Apparatus, method and program for encouraging patients to continue taking medication

Abstract

To provide a method for prompting a patient to continuously take medicines, thereby continuing treatment of a disease.SOLUTION: First, a patient photographs a two-dimensional code 121 described in a document 120 by a terminal 110 such as a smartphone to generate first prescription information, and transmits the information to a device 100 (S201). The device 100 that has received the first prescription information determines whether each medicine is to be given as a gift on the basis of a medicine name or a medicine identifier of one or a plurality of medicines included in the first prescription information (S202). The device 100 then sets a period for giving a gift for the medicine to be given as a gift (S203). Then, the device 100 receives second prescription information from the patient terminal 110 within the target period (S205), and gives a gift to the patient when medicine information regarding any one of medicines included in the second prescription information satisfies a gift giving condition (S206).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program therefor for encouraging a patient to take a medication continuously. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, a patient who has received a diagnosis from a doctor presents the issued prescription to a pharmacy and receives the medicine from a pharmacist. When receiving the medicine, the patient receives medication instructions from the pharmacist. Patent Document 1 by the applicant discloses a technology that enables a pharmacist to provide sufficient medication instructions to the patient. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6381088 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this way, pharmacists provide guidance to patients so that they can take their medications appropriately, and there are techniques to make this smooth, but for example, for chronic diseases and other diseases where symptoms are hard to detect, patients may stop taking the medication after a few months and also stop going to the hospital. If treatment is interrupted in this way, the disease will become more severe. Survey results show that 60-80% of patients discontinue treatment within six months of starting it, which means that conversely, if treatment can be continued for about six months, there is a strong tendency for patients to continue treatment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and its object is to provide an apparatus, method, or program therefor for encouraging patients to continue taking medication so as to continue treatment for their illness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve this object, a first aspect of the present invention is a method for encouraging a patient to continuously take a medication, comprising the steps of receiving first prescription information, determining whether or not each medication is eligible for a gift based on the medication name or medication identifier of one or more medications included in the first prescription information, setting a target period for gift granting for medications eligible for the gift, receiving second prescription information within the target period, and if medication information for any medication included in the second prescription information satisfies the conditions for gift granting, granting the gift to the patient, and transmitting gift information indicating that the gift has been granted to a terminal used by the patient.

[0007] Also, a second aspect of the present invention is the method of the first aspect, further comprising a step of sending a notification that the target period has been set to a terminal used by the patient after the target period has been set.

[0008] A third aspect of the present invention is the method according to the first or second aspect, wherein the target period is determined according to a prescribed amount of the drug that is the target of the gift.

[0009] A fourth aspect of the present invention is the method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the conditions for granting the gift include that the indications of the drugs are the same.

[0010] In addition, a fifth aspect of the present invention is a method of any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising a step of sending a notification to a terminal used by the patient a predetermined number of days before the start date of the target period, indicating that the target period is approaching.

[0011] Further, a sixth aspect of the present invention is a method of any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the first prescription information and the second prescription information are transmitted together with a user identifier from an application installed on a terminal used by the patient.

[0012] A seventh aspect of the present invention is a method of any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the first prescription information is transmitted from a first server of a first pharmacy that dispensed one or more drugs included in the first prescription information in association with patient identification information of the patient, and the second prescription information is transmitted from a second server of a second pharmacy that dispensed one or more drugs included in the second prescription information in association with patient identification information of the patient.

[0013] Also, an eighth aspect of the present invention is a method of the seventh aspect, comprising the steps of receiving a user identifier associated with patient identification information of the patient from a terminal used by the first pharmacy, and determining the user identifier associated with the patient identification information based on the patient identification information associated with the first prescription information.

[0014] In addition, a ninth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a method for encouraging a patient to continuously take a medication, the method including the steps of receiving first prescription information, determining whether or not each medication is eligible for a gift based on the medication name or medication identifier of one or more medications included in the first prescription information, setting a target period for gift granting for medications eligible for the gift, receiving second prescription information within the target period, and if medication information for any medication included in the second prescription information satisfies the conditions for gift granting, granting the gift to the patient, and transmitting gift information indicating that the gift has been granted to a terminal used by the patient.

[0015] In addition, a tenth aspect of the present invention is a device for encouraging a patient to continue taking medication, which receives first prescription information, determines whether or not each medication is eligible for a gift based on the medication name or medication identifier of one or more medications included in the first prescription information, sets a target period for gift granting for medications that are eligible for the gift, receives second prescription information within the target period, and if medication information for any medication included in the second prescription information satisfies the conditions for gift granting, grants the gift to the patient and transmits gift information indicating that the gift has been granted to a terminal used by the patient. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to one aspect of the present invention, by receiving second prescription information following first prescription information from a patient, and granting a gift if the second prescription information satisfies a predetermined condition, a time limit is given for re-receiving medication, thereby improving medication adherence and encouraging continuation of treatment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device for encouraging a patient to take medicine continuously according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flow chart of a method for encouraging a patient to continue taking a medication according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of prescription information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a device for encouraging a patient to take medication continuously according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flow chart of a method for encouraging a patient to continue taking a medication according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] (First embodiment) The device according to this embodiment is shown in Fig. 1. The device 100 receives first and second prescription information from a patient terminal 110 used by a patient, and if the prescription information satisfies a predetermined condition, gives a gift to the patient.

[0020] The device 100 includes a communication unit 101 such as a communication interface, a processing unit 102 such as a processor or CPU, and a storage unit 103 including a storage device or storage medium such as a memory or a hard disk, and can be configured by executing a program for performing each process, and may include one or more devices, computers, or servers. The program may include one or more programs, and may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium to form a non-transient program product. The program may be stored in a storage device or storage medium accessible from the storage unit 103 or the device 100, and may be executed by the processing unit 103. The device 100 may further include a database 104 that stores various data used in the processes described below, but will be described below as an example stored in the storage unit 103.

[0021] The patient terminal 110 may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet, and includes an image sensor 111, captures an image of a two-dimensional code 121 representing prescription information written on a prescription, and generates prescription information. The two-dimensional code 121 is often written on a document 120 that is provided together with medicines, such as a medicine notebook data sheet. Depending on the amount of medicine prescribed, the prescription information may be represented by multiple two-dimensional codes 121.

[0022] 2 shows a flow chart of a method for encouraging a patient to take medicine continuously according to the present embodiment. First, the patient takes a picture of the two-dimensional code 121 written on the document 120 using the terminal 110 such as a smartphone to generate first prescription information and transmit it to the device 100 (S201). Here, the two-dimensional code 121 has been described as being written on the document 120, but it may be received electronically by the terminal 110, and the first prescription information represented by the two-dimensional code 121 may be generated by processing the two-dimensional code 121.

[0023] An example of the generated first prescription information is shown in Fig. 3. The patient name is "Yutaka Nakao", the drug name is "Rosuvastatin tablets 2.5 mg", the dosage is the number of times to take such as "once a day", the time to take such as "after breakfast", and the prescribed amount is "21 days' worth". As shown in the figure, other drug names are included in addition to "Rosuvastatin tablets 2.5 mg", and information on multiple drugs may be included in the prescription information. The format of the first prescription information 300 is not necessarily the same depending on the system that generated the two-dimensional code 121.

[0024] An application or program for executing this method is installed in the terminal 110, and the first prescription information can be generated and transmitted by the application. By the patient signing in to the application, the first prescription information can be transmitted together with the patient's user identifier.

[0025] In addition, it is preferable that the terminal 110 performs identity verification to determine whether the first prescription information belongs to the patient using the terminal 110, based on the patient information included in the first prescription information obtained by capturing an image of the two-dimensional code 121 and the user information of the application. More specifically, it is possible to perform identity verification by including the patient's name and date of birth as the patient information and the user's name and date of birth as the user information, and matching these. Here, the user information is stored in the terminal 110, or the terminal 110 or the application executed on the terminal 110 communicates with the device 100 and can be accessed. Although it has been described that identity verification is performed by the terminal 110, it can also be performed by the device 100 after transmitting the first prescription information.

[0026] The device 100 that has received the first prescription information determines whether or not each drug is a gift target based on the drug name or drug identifier of one or more drugs included in the first prescription information (S202). The device 100 stores the drug name or drug identifier of the drug that is a gift target as a gift target drug, and can make the determination by referring to this. Here, the "gift" means an economic benefit, and examples of the gift include a coupon that can be used to purchase a product at a low cost or for free, or to receive a service, and points that can be exchanged for cash.

[0027] The device 100 then sets the target period for gifting for the medicine that is the target of the gift (S203). The target period is preferably determined according to the prescribed amount of the medicine. In the example of FIG. 3, "Rosuvastatin tablets 2.5 mg" is prescribed for 21 days. Since the medicine will run out on February 25, 21 days after the dispensing date of February 5, 2021, by setting the target period near the date on which the medicine will run out, it is possible to encourage the patient to continue treatment for the disease by visiting the doctor again and receiving the medicine. As an example, the target period may be set to a period of a predetermined number of days before the date of completion of the drug administration, which is calculated by adding the number of days of the prescription to the dispensing date, or a period of a predetermined number of days before and after the date of completion of the drug administration.

[0028] After setting the target period, the device 100 may transmit a notification to the patient terminal 110 that the target period has been set (S204), as necessary. The notification can be displayed on an application running on the patient terminal 110 so as to attract the patient's attention. It is also conceivable to transmit a notification that the target period is approaching a predetermined number of days before the start date of the target period, or to transmit a notification that the end of the target period is approaching a predetermined number of days before the end date of the target period.

[0029] Next, the device 100 receives second prescription information from the patient terminal 110 within the target period (S205), and if the drug information for any drug included in the second prescription information satisfies the conditions for gift granting, grants a gift to the patient (S206).

[0030] The second prescription information, like the first prescription information, is generated by capturing an image of the two-dimensional code 121 issued together with the medicine, and the one or more medicines represented thereby may be issued at the same pharmacy as the pharmacy that issued the one or more medicines represented by the first prescription information, or at a different pharmacy. As an example, if the patient is signed in as the same user, the second prescription information is transmitted to the device 100 together with the same user identifier as the first prescription information, and the device 100 can determine that the second prescription information is associated with the same patient.

[0031] If the second prescription information is received within the target period, the second prescription information is associated with the same patient as the first prescription information, and the second prescription information contains the same drug as the drug for which the gift is to be given, the gift is given to the patient. However, even if the drugs are not necessarily the same, treatment may be continued, and a gift may be given if the indications of any of the drugs included in the second prescription information are the same. As an example, when a prescription drug is switched from a brand-name drug to a generic drug, although the drug name and drug identifier such as the YJ code change, it is preferable to evaluate the patient as continuing treatment. Changes in usage, changes in dosage, etc. are also examples in which it can be evaluated that the patient is continuing to take the drug for continued treatment.

[0032] After the gift is given, the device 100 transmits gift information indicating that the gift has been given to the patient terminal 110 (S207). The gift can then be used in an application on the patient terminal 110.

[0033] In this way, by receiving second prescription information following the first prescription information from the patient and granting a gift if the second prescription information satisfies certain conditions, a time limit is given for re-receiving medication, thereby improving medication adherence and encouraging continuation of treatment.

[0034] In the above description, the period for which the gift is to be given is set, and then the gift is given, but this can also be expressed as issuing a gift and activating the gift when the conditions are met within the period. Here, "activating" means making the gift available for use.

[0035] Second embodiment In the first embodiment, the device 100 receives prescription information from the patient terminal 110, but in the second embodiment, the device 100 receives the prescription information from a server used by the pharmacy. This allows the patient to receive a gift without the additional effort of reading the two-dimensional code 121.

[0036] 4 shows the device according to the present embodiment. The device 400 receives first prescription information from a first computer 421 of a first pharmacy, and receives second prescription information from a second computer 422 of a second pharmacy. The device 100 notifies a patient terminal 410 used by the patient about the gift, and receives user information of the patient from a pharmacy terminal 423 used at the first pharmacy, as necessary. The device 400 may have the same configuration as the device 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0037] First, the device 400 receives the first prescription information from the first computer 421 (S501). Here, the first prescription information includes information about one or more drugs written on a prescription received at the first pharmacy, and is generated by, for example, a receipt computer. The device 400 may receive the first prescription information directly from the first computer 421 used by the first pharmacy via a computer network, or may receive the first prescription information via a separate server. Here, the first prescription information is preferably transmitted in association with patient identification information of a patient who has been issued one or more drugs represented by the first prescription information. In the first embodiment, the patient himself transmits the first prescription information, so that identity verification may be required. However, in the second embodiment, the first prescription information is transmitted from the first computer 421 used by the first pharmacy, so that additional identity verification is not required by associating a patient accessible to the first computer 421 with patient identification information that can uniquely or nearly uniquely identify the patient. However, as described below, it is necessary to associate the patient identification information with a user identifier. Here, "patient identification information" is information that includes at least one of an insurer number and an insured person number, and at least one of a date of birth and a name, and is capable of uniquely or nearly uniquely identifying a patient. More preferably, the patient identification information includes at least one of an insurer number and an insured person number, and at least one of a date of birth and a name, making it possible to uniquely or nearly uniquely identify a patient.

[0038] The device 400 then determines a user identifier associated with the patient identification information based on the patient identification information (S502). For example, the first prescription information transmitted from the first pharmacy and stored in the device 400 can be viewed on the pharmacy terminal 423 used in the first pharmacy participating in the gift program, and a pharmacist at the first pharmacy can ask the patient for the user identifier and input it in association with the first prescription information. In this way, the device 400 can hold in advance the correspondence between the patient identification information of the patient and the user identifier. The user identifier can also be input by displaying a two-dimensional code representing the user identifier on the patient terminal 410 and reading it with an image sensor (not shown) of the pharmacy terminal 423. In addition, if an application or program for participating in the gift program is installed in the patient terminal 410 and patient identification information is input on the application, the patient identification information and the user identifier assigned to the patient can be transmitted to the device 400, and the correspondence can be held in the device 400.

[0039] After the first prescription information is associated with the patient's user identifier, as in the first embodiment, the device 100 determines whether or not each drug is a gift target based on the drug name or drug identifier of one or more drugs included in the first prescription information (S503), and sets a target period for gifting for the drug that is a gift target (S504). If necessary, after setting the target period, the device 100 may transmit a notification that the target period has been set to the patient terminal 410 (S505).

[0040] The device 400 then receives, within the set target time period, from a second computer at a second pharmacy, the second prescription information associated with the patient identification information for the patient (S506). The second pharmacy may or may not be the same as the first pharmacy. The device 400 must determine whether the second prescription information is associated with the same patient as the first prescription information by determining a user identifier from the patient identification information (S507) and may do this based on whether the user identifier matches or does not match the patient identification information.

[0041] Then, as in the first embodiment, if the drug information on any drug included in the second prescription information satisfies the conditions for gift giving, the device 400 gives a gift to the patient (S508). The conditions for gift giving are also the same as in the first embodiment.

[0042] In the above description, the first prescription information is transmitted to the device 400 in association with the patient identification information, but it is also possible to associate the first prescription information with a user identifier in the first computer 421 and transmit the information to the device 400 in association with the user identifier. The same applies to the second prescription information. The user identifier may be obtained from the patient orally or in some other manner, and stored in the first computer 421 in association with the patient identification information of the patient.

[0043] In the above-mentioned embodiment, unless there is a statement of "only" such as "based on XX", "depending only on XX", or "only in the case of XX", it is assumed in this specification that additional information may be taken into consideration. As an example, it is noted that the statement "do b in the case of a" does not necessarily mean "always do b in the case of a" or "do b immediately after a" unless expressly stated. In addition, the statement "each a constituting A" does not necessarily mean that A is composed of multiple components, but includes the case where the component is singular.

[0044] Also, just to be clear, even if there is an aspect of a method, program, terminal, device, server or system (hereinafter referred to as a "method, etc.") that performs an operation different from that described in this specification, each aspect of the present invention is directed to an operation that is the same as any of the operations described in this specification, and the existence of an operation different from that described in this specification does not make the method, etc. outside the scope of each aspect of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 100 devices 101 Communications Department 102 Processing section 103 Storage section 104 Database 110 Patient terminal 111 Imaging unit 120 Documents 121 2D Code 300 First Prescription Information 400 equipment 401 Communications Department 402 Processing section 403 Storage section 404 Database 410 Patient terminal 421 First Pharmacy's First Computer 422 Second pharmacy's second computer 423 Pharmacy Terminal

Claims

1. 1. A method for encouraging a patient to continue taking a medication, comprising: receiving, by a computer, first prescription information; The computer determines whether each drug is eligible for gifting based on a drug name or drug identifier of one or more drugs included in the first prescription information; The computer sets a target period for gifting for the drug that is the target of the gift; receiving, by the computer, a second prescription information during the time period of interest; The computer provides the gift to the patient if drug information relating to any drug included in the second prescription information satisfies the condition for providing the gift; the computer transmits gift information indicating that the gift has been given to a terminal used by the patient; Includes.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, The method further includes, after setting the target period, sending a notification to a terminal used by the patient that the target period has been set.

3. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The target period is determined according to the prescribed amount of the drug that is the target of the gift.

4. 4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising: The conditions for the gifting include that the indications of the drugs are the same.

5. 5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: The method further includes a step of transmitting a notification to a terminal used by the patient a predetermined number of days before the start date of the target period, to the effect that the target period is approaching.

6. 6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: The first prescription information and the second prescription information are transmitted together with a user identifier from an application installed on a terminal used by the patient.

7. 6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: The first prescription information is transmitted from a first server of a first pharmacy that dispensed one or more drugs included in the first prescription information in association with patient identification information of the patient; The second prescription information is transmitted in association with patient identification information for the patient from a second server of a second pharmacy that dispensed the one or more medications included in the second prescription information.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving a user identifier associated with patient identification information of the patient from a terminal used by the first pharmacy; determining the user identifier associated with the patient identification information based on the patient identification information associated with the first prescription information; Includes.

9. A program for causing a computer to execute a method for encouraging a patient to continue taking a medication, the method comprising: receiving a first prescription information; determining whether each drug is eligible for gifting based on a drug name or drug identifier of one or more drugs included in the first prescription information; A step of setting a target period for gifting for the drug that is the target of the gift; receiving second prescription information within the time period of interest; If drug information relating to any drug included in the second prescription information satisfies the condition for gifting, granting the gift to the patient; sending gift information indicating that the gift has been given to a terminal used by the patient; Includes.

10. A device for encouraging a patient to continue taking a medication, comprising: receiving a first prescription; determining whether each drug is a gift target based on a drug name or a drug identifier of one or more drugs included in the first prescription information, and setting a target period for gifting for the drug that is a gift target; receiving second prescription information within the target period; If the drug information relating to any drug included in the second prescription information satisfies the condition for gifting, the gift is given to the patient; The gift information indicating that the gift has been given is transmitted to a terminal used by the patient.

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