (7) is a program for functioning as an information providing system that further outputs information regarding whether or not a drug having the same active ingredient as the certain drug has been approved in a country into which the certain drug is desired to be imported.

4. The program according to claim 3, The approval information output means (7) outputs a warning if the drug is not approved in the country into which the user wishes to import the drug.

5. An information recording medium that can be read by a computer having stored therein the program described in claim 3 or 4.

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