Program, system and method

Abstract

We provide programs that enable the consolidation of accounting information for two or more medical treatments into one. [Solution] According to one aspect of the present invention, a program is provided. The program causes a computer that manages patient appointments to execute a linking process that associates two or more appointments with the same patient based on a user operation, and an accounting output process that outputs accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the appointments. If the appointment for which accounting is to be performed is an appointment for which linking processing has been performed, the accounting output process outputs a single accounting information for the medical treatment performed based on the two or more appointments associated with that appointment.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically calculating and paying a medical fee based on medical guidance ticket data read from an IC card and causing a patient to pay the medical fee.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a patient receives medical treatment multiple times, it is troublesome for both the patient and the medical institution to perform accounting for each medical treatment. In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a program or the like that can integrate the accounting information of two or more medical treatments into one.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a program is provided. This program causes a computer that manages a patient's medical treatment reservation to execute a link process for associating two or more medical treatment reservations of the same patient based on a user operation, and an accounting output process for outputting accounting information according to the result of the medical treatment performed based on the medical treatment reservation. When the medical treatment reservation for which accounting is to be performed is the medical treatment reservation for which the link process has been performed, the accounting output process is a process of outputting integrated accounting information for the medical treatments performed based on two or more medical treatment reservations associated with the medical treatment reservation.

[0006] According to this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments can be consolidated into one. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical practice management system 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server device 10. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a patient terminal 20. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an activity diagram showing an example of a reservation process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a first screen for patient reservations. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a second screen for patient appointments. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a medical information database. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a patient information database. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen for receptionists. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link operation. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input field for link reservation. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a medical information database after link processing. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a patient information database after link processing. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for a patient. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is an activity diagram showing an example of medical record processing. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a visit to a hospital. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for doctors. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a patient information database after medical treatment. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for doctor D1. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a post-medical patient information database. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a displayed schedule table for doctor D1. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a post-medical patient information database. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is an activity diagram showing an example of accounting processing. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a transaction. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a patient information database after payment. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for receptionists. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of a displayed schedule table for receptionists. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the patient information database after payment. [Figure 29] FIG. 11 is an activity diagram showing an example of a reservation change process. [Diagram 30] FIG. 11 is an activity diagram showing an example of a reservation cancellation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Various characteristic features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0009] Incidentally, the program for realizing the software appearing in this embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0010] In addition, in this embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In addition, in this embodiment, various information is handled, and this information is represented, for example, by physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, high and low signal values ​​as a binary bit collection consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculation can be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0011] In addition, a circuit in the broad sense is a circuit realized by at least appropriately combining a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. In other words, it includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), etc.

[0012] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of the clinical management system according to this embodiment will be described.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the medical practice management system 1. Fig. 1 shows an overview of each device included in the medical practice management system 1, users who use each device, and information processed by each device. Each overview will be explained with reference to other figures as appropriate.

[0014] The medical practice management system 1 is an information processing system that manages the medical practice of patients at a medical institution. Medical practice refers to one or both of the examination and treatment of a patient, and is performed by a doctor. The medical practice management system 1 comprises a communication line 2, a server device 10, a patient terminal 20, a reception terminal 30, and a doctor terminal 40. Note that the medical practice management system 1 may comprise two or more of each of the patient terminals 20, reception terminals 30, and doctor terminals 40, but only one is shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] The communication line 2 includes the Internet, etc., and mediates data exchange between devices connected to the line. Each device in the medical practice management system 1 is connected to the communication line 2 via wired or wireless connection. The patient terminal 20 is a terminal used by patients (including those about to undergo their first consultation). The reception terminal 30 is a terminal used, for example, by a receptionist at a medical institution (also simply called a "receptionist").

[0016] The doctor terminal 40 is, for example, a terminal used by a doctor who provides medical treatment to a patient. Each terminal is, for example, an information processing terminal such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone. The server device 10 is an information processing device that executes processes related to medical appointments, medical records, accounting, and the like. The server device 10 also controls the display of system screens by the patient terminal 20, the reception terminal 30, and the doctor terminal 40. The system screens include screens for patients and screens for medical institutions.

[0017] 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of server device 10. Server device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, and a bus 14. Bus 14 electrically connects each unit included in server device 10.

[0018] (Control unit 11) The control unit 11 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) not shown. The control unit 11 is a computer that realizes various functions related to the medical management system 1 by reading out a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 12. That is, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 12 can be specifically realized by the control unit 11, which is an example of hardware, and executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 11. These will be described in more detail in the next section. Note that the control unit 11 is not limited to being single, and may be implemented with multiple control units 11 for each function. Also, a combination of these may be used.

[0019] (Storage unit 12) The storage unit 12 stores various information defined by the above description. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the medical practice management system 1 executed by the control unit 11, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the program calculations. The storage unit 12 stores various programs, variables, etc. related to the medical practice management system 1 executed by the control unit 11.

[0020] (Communications Department 13) The communication unit 13 is configured to be able to transmit various electrical signals from the server device 10 to external components. The communication unit 13 is also configured to be able to receive various electrical signals from the external components to the server device 10. More preferably, the communication unit 13 has a network communication function, and may be implemented so that various information can be communicated between the server device 10 and external devices via the communication line 2.

[0021] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the patient terminal 20. The patient terminal 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an input unit 24, an output unit 25, and a bus 26. The bus 26 electrically connects the various units included in the patient terminal 20. The control unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the communication unit 23 are similar hardware to the control unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the communication unit 13 shown in Fig. 2, although the specifications, model, etc. may be different.

[0022] (Input section 24) The input unit 24 has one or more input interfaces such as keys, buttons, a touch screen, and a mouse, and receives input from a user. (Output section 25) The output unit 25 has output devices such as a display and a speaker, and displays visual information generated in a manner that is visible to the user, such as a screen, an image, an icon, text, etc., on a display surface, and outputs sound including voice.

[0023] The reception terminal 30 and the doctor terminal 40 have the same hardware configuration as the patient terminal 20. For the reception terminal 30, only the control unit 31 will be described with a different reference number from the control unit 21 of the patient terminal 20. The doctor terminal 40 has the same hardware configuration as the patient terminal 20. For the doctor terminal 40, only the control unit 41 will be described with a different reference number from the control unit 21 of the patient terminal 20.

[0024] 2. Information Processing This section describes information processing executed by the medical practice management system 1 (more specifically, the processors provided in each of the server device 10, the patient terminal 20, the reception terminal 30, and the doctor terminal 40) in this embodiment. The medical practice management system 1 executes medical practice management processing that manages medical treatment for patients. The medical practice management processing includes reservation processing, medical record processing, and accounting processing.

[0025] FIG. 4 is an activity diagram showing an example of reservation processing. The activities shown in FIG. 4 and subsequent figures are started when the patient, the receptionist, and the doctor log in to the medical practice management system 1 by operating the terminals they each use. In the medical practice management system 1, it is assumed that authentication information has been issued in advance to the users of each terminal (patient, receptionist, doctor). When a patient logs in for the first time, the server device 10 accepts input of the patient's basic information (such as name and address) and issues authentication information for the patient. The server device 10 displays, as a system screen, a screen designed for the users of each terminal (patient, receptionist, doctor) indicated by the authentication information entered at the time of login.

[0026] The server device 10 generates screen data showing a system screen at A11, and executes a process of transmitting the generated screen data to each terminal as a display process. The patient terminal 20 displays a screen for patients indicated by the transmitted screen data at A12. The reception terminal 30 displays a screen for receptions indicated by the transmitted screen data at A13. Users of each terminal (patients and receptionists) use the medical practice management system 1 by displaying the system screen at their respective required times.

[0027] The screen data is, for example, an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) file and an image file. In this case, a web page showing the system screen is displayed on each terminal. If an application program for using the medical practice management system 1 is installed on each terminal, the server device 10 may generate and transmit display data for the application as screen data.

[0028] Next, information processing when a patient makes an appointment for medical treatment will be described. When making an appointment for medical treatment, the patient performs an operation to display a screen for making an appointment for medical treatment and making an interview on a patient-oriented screen displayed on the patient terminal 20, for example. When this operation is performed on the patient terminal 20, the server device 10 causes the patient terminal 20 to display a reservation screen for the patient. In this embodiment, the reservation screen for the patient is configured to include a first screen and a second screen for reservation.

[0029] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a first screen for patient reservations. The first screen C1 for patient reservations shown in Fig. 5 displays reservation icons E1 to E6 prepared for each medical treatment menu. For example, the reservation icon E1 is an image including a medical treatment menu called "Treatment F1", a time required for the examination etc. being "60 minutes", a medical treatment format being "face-to-face", a sentence showing an overview of the medical treatment, and a button B11 for proceeding to reservation.

[0030] Furthermore, the appointment icons E2 to E6 are similar images for each medical treatment menu, namely, "Treatment F2," "Treatment F3," "Treatment F4," "Consultation G1," and "Consultation G2," respectively. At A21, the patient terminal 20 accepts, for example, an operation on the "Proceed to appointment" button B11 of the appointment icon of the medical treatment menu for which the patient wishes to receive treatment, as an operation for making an appointment for medical treatment. When the operation on the "Proceed to appointment" button B11 is accepted, the server device 10 causes the patient terminal 20 to display a second screen for patient appointments.

[0031] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a second screen for patient appointments. The second screen C2 for patient appointments shown in Fig. 6 displays a display field E21 for a medical treatment menu, an input field E22 for appointment date and time, an input field E23 for medical treatment format, an input field E24 for medical interview information, a patient schedule L11, a confirmation button B21, a change reservation button B22, and a cancel button B23. The display field E21 displays the medical treatment menu selected on the first screen C1 shown in Fig. 5 ("Consultation G2" in the example of Fig. 6).

[0032] The server device 10 refers to a medical information database described later and displays a patient-oriented schedule table L11 showing time periods when medical staff can make reservations. In this embodiment, the server device 10 displays the patient-oriented schedule table L11 in which a date and time when at least one medical staff member can make a reservation and at least one piece of equipment can be reserved is shown in a white rectangular area as a time period when reservations can be made, and a time period when no medical staff member can make a reservation or no equipment can be reserved is shown in a diagonal line pattern area as a time period when reservations cannot be made. In other words, when a reservation is made from the patient terminal 20, the server device 10 displays the schedule table L11 that allows reservations to be made from available reservation slots based on the schedules of both the medical staff and the equipment.

[0033] While looking at the patient schedule L11, the patient inputs the date and time that he or she wishes to make an appointment in the input field E22 ("12:00-12:30" under "mm / dd" in the example of FIG. 6). This input may also be performed by specifying the date and time that the patient wishes to make an appointment in the patient schedule L11. The server device 10 highlights (in the example of FIG. 6, displays by encircling with a bold line) the reservation area H21, which is the area that corresponds to the input appointment date and time, in the schedule L11.

[0034] Furthermore, if the patient can select either face-to-face or online as the consultation format, the patient inputs the selected consultation format ("face-to-face" in the example of FIG. 6) in the input field E23. Whether or not the consultation format can be selected is determined for each medical treatment menu; for example, this is not possible for "Treatment F1" but possible for "Consultation G1". If possible, the patient inputs the medical history information provided for each medical treatment menu in the input field E24. Note that inputting the medical history information is not mandatory, and can be done, for example, when visiting the medical institution.

[0035] When the patient terminal 20 accepts an operation on the reservation confirmation button B21 after accepting each of the above operations by the patient, it transmits reservation data indicating each of the input information for the reservation to the server device 10. In this way, the patient terminal 20 displays a reservation screen and a medical interview screen at A21 and A22, and accepts the operation of the patient's reservation for medical treatment and the medical interview (if input) by the patient through the patient terminal 20.

[0036] The change appointment button B22 is a button for changing the medical appointment, and the cancel button B23 is a button for canceling the medical appointment. Information processing when these buttons are operated will be described in detail later.

[0037] At A23, the server device 10 performs reception processing for the medical appointment and medical interview received at the patient terminal 20. The contents of the medical appointment and the medical interview result are each information related to the patient's medical treatment (hereinafter referred to as "medical information"). The server device 10 stores a medical information database and a patient information database for storing the medical information, and performs a process of storing new medical information in these databases as reception processing.

[0038] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a medical information database. In the medical information database DB1 shown in Fig. 7, medical information is stored for each medical staff member and each piece of equipment. In the diagram, "-" indicates that no information has been stored yet. Note that to make the names of medical information items easier to understand, the names of items (such as "patient name") are shown in parentheses in some unstored locations.

[0039] Medical staff refers to personnel who provide medical care to patients, such as doctors. Equipment refers to devices and the like used in medical care. For example, if the medical institution is a dentist, the equipment is called a unit, which is a set of a chair for the patient to sit on and the devices necessary for the medical care. In the medical information database DB1, medical information including patient name, medical treatment menu, medical treatment format, medical treatment time, reception status, equipment used, and link information is stored in association with a medical information ID for each medical staff member. In addition, medical information including patient name, medical treatment menu, medical treatment format, medical treatment time, status, staff available, and link information is stored in association with a medical information ID for each piece of equipment.

[0040] The patient name is the name of each patient, and is associated with a patient ID for identifying each patient. The medical treatment menu is the name of the medical treatment scheduled to be performed for the patient. The medical treatment format is the format of the medical treatment, either face-to-face or online. The medical treatment time is information indicating the time at which the medical treatment will be performed. The medical treatment time is a scheduled time before the patient is admitted to the medical institution, and is a confirmed time after admission. Note that in Figure 7 and subsequent figures, only the hour and minute are shown as the medical treatment time, but it is assumed that date information is also included.

[0041] The status is information indicating the status of a medical appointment, and in the medical practice management system 1, it is indicated by four statuses: "Not Accepted," "Consultation," "Accounting," and "Completed." "Not Accepted" indicates a situation where the patient has not yet checked in at the medical institution. "Consultation" indicates the situation from when the patient checks in at the medical institution until the consultation ends. "Accounting" indicates the situation from when the patient's consultation ends until accounting is performed. "Completed" indicates a situation where the patient has finished accounting and the medical treatment is completed. Equipment used indicates the equipment used during the medical treatment. Staff available indicates the medical staff who will be handling the patient. Link information will be explained later.

[0042] For example, the medical information S11 of doctor D1 is associated with the medical information including the patient name "K1", "Consultation G1", "Face-to-face", "9:30-10:00", "Completed", "Unit U1", and "NA", the medical treatment menu, the medical treatment format, the consultation time, the status, the equipment used, and link information. Also, the medical information S12 of unit U1 is associated with the medical information including the patient name "K1", "Consultation G1", "Face-to-face", "9:30-10:00", "Completed", "Doctor D1", and "NA", the medical treatment menu, the medical treatment format, the consultation time, the status, the staff available, and link information.

[0043] Note that "NA" indicates that there is no corresponding link information, which will be explained in more detail later. Moreover, these pieces of medical information S11 and S12 represent information about the same medical treatment for the same patient. Similarly, below, medical information with the same tens digit in the code (in this case, "S11" and "S12") represented by "S" + "two-digit number" attached to the "medical information" is assumed to represent information about the same medical treatment given to the same patient by the same doctor at the same consultation time (for example, the medical treatment indicated by "medical information S11" and the medical treatment indicated by "medical information S12" are the same).

[0044] In other words, the medical information S11 and S12 are medical information indicating the same medical appointment, but the medical staff appointment and the equipment appointment are separately indicated by a code including a two-digit number with only the ones digit changed. When the medical information S11 and S12 are not distinguished, they may be associated with the same medical information ID, such as medical information S10.

[0045] The medical information S21 of Doctor D3 is associated with the medical information of "K2," "Treatment F3," "Meeting," "10:30-11:00," "Accounting," "Unit U2," and "NA," and the medical information S22 of Unit U2 is associated with the medical information of "K2," "Treatment F3," "Meeting," "10:30-11:00," "Accounting," "Doctor D3," and "NA."

[0046] In addition, the medical information S31 of Doctor D2 is associated with the medical information of "K3," "Treatment F1," "Meeting," "11:00-12:00," "Treatment," "Unit U1," and "NA," and the medical information S32 of Unit U1 is associated with the medical information of "K3," "Treatment F1," "Meeting," "11:00-12:00," "Treatment," "Doctor D2," and "NA."

[0047] In addition, the medical information S41 of Doctor D3 is associated with the medical information of "K4," "Consultation G2," "Face-to-face," "12:00-12:30," "Not Checked in," "Unit U2," and "NA," and the medical information S42 of Unit U1 is associated with the medical information of "K4," "Consultation G2," "Face-to-face," "12:00-12:30," "Not Checked in," "Doctor D3," and "NA."

[0048] The server device 10 stores the consultation menu and consultation format input on the second screen C2 for patient reservations shown in Fig. 6, and stores the input reservation date and time as the consultation date and time. The server device 10 also stores any of the consultation staff and facilities that are available at the reservation date and time as the available staff and facilities to be used. In this way, in this embodiment, the patient cannot make a reservation by specifying a specific medical staff and specific facilities.

[0049] When storing the appointment date and time as the consultation date and time, if there is no medical staff available for the appointment date and time, i.e., if the patient mistakenly inputs a time period when appointments are not possible as the appointment date and time, the server device 10 does not store the appointment date and time, and transmits notification data to the patient terminal 20 notifying the patient that the appointment cannot be accepted. The patient terminal 20 displays the notification and prompts the patient to input an available appointment date and time. Then, when an available appointment date and time is input, the server device 10 executes the appointment acceptance process.

[0050] The server device 10 creates new medical information every time a medical appointment is made, and stores the information in the medical information database DB1 in association with the medical staff providing the appointment and the unit used for the appointment. In this way, the server device 10 performs a reservation acceptance process when a reservation is made by a patient. By performing the reservation acceptance process, it becomes possible to know the reservation status of each medical staff member and each piece of equipment, the content of the reserved medical appointment, the implementation status of the medical appointment, etc. by referring to the medical information database DB1.

[0051] The server device 10 stores a part of the above-mentioned medical information and the interview results in a patient information database. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a patient information database. The server device 10 stores basic information, medical information ID, link information, chart information, accounting information, and status of a patient as patient information in the patient information database DB2 shown in Fig. 8. In the diagram, "-" indicates that no information has been stored yet, and "..." indicates that some information has been stored.

[0052] The server device 10 first secures a new area for storing patient information, and stores in that area the same medical information ID (S41 and S42 in the example of FIG. 8) as that stored in the medical information database DB1. This medical information ID associates the medical information stored in the medical information database DB1 with the patient information stored in the patient information database DB2.

[0053] The server device 10 also stores basic information about the patient receiving medical treatment in association with the medical treatment information ID. The basic information about the patient includes the patient's name, address, and patient ID, etc., that were entered when the patient registered as a user of the medical treatment management system 1. The link information will be described later.

[0054] The server device 10 also stores a medical record ID, history information, interview information, symptoms, treatment details, etc. as medical record information. The medical record ID is identification information for associating a medical record used in medical treatment with medical information. In the example of FIG. 8, a medical record ID "R10" is stored in association with medical information S11 and S12. Similarly, medical record IDs "R20", "R30", and "R40" are stored in association with medical information S21 and S22, medical information S31 and S32, and medical information S41 and S42, respectively.

[0055] The history information is information indicating the past medical record history of a patient. The medical record history is stored, for example, in an electronic medical record system and managed in association with a patient ID. Every time the server device 10 stores a medical information ID in association with a patient ID, it reads out the history information associated with the patient ID from the electronic medical record system and stores it in the patient information database DB2. The medical interview information, symptoms, treatment details, etc. store information entered during medical treatment based on the current appointment.

[0056] The server device 10 also stores the accounting ID, medical expenses, and information indicating whether or not payment has been made as accounting information. The accounting ID is identification information for associating each patient's accounting with medical information. In the example of FIG. 8, the accounting ID "T10" is stored in association with the medical information S11 and S12. Similarly, the accounting IDs "T20", "T30", and "T40" are stored in association with the medical information S21 and S22, the medical information S31 and S32, and the medical information S41 and S42, respectively.

[0057] The status field stores the status described in Fig. 7. Since the medical interview information may be entered at the time of reservation, the information is already stored for patients whose status is "Consultation" or "Not Accepted". In this way, the server device 10 executes the acceptance process of the medical interview result by the patient.

[0058] A patient can make a reservation by calling a medical institution, in addition to making a reservation by operating the patient terminal 20. In this case, the receptionist at the medical institution performs an operation to display a screen for making a reservation for medical treatment on a reception screen displayed on the reception terminal 30, for example. When this operation is performed on the reception terminal 30, the server device 10 generates screen data showing a reservation screen for reception in A24, and executes a process of transmitting the generated screen data to the reception terminal 30 as a display process.

[0059] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen for receptionists. The reception terminal 30 displays a reservation screen C3 for receptionists, which includes a patient name input field E31, a medical treatment menu input field E32, a reservation date and time input field E33, a medical treatment format input field E34, a staff input field E35, an equipment input field E36, a schedule table L21 for medical institutions, a reservation confirmation button B31, a reservation change button B32, a cancel button B33, and a link reservation button B34.

[0060] The schedule table L21 is a table showing the medical treatment schedule for each patient. In this embodiment, the medical treatment information is arranged in chronological order in the schedule table L21. The server device 10 reads out the medical treatment information from the medical treatment information database DB1 shown in FIG. 7, and arranges it in chronological order in the schedule columns for each medical staff member and each piece of equipment to display it as the schedule table L21. In this embodiment, the server device 10 displays as the schedule table L21 a table showing time slots available for reservation with white rectangular areas and time slots for which reservations have already been made with rectangular areas containing medical examination information (referred to as "reservation areas" as in FIG. 6).

[0061] The receptionist talks with the patient while looking at schedule L21 for the medical institution, and inputs the patient's name into input field E31 and the date and time the patient wishes to make an appointment into input field E33. The receptionist also inputs the treatment menu heard from the patient into input field E32 and the treatment format into input field E34. The receptionist also inputs the medical staff and equipment available on the appointment date and time into input field E35 and the equipment to be used into input field E36. The server device 10 displays the medical information indicating the entered medical appointment in the appointment area in the schedule for the reserved staff and equipment.

[0062] In the example of Fig. 9, the server device 10 displays, in the reservation area H311 for "9:30-10:00" of "unit U2", which is the equipment being used, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "consultation G1" has been made for "patient K1" by "doctor D2". The server device 10 also displays, in the reservation area H312 for "9:30-10:00" of "doctor D2", who is the staff member treating patient K1, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "consultation G1" has been made for "patient K1" using "unit U2". These pieces of medical information are information indicating a part of the medical information S11 and S12 shown in Fig. 7.

[0063] Similarly, the server device 10 displays, in the reservation area H321 for "10:30-11:00" of "unit U2," which is the equipment being used, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "treatment F2" by "doctor D3" for "patient K2" has been made. The server device 10 also displays, in the reservation area H322 for "10:30-11:00" of "doctor D3," who is the staff member treating patient K2, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "treatment F2" for "patient K2" using "unit U2" has been made. These pieces of medical information are information indicating a part of the medical information S21 and S22 shown in FIG. 7.

[0064] Similarly, the server device 10 displays, in the reservation area H331 for "11:00-12:00" of "unit U1," which is the equipment being used, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "treatment F3" by "doctor D2" for "patient K3" has been made. Also, the server device 10 displays, in the reservation area H332 for "11:00-12:00" of "doctor D2," who is the staff member treating patient K3, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "treatment F3" for "patient K3" using "unit U1" has been made. These pieces of medical information are information indicating a part of the medical information S31 and S32 shown in FIG. 7.

[0065] Similarly, the server device 10 displays, in the reservation area H341 for "12:00-12:30" of "unit U2," which is the equipment being used, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "consultation G2" has been made for "patient K4" by "doctor D3." The server device 10 also displays, in the reservation area H342 for "12:00-12:30" of "doctor D3," who is the staff member treating patient K4, medical information indicating that a medical appointment for "consultation G2" has been made for "patient K4" who uses "unit U2." These pieces of medical information are information indicating a part of the medical information S41 and S42 shown in FIG. 7.

[0066] The server device 10 also displays the characters "Complete" (status where accounting has been completed and medical treatment has been completed; also referred to as "Complete"), "Total" (status where medical treatment has been completed and accounting has not yet been completed; also referred to as "Accounting"), "Consultation" (status where a visit has been accepted and medical treatment has not yet been completed; also referred to as "Consultation"), and "Not yet" (status where a medical treatment has been reserved and the visit has not yet been accepted; also referred to as "Not yet accepted") as the status of the medical treatment appointments for patients K1, K2, K3, and K4. In this way, the server device 10 also executes a display process in A24 for displaying the status of the medical treatment appointments in addition to the schedule, and the reception terminal 30 displays the schedule and the status in A25.

[0067] The patient may input the desired date and time (time slot) of the appointment by directly specifying the appointment area in the schedule L21 for the medical institution. For example, a receptionist specifies the desired date and time of the appointment in the medical staff schedule field. The server device 10 then displays a reservation area including the name of the medical staff and the appointment date and time at the corresponding date and time in the medical staff schedule field. At that time, the server device 10 displays the specified appointment date and time in the input field E33 and the name of the medical staff in the input field E35. This eliminates the need to enter information into the input fields E33 and E35.

[0068] Furthermore, if there is a facility that has an available appointment on the specified appointment date and time, the server device 10 displays the name of that facility (or any of the facilities if there is more than one) in the input field E36. When the appointment confirmation button B31 is pressed in this state, the server device 10 displays information indicating the medical appointment displayed in the input field E36 in the reservation area in the schedule table of the reserved facility. Similarly, if an operation to specify the desired appointment date and time is performed first in the schedule field of the facility, the server device 10 displays the name of the medical staff member who has an available appointment in the input field E35 as the available staff member, and when the appointment confirmation button B31 is pressed, displays information indicating the medical appointment in the reservation area in the schedule table of the reserved medical staff member.

[0069] As described above, when a patient makes a reservation using the second patient reservation screen C2, they cannot specify specific medical staff and equipment when making a reservation, but when a receptionist makes a reservation using the reception reservation screen C3, they can specify specific medical staff and equipment when making a reservation.

[0070] The change appointment button B32 is a button that is operated when changing a medical appointment that has already been confirmed. The cancel button B33 is a button that is operated when canceling a medical appointment that has already been confirmed. The link appointment button B34 is a button that is operated when making a linked appointment.

[0071] A linked reservation is when two or more medical appointments for the same patient are made in association with each other. For example, when a patient consults a doctor and is expected to receive treatment soon depending on the results of the consultation, a linked reservation is made to associate and manage the appointment for consultation and the appointment for treatment. In addition, when the medical practice management system 1 manages medical practice at a medical institution other than a dentist, the same patient may receive treatment at multiple medical departments or undergo multiple examinations, so a linked reservation may be made to associate and manage, for example, an appointment for a first medical department or examination with an appointment for a second medical department or examination.

[0072] In linking appointments, it is necessary to perform an operation for relating two or more appointments of the same patient (hereinafter referred to as a "linking operation.") An example of the linking operation will be described with reference to Figs.

[0073] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a link operation. In Fig. 10, the reception terminal 30 displays the reception-oriented appointment screen C3 shown in Fig. 9. When making a link appointment to a medical appointment for patient K4, the receptionist first selects the medical appointment for patient K4 from the schedule table L21. The selection of the medical appointment for patient K4 is performed, for example, by selecting the appointment area H341 or H342 in which the medical information for patient K4 is displayed by tapping, clicking, or the like.

[0074] When a medical appointment is selected, the server device 10 highlights the selected appointment area (in the example of FIG. 10, the frame is made thicker), and displays the contents of the selected medical appointment in each of the input fields E31 to E36. Next, the receptionist presses the link reservation button B34. When the link reservation button B34 is operated, the server device 10 displays an input field for medical information related to the link reservation.

[0075] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of input fields for link reservations. In Fig. 11, the reception terminal 30 displays, on the reception-oriented reservation screen C3, an input field E43 for reservation date and time, an input field E44 for the treatment menu of the link reservation, an input field E45 for the treatment format of the link reservation, an input field E46 for the staff handling the link reservation, and an input field E47 for the equipment to be used for the link reservation, in addition to the input field E31 for the patient name, the input field E32 for the treatment menu, and the input field E33 for the reservation date and time shown in Fig. 10.

[0076] The receptionist inputs the reservation date and time of the linked reservation while checking the reservation date and time of the selected medical appointment and the availability of medical staff and facilities in the schedule table L21. In the example of Fig. 11, the medical information "13:00-14:00", "Treatment F4", "Face-to-face", "Doctor D1", and "Unit U1" are input. Note that when inputting a linked appointment, the desired date and time (time period) may also be input by directly specifying the reservation area in the schedule table L21.

[0077] The server device 10 displays the medical information indicating the input linked reservation in the reservation area (reservation areas H351 and H352 in the example of FIG. 11) indicating the corresponding medical time in the schedule table L21. At that time, the server device 10 displays the linked (mutually associated) reservation areas in the same manner. In the example of FIG. 11, the server device 10 highlights (thickens the border in the example of FIG. 11) the reservation areas H351 and H352 in the same way as the linked reservation areas H341 and H342. When the receptionist has completed inputting the linked reservation, he or she operates the reservation confirmation button B31 to confirm the linked reservation.

[0078] When the reception terminal 30 accepts a series of operations for inputting the above link reservation in A31, it transmits link reservation data indicating each piece of information (reservation date and time, etc.) for the input link reservation to the server device 10. When the link reservation data is transmitted, the server device 10 executes link processing to reflect the link reservation in A32. The server device 10 executes processing to store the contents of the link reservation in the medical information database DB1 and the patient information database DB2 as the link processing.

[0079] 12 is a diagram showing an example of the medical information database after link processing. The server device 10 stores medical information S51 and S52 indicating new link reservations in the medical information database DB1. The medical information S51 of doctor D1 is associated with medical information including the patient name "K4", "Treatment F4", "Face-to-face", "13:00-14:00", "Not yet checked in", "Unit U2" and "S41", medical treatment menu, medical treatment format, treatment time, status, equipment used and link information.

[0080] Furthermore, the medical information S52 of unit U2 corresponds to the medical information including the patient name "K4", "Treatment F4", "Face-to-face", "13:00-14:00", "Not yet checked in", "Doctor D1" and "S42", the medical treatment menu, the medical treatment type, the medical treatment time, the status, the equipment used and the link information. Furthermore, the server device 10 stores "S51" in the link information of the medical information S41 indicating the linked medical appointment, and stores "S52" in the link information of the medical information S42 indicating the linked medical appointment.

[0081] As described above, by storing the link information in the medical information database DB1, the medical staff medical information S41 and S51 are associated with each other, and the equipment medical information S42 and S52 are associated with each other. The server device 10 further stores the link information in the patient information database DB2.

[0082] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the patient information database after link processing. The server device 10 stores patient information indicating a link reservation with medical information S41 and S42 as link destinations in the patient information database DB2. First, the server device 10 secures a new area for storing patient information, and stores in that area a medical information ID (S51 and S52 in the example of Fig. 13) indicating the same link reservation as that stored in the medical information database DB1.

[0083] Next, the server device 10 stores the linked medical information ID (S41 and S42 in the example of FIG. 13) as link information in association with the medical information ID indicating the linked reservation. The server device 10 also stores the linked medical information ID (S51 and S52 in the example of FIG. 13) as link information in association with the linked medical information ID (S41 and S42 in the example of FIG. 13) stored as "medical information ID".

[0084] As described above, by storing link information in the patient information database DB2, the pair of medical information S41 and S42 indicating the link destination and the pair of medical information S51 and S52 indicating the link source are associated with each other. Like the pair of medical information S11 and S12, medical information with link information "NA" (not applicable) indicates that it is a single piece of medical information with no link reservation.

[0085] Furthermore, the server device 10 stores the patient name ("K4" in the example of FIG. 13) and patient ID stored in association with the linked medical information ID "S41, S42" in association with the medical information ID "S51, S52". In this case, since the basic information associated with "S41, S42" can be referenced for the basic information of patient K4, the server device 10 does not store basic information of the patient other than the patient name and patient ID in the storage area associated with "S51, S52".

[0086] Furthermore, the server device 10 stores the medical record ID stored in association with the medical information ID "S51, S52" which is the link destination, that is, the medical record ID "R40" which is the same as the link destination, in association with the medical information ID "S41, S42". In this case, since it is sufficient to refer to the medical record information associated with "S41, S42" and "R40" for the medical record information of patient K4, the server device 10 does not store the medical record history information and interview information in the storage area associated with "S51, S52".

[0087] Additionally, the server device 10 stores the accounting ID "T40" assigned to patient K4, just like the linked "S41, S42", in association with the medical information ID "S51, S52". Since the medical treatment has not yet ended at the time this link reservation is made, the server device 10 does not store any accounting information other than the accounting ID. Additionally, the server device 10 stores the status ("Not accepted" since it is the time of reservation) in association with the medical information ID "S51, S52".

[0088] The display of the schedule table after the link processing has been executed as described above will now be described. When the server device 10 is requested to display the schedule table from the patient terminal 20 or the reception terminal 30 by an operation of the patient or the reception staff, in A33, it executes a display process for displaying the schedule table for the patient or the schedule table for the medical institution. In A34, the reception terminal 30 displays, for example, the schedule table L21 shown in Fig. 11 as the schedule table for the medical institution. In the schedule table L21, the medical care area of ​​the link source and the medical care area of ​​the link destination are displayed separately.

[0089] In A35, the patient terminal 20 displays a schedule for the patient. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for patients. The patient terminal 20 displays the second screen C2 for patient appointments shown in Fig. 6. The second screen C2 displays a schedule table L11 for patients. In the schedule table L11, only an area corresponding to the appointment date and time of the medical appointment booked by the patient is displayed (other reserved areas shown in Fig. 6 are omitted).

[0090] When the server device 10 is requested by the patient terminal 20 to display the patient-oriented schedule table L11, the server device 10 refers to the patient information database DB2 and reads out the medical treatment information associated with the patient who has logged in by operating the patient terminal 20. The server device 10 displays a reservation area covering the medical treatment time indicated by the read out medical treatment information.

[0091] As a result, in the example of Fig. 6 before the link reservation is made, a reservation area H21 with a consultation time of "12:00-12:30" is displayed, but in the example of Fig. 14 after the link reservation is made, a reservation area H22 with a consultation time of "12:00-14:00" including the linked reservation is displayed. The consultation time in the reservation area H22 has changed from that in the reservation area H21, but it is the same as the reservation area H21 in that it shows one medical appointment. Note that although there is no scheduled medical appointment in the time period 12:30-13:00 between the end time of the linked medical appointment and the start time of the linked medical appointment, the server device 10 displays an area representing one medical appointment including that time period as the reservation area H22.

[0092] Next, the medical record processing will be described. Fig. 15 is an activity diagram showing an example of chart processing. In the example of Fig. 15, the reception terminal 30 displays a reception screen indicated by the screen data transmitted from the server device 10 at A13, and the doctor terminal 40 displays a doctor screen indicated by the screen data transmitted from the server device 10 at A14.

[0093] A patient who has made an appointment for medical treatment visits the medical institution to receive the treatment at the appointed date and time, and goes to the reception desk to check in. The medical institution's receptionist operates the reception terminal 30 to accept the patient's visit. The reception terminal 30 displays a screen for accepting the patient's visit. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting a visit to the hospital. The screen C4 for accepting a visit to the hospital shown in Fig. 16 displays a schedule table L21 of medical treatment hours after a link reservation is made in the example of Fig. 11. A current time line J1 is shown on the schedule table L21. The time period before the current time line J1 represents a time period in the past, and the time period after the current time line J1 represents a time period in the future.

[0094] The server device 10 displays the character "Not Yet" in reservation areas H341, H342, H351, and H352 for medical information that has not yet been accepted. Also, the server device 10 displays the character "Consultation" in reservation areas H331 and H332 for a situation in which the medical information has been accepted and the patient is waiting for treatment or is currently being treated. The server device 10 displays the character "Total" in reservation areas H321 and H322 when the medical treatment results have been input and the patient is waiting for payment. Also, the server device 10 displays the character "Complete" in reservation areas H311 and H312 when the payment process has been completed.

[0095] When a patient comes to the reception desk, the receptionist performs a visit operation to accept the patient's visit. The visit operation is, for example, clicking the character "not yet". The reception terminal 30 accepts the visit operation by the receptionist in A41, and transmits visit data indicating the patient's name and visit to the server device 10. When the server device 10 receives the visit data, it executes a reception process to accept the visit of the patient indicated by the visit data in A42. The server device 10 executes a process to change the status of the corresponding medical information in the medical information database DB1 shown in FIG. 12 from "not yet accepted" to "treatment" as a reception process for the visit. When the server device 10 executes the reception process, it changes the character "not yet" in the corresponding medical information to the character "diagnosed" and displays it on the reception terminal 30.

[0096] Here, if the patient has not input the medical interview at the time of reservation, the medical interview is input. The medical interview input after the visit may be performed by the patient himself using the patient terminal 20, or may be performed by the patient or the receptionist using the reception terminal 30. In the example of FIG. 15, a case where the reception terminal 30 is used will be described. In A43, the reception terminal 30 displays an input field E24 for medical interview information similar to that of FIG. 6 and accepts the input operation of the medical interview. If the reception terminal 30 is a tablet terminal, the tablet terminal may be handed over to the patient to input the medical interview information, or if it is difficult to have the patient operate the reception terminal 30, the receptionist may input the contents written by the patient on a paper medical interview sheet. In A42, the server device 10 executes a medical interview reception process similar to A23 shown in FIG. 4.

[0097] After the patient's visit and, in some cases, the medical interview have been completed, the patient receives medical treatment from the doctor for whom the appointment was made in the reserved unit. The doctor provides medical treatment to the patient and also operates doctor terminal 40 to display the patient's chart information. The doctor first operates doctor terminal 40 to display an appointment screen for the doctor. This operation causes server device 10 to perform a display process for displaying a schedule for the doctor in A44. Then, doctor terminal 40 displays the schedule for the doctor in A45.

[0098] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for doctors. The doctor terminal 40 displays a doctor-oriented screen C5 including a schedule table L51 that is an extracted portion of the consultation time schedule table L21 shown in Fig. 16 that shows appointments related to the doctor using the terminal (Doctor D3 in the example of Fig. 17). As in the example of Fig. 16, the schedule table L51 shows a current time line J1, and the appointment area where the current time line J1 overlaps, i.e., the appointment area showing the appointment currently being treated, is highlighted (displayed surrounded by a thick line).

[0099] In the example of Fig. 17, the current time is earlier than the example of Fig. 16, and is the time when the medical treatment indicated by the appointment areas H321 and H322 is currently being performed. When doctor D3 selects the appointment area H321 or H322 by tapping, clicking, or other operations, doctor terminal 40 accepts this operation at A51 as a display operation for displaying the medical record information of the patient (patient K2 in the example of Fig. 17) whose medical treatment appointment is indicated in the selected appointment area.

[0100] The doctor terminal 40 transmits to the server device 10 request data indicating the medical appointment of the patient for which the display operation was performed (medical information S21, S22 in the example of FIG. 17) and a request to display the medical record information. When the server device 10 receives the request data, the next process to be performed varies depending on whether the medical appointment for which the display of the medical record information is requested is a linked appointment or not. In the example of FIG. 17, since the medical appointment is not a linked appointment, the server device 10 reads out, in A52, the medical record information associated with the medical appointment indicated by the request data from the patient information database DB2.

[0101] The server device 10 transmits the read medical record information to the doctor terminal 40. In A53, the doctor terminal 40 displays the transmitted medical record information. The doctor performs medical treatment while looking at the displayed medical record information, and inputs the results of the examination and treatment, etc. When the doctor terminal 40 accepts these medical record input operations in A54, it transmits update information for the input medical record information to the server device 10. In A55, the server device 10 stores the transmitted update information in the patient information database DB2, thereby updating the medical record information of the patient who received medical treatment.

[0102] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the patient information database after medical treatment. The server device 10 stores in the patient information database DB2 the medical record information (enclosed in a thick frame) entered by the doctor D3 for patient K2 in association with the medical treatment information S21, S22 of patient K2. Figs. 17 and 18 have explained the medical record processing for patient K2 for which no link reservation has been made. Next, with reference to Figs. 19 to 22, the medical record processing for patient K4 for which a link reservation has been made will be explained.

[0103] Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for doctor D1. The doctor terminal 40 of doctor D1 displays a doctor screen C6 including doctor D1's schedule table L61. In the example of Fig. 19, the appointment area where the current time line J1 overlaps, that is, the appointment area showing the medical appointment currently being treated, is the appointment area H341 and H342 for patient K4. When doctor D1 selects the appointment area H341 or H342, the doctor terminal 40 accepts this operation at A51 as a display operation for displaying the medical record information of patient K4.

[0104] The medical information S41 indicated by the reservation area H341 is the medical appointment that is the "link destination" of the medical information S51, which is the linked appointment described above. A medical appointment that is the "link destination" of a linked appointment in this manner is not considered to be a linked appointment. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 19, since the medical appointment is not a linked appointment, the server device 10 reads out the medical record information associated with the medical appointment indicated by the request data from the patient information database DB2 in A52, as in the example of FIG. 17. Thereafter, information processing from A53 to A55 is performed, and the medical treatment results of patient K4 by doctor D1 are stored in the patient information database DB2.

[0105] 20 is a diagram showing another example of the patient information database after medical treatment. The server device 10 stores in the patient information database DB2 the chart information (enclosed in a bold frame) entered by the doctor D1 for the patient K4 in association with the medical treatment information S41, S42 indicating the appointments for medical treatment made by the patient K4. As the doctor D1 still has medical treatment for the patient K4, he or she operates the doctor terminal 40 to display his or her own schedule.

[0106] Fig. 21 is a diagram showing another example of a displayed schedule table for doctor D1. The doctor terminal 40 of doctor D1 again displays the doctor screen C6 including the schedule table L61 for doctor D1. In the example of Fig. 21, the appointment area where the current time line J1 overlaps, that is, the appointment area showing the medical appointment currently being treated, is the appointment area H351 and H352 for patient K4. When doctor D1 selects the appointment area H351 or H352, the doctor terminal 40 accepts this operation at A51 as a display operation for displaying the medical record information of patient K4.

[0107] The medical information S51 indicated by the reservation area H351 is a linked reservation associated with the medical information S41. When the medical appointment is a linked reservation, as described above, no medical chart information other than the medical chart ID (the medical chart ID "R40" in the case of the medical information S51) is stored in the area associated with the medical information ID indicating the medical appointment. Therefore, in A61, the server device 10 reads out the linked medical chart information associated with the same medical chart ID as the medical chart ID "R40" associated with the requested medical information S51, in other words, the medical chart information associated with the medical information S41 associated with the medical information S51 by the linked reservation (the medical chart information stored in the example of FIG. 20) from the patient information database DB2.

[0108] The server device 10 transmits the read chart information to the doctor terminal 40. In A62, the doctor terminal 40 displays the transmitted chart information. Doctor D1 performs medical treatment while looking at the displayed chart information, and inputs the results of further examinations and treatments performed on patient K4. When the doctor terminal 40 accepts these chart input operations in A63, it transmits update information for the input chart information to the server device 10. In A64, the server device 10 stores the transmitted update information in the patient information database DB2, thereby updating the medical chart information of the patient who received medical treatment.

[0109] 22 is a diagram showing another example of the patient information database after medical treatment. The server device 10 stores in the patient information database DB2 the medical record information (enclosed in a thick frame) entered by the doctor D1 for the patient K4 in association with the medical information S41 and S42. As a result, the results of the medical treatment performed based on the medical information S41 and the results of the medical treatment performed based on the medical information S51, which is a linked appointment associated with the medical information S41, are reflected in the same medical record information (the medical record information associated with the medical information S41 and S42).

[0110] The medical record information stored in the patient information database DB2 in this way is stored in the electronic medical record system when the medical treatment is completed. At this time, the medical record ID "R40" included in the medical record information is also stored, making it possible to determine that the stored medical record information indicates the results of medical treatment based on the medical information S41, S42, S51, and S52 associated with the medical record ID "R40." Note that the medical record information and medical treatment may be associated by storing a medical information ID instead of the medical record ID in the electronic medical record system in association with the medical record information.

[0111] In the example of FIG. 22, the storage area for the medical record information associated with the medical information S51, which is a linked reservation, does not store any medical record information other than the medical record ID. This is one example of a method for storing medical record information in a linked reservation, and the method for storing medical record information of a linked reservation is not limited to this. For example, the storage areas for the medical record information associated with the medical information S41 and S51 may be integrated, and the medical record information may be stored in the integrated storage area. In short, when the medical record information of a linked reservation is read, the medical record information associated with the linked medical reservation is read, and when the read medical record information is updated, the medical record information associated with the linked medical reservation is updated.

[0112] Next, the accounting process will be described. Fig. 23 is an activity diagram showing an example of a transaction process. In the example of Fig. 23, the server device 10 performs a process of displaying a reception screen at A71, and the reception terminal 30 displays a reception screen indicated by the screen data transmitted from the server device 10 at A72.

[0113] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for accepting billing. A schedule table L71 of medical treatment hours is displayed on the billing reception screen C7 shown in FIG. 24. A current time line J1 is displayed on the schedule table L71. The server device 10 highlights (displays by surrounding with a thick line) the reservation area whose status is "billing". When a patient comes to pay, the billing receptionist performs an operation to select the reservation area corresponding to that patient. The reception terminal 30 accepts this operation at A73 as a billing operation to output billing information.

[0114] The reception terminal 30 sends request data to the server device 10 indicating the medical appointment for the patient for which the accounting operation was performed (the medical information of patient K2 in the example of FIG. 24) and a request to output the accounting information. When the server device 10 receives the request data, the next process it performs varies depending on whether the medical appointment for which the output of accounting information is requested is a linked appointment or not. In the example of FIG. 24, the medical appointment is not a linked appointment, so in A74, the server device 10 reads out the medical record information associated with the medical appointment indicated in the request data from the patient information database DB2.

[0115] In A75, the server device 10 generates accounting information based on the read chart information. For example, the server device 10 calculates medical fee points from the medical treatment details, and generates the patient's out-of-pocket expenses, i.e., medical expenses, as accounting information, which are calculated from the calculated medical fee points. The server device 10 transmits the generated accounting information to the reception terminal 30. In A76, the reception terminal 30 displays the transmitted accounting information.

[0116] When the patient makes payment based on the displayed accounting information (medical expenses), the receptionist inputs a message that the payment has been completed into the reception terminal 30. In A77, the reception terminal 30 accepts the input of the payment result, and transmits payment data indicating the payment result to the server device 10. In A78, the server device 10 updates the accounting information in the patient information database DB2 based on the payment result indicated by the transmitted payment data.

[0117] Fig. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the patient information database after accounting. The server device 10 stores the medical expenses and payment results (areas surrounded by thick frames) output for patient K2 as accounting information in the patient information database DB2 in association with the medical care information S21, S22 of patient K2. Since payment by patient K2 has been completed, the server device 10 changes the status to "Completed". Figs. 24 and 25 have explained the accounting process for patient K2 for whom a link reservation has not been made. Next, with reference to Figs. 26 to 28, an explanation will be given of the accounting process for patient K4 for whom a link reservation has been made.

[0118] Fig. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a displayed schedule table for reception. In Fig. 26, the same accounting reception screen C7 and consultation time schedule table L71 as in Fig. 24 are displayed. In the example of Fig. 26, the appointment area overlapping with the current time line J1, i.e., the appointment area showing the currently ongoing medical appointment, is the appointment area H351 and H352 for patient K4. In the example of Fig. 26, the medical treatment indicated by the appointment areas H341 and H342 showing the linked medical appointment has ended, but the medical treatment indicated by the linked appointment areas H351 and H352 has not yet ended.

[0119] In this case, the server device 10 displays the status "Consultation" indicating that the medical treatment is in progress, instead of "Total" indicating that the medical treatment has ended, for the medical treatments indicated by the reservation areas H341 and H342. The server device 10 also displays the status "Consultation" for the medical treatments indicated by the reservation areas H341 and H342 associated with the link reservation, until the medical treatments indicated by the reservation areas H351 and H352, which are linked reservations, end.

[0120] While the status "Consultation" is displayed, the server device 10 does not highlight the reservation area and does not accept accounting operations. By doing so, the server device 10 prevents accounting information from being output for the linked medical treatment until the linked medical treatment is completed. Fig. 27 shows a schedule table for reception after the linked medical treatment is completed, that is, after the medical treatment indicated by the reservation areas H351 and H352 is completed.

[0121] Fig. 27 is a diagram showing another example of a displayed schedule table for receptionists. As shown in Fig. 27, the server device 10 sets the status of reserved areas H341, H342, H351, and H352 to "Total" and highlights these reserved areas (displaying them surrounded by thick lines). When patient K4 comes to pay after his or her medical treatment, the receptionist for accounting selects one of these reserved areas corresponding to patient K4. The reception terminal 30 accepts this operation at A73 as an accounting operation to output accounting information.

[0122] The reception terminal 30 transmits to the server device 10 request data indicating the medical appointment of the patient for which the accounting operation has been performed (medical information S41, S42, S51, S52 of patient K4 in the example of FIG. 27) and a request to output accounting information. In the example of FIG. 27, the medical appointment indicated by the request data includes medical information S51 and S52, which are linked appointments, so the medical appointment for which output of accounting information has been requested is a linked appointment. When a medical appointment is a linked appointment, accounting operations cannot be accepted until the treatment for the linked appointment is completed, so no accounting information other than the accounting ID (if the medical information ID is S41, S42, S51, S52, then the accounting ID is "T40") has yet been stored in the area associated with the medical information ID indicating the linked appointment and the linked medical appointment.

[0123] In this case, in A81, the server device 10 reads from the patient information database DB2 the medical record information associated with the linked medical information S41, S42, among the medical appointment indicated by the request data. In A82, the server device 10 generates accounting information based on the read medical record information and sends the generated accounting information to the reception terminal 30. In A83, the reception terminal 30 displays the sent accounting information. In A84, the reception terminal 30 accepts input of the payment result by patient K4, and sends payment data indicating the payment result to the server device 10. In A85, the server device 10 updates the accounting information in the patient information database DB2 based on the payment result indicated by the sent payment data.

[0124] 28 is a diagram showing another example of the patient information database after accounting. The server device 10 stores the accounting information (enclosed in a thick frame) generated in A82 in the patient information database DB2 in association with the medical information S41, S42 indicating the linked medical treatment. The medical expenses indicated by this accounting information are calculated from the medical record information associated with the medical information S41, S42, i.e., the medical fee points calculated based on the results of two medical treatments performed based on the linked medical information S41, S42 and the linked medical information S51, S52.

[0125] In the example of FIG. 28, in order to prevent duplication of accounting information, the server device 10 does not store accounting information other than the accounting ID in the storage area of ​​medical information that shares a accounting ID with the linked medical information, i.e., the accounting information associated with the medical information S51 that is the linked reservation (accounting information with an accounting ID of "T40"). Note that the method of storing accounting information for linked reservations is not limited to this. For example, the storage areas of the accounting information associated with the medical information S41, S51 may be integrated, and the accounting information may be stored in the integrated storage area. In short, it is sufficient that a single piece of accounting information is stored based on the results of the medical treatment at the linked destination and the results of the medical treatment based on the linked reservation.

[0126] The accounting information stored in the patient information database DB2 in this way is stored, for example, in a medical accounting system once accounting is complete. At this time, the accounting ID "T40" contained in the accounting information is also stored, making it possible to determine that the stored accounting information has been output based on the results of medical treatment based on the medical information S41, S42, S51, and S52 associated with the accounting ID "T40." Note that accounting information and medical treatment may be associated by associating a medical information ID instead of an accounting ID with the accounting information and storing it in the medical accounting system.

[0127] As described above, the server device 10 is a computer that manages patients' medical appointments. The server device 10 executes a generation process for generating medical information indicating a patient's medical appointment based on, for example, a user operation. As described above, the generation process can be performed from either the patient terminal 20 or the reception terminal 30. In other words, the user here includes both the patient and the reception staff.

[0128] The server device 10 also executes a linking process that associates two or more medical appointments for the same patient based on a user operation. When the linking process is performed, the medical record information and accounting information of the same patient can be consolidated into one, as described above. Here, in the medical practice management system 1, the linking process is assumed to be a process that is executed when a user operation is performed from a terminal of the medical institution (the reception terminal 30 is an example of this). In other words, as shown in FIG. 6 etc., the server device 10 does not display the link reservation button on the patient terminal 20, so that the user operation for the linking process cannot be performed from the patient terminal 20.

[0129] According to this embodiment, the medical institution can manage whether or not to combine the medical record information and the accounting information. Also, if linked reservations could be made from the patient terminal 20, it is possible that linked reservations that the medical institution does not know about could be accepted, which could cause confusion in the management of reservations at the medical institution. According to the above embodiment, all linked reservations are made by the medical institution, which prevents such confusion and makes it easier for the medical institution to manage reservations compared to when linked reservations can be made from the patient terminal 20.

[0130] The server device 10 also executes an appointment display process to display medical appointments on a schedule, as shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 9, etc. The server device 10 executes an appointment display process to display two or more medical appointments associated by a link process in a different manner from other medical appointments (in the example of Fig. 11, the frame is made thicker), as shown in Fig. 11, etc. Note that the different manner referred to here is not limited to the manner shown in Fig. 11, and may be, for example, the color or size of the area, the color or type of the frame, the color or size of the font, etc. By varying the manner of medical appointments in this way, it is possible to make it easier to understand medical appointments in which medical record information and accounting information are combined, compared to when the manner is uniform.

[0131] In addition to the appointment display process, the server device 10 also executes a status display process for displaying status information of a patient who has made an appointment with the patient on the schedule together with the appointment. The server device 10 also executes a status display process for displaying the same status information of a patient who receives treatment based on two or more appointments for which linking process has been executed, on each of the two or more appointments.

[0132] For example, in the example of Fig. 11, the reservation areas H341 and H351 for which link processing has been executed both display the same status information of "Not Yet", in the example of Fig. 26, both display the same status information of "Consultation", and in the example of Fig. 27, both display the same status information of "Total". According to this embodiment, it is easier to grasp the medical appointment in which the medical record information and accounting information are combined into one, compared to when the status information is displayed separately.

[0133] The server device 10 also executes a reservation display process in which two or more medical appointments for which link processing has been executed are displayed as separate medical appointments on the terminal of the medical institution, and two or more medical appointments for which link processing has been executed are displayed as one medical appointment on the terminal of the patient. On the reception terminal 30, which is an example of the terminal of the medical institution, the server device 10 displays the medical information S41 and S51 for which link processing has been executed in separate reservation areas, namely reservation area H341 and reservation area H351, as shown in Fig. 11 etc.

[0134] On the other hand, in the patient terminal 20, which is an example of a patient terminal, the server device 10 displays a reservation area H22 in which the medical appointment shown in the reservation area H341 for which link processing has been performed and the medical appointment shown in the reservation area H351 are combined into one, as shown in Fig. 14. According to this embodiment, it is possible to convey accurate information to the medical institution by indicating that two or more medical appointments are associated. On the other hand, since it is confusing for the patient if two or more reservation areas are displayed for one appointment, by combining the reservation areas into one, such confusion can be suppressed compared to the case where the reservation areas are not combined.

[0135] 17 and the like, the server device 10 executes a medical record output process for outputting medical record information of a patient who will receive medical treatment when the medical treatment is performed based on a medical appointment. In this case, when two or more medical appointments are associated by a link process, the server device 10 executes a process of outputting medical record information output in one of the two or more medical appointments performed based on the two or more medical appointments in the next medical treatment as the medical record output process.

[0136] In the example of Fig. 21, for example, the medical information S41 and S51 are linked by link processing, so the server device 10 also outputs the medical record information output in the medical treatment based on the medical information S41 in the medical treatment based on the medical information S51. If the medical record information is output separately for two or more medical treatments for the same patient, the results of the earlier medical treatment are not reflected in the later medical record information, so the earlier medical record information must also be viewed. In contrast, according to the mode in which the medical record information output earlier is also output for the linked appointment medical treatment as described in Fig. 21, two or more medical treatments for the same patient can be performed more smoothly than when the medical record information for two or more medical treatments linked by link processing is output separately.

[0137] Furthermore, when medical treatment is performed based on a medical appointment indicated by the generated medical information, the server device 10 executes an accounting output process that outputs accounting information according to the results of the medical treatment. When the medical appointment for which accounting is performed is a medical appointment for which link processing has been performed, the server device 10 outputs accounting information that has been combined into one for medical treatments performed based on two or more medical appointments with which the medical appointment is linked. For example, in the example of FIG. 28, the server device 10 outputs accounting information (accounting information stored in patient information database DB2 in association with medical information S41) that has been combined into one for the medical treatment in medical information S41 and the medical treatment in medical information S51 that are associated with each other by link processing. According to this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments can be combined into one.

[0138] The information processing performed by the server device 10 can also be described as follows. The server device 10 executes a generation process to generate at least one of first medical information not associated with two or more medical appointments and second medical information associated with two or more medical appointments. The first medical information is medical information for appointments that are not linked, for example, the medical information of patients K1, K2, and K3 shown in the reservation areas H311 to H332 shown in Fig. 9 and the like. The second medical information is medical information for appointments that are linked, for example, the medical information of patient K4 shown in the reservation areas H341 to H352 shown in Fig. 11 and the like.

[0139] When medical treatment is performed based on a medical appointment indicated by the first medical information generated by the generation process, the server device 10 executes an accounting output process to output accounting information for that medical treatment. When two or more medical treatments are performed based on two or more medical appointments indicated by the second medical information generated by the generation process, the server device 10 outputs a single accounting information for the two or more medical treatments. This method also makes it possible to combine accounting information for two or more medical treatments into a single information.

[0140] Next, changes to medical appointments will be described. Fig. 29 is an activity diagram showing an example of reservation change processing. In the example of Fig. 29, a case will be described where a medical appointment is changed by an operation on the reception terminal 30. First, the server device 10 performs a process of displaying a reception screen in A91, and the reception terminal 30 displays a reception screen indicated by the screen data transmitted from the server device 10 in A92. The reception terminal 30 displays, for example, the reception reservation screen C3 shown in Fig. 10.

[0141] For example, when a patient calls to change their schedule, the receptionist displays the appointment screen C3 for reception to change the patient's schedule. When the receptionist selects the appointment area to be changed, the details of the medical appointment shown in the selected appointment area are displayed in the input fields E31 to E36 as described in FIG. 10. The receptionist changes the details displayed in the input fields E31 to E36 and presses the appointment change button B32. The reception terminal 30 accepts these operations as appointment change operations at A93, and transmits appointment change data indicating the details of the appointment changed by the appointment change operation to the server device 10.

[0142] Since the medical appointment for which the change has been requested is neither a linked appointment nor a linked appointment, the server device 10 performs a process to change the medical appointment in A94 by storing the change contents indicated by the appointment change data in the medical information database DB1. After performing the change process, the server device 10 transmits the change results to the reception terminal 30. The reception terminal 30 displays the transmitted change results in A95.

[0143] Furthermore, in A96, the server device 10 generates notification data for notifying the patient (the patient who made the changed medical appointment) of the change results, and transmits it to the patient terminal 20 of the patient. In A97, the patient terminal 20 displays the appointment change notification indicated by the transmitted notification data. In this way, when there is a change in the contents of the medical appointment, the server device 10 executes a notification process to notify the terminal of the patient who will receive the medical treatment based on the medical appointment (the patient terminal 20 of that patient) of the change.

[0144] If the medical appointment for which a change has been requested is a linked appointment or a linked appointment, the following change process for the appointment will be performed. For example, in A92, when the appointment screen C3 for reception after the linked appointment is confirmed as described in Fig. 11 is displayed, it becomes possible to change the medical information S41 and S51 in the associated appointment areas H341 and H351 by the link process. If any of the medical information S41 and S51 is changed, since the medical appointment for which a change has been requested is a linked appointment, the server device 10 reads out all medical appointments associated with the medical appointment for which a change has been requested from the medical information database DB1 in A101.

[0145] Next, the server device 10 executes a change process for the read medical appointments, i.e., all medical appointments related by the link process, in A102. For example, if the medical appointment time in the medical information S41 is changed from 12:00-12:30 to 13:00-13:30, which is one hour later, the server device 10 changes the medical appointment time in the medical information S51 to shift it by the same amount of time as in the medical information S41 (shifting it from 13:00-14:00 to 14:00-15:00, which is one hour later).

[0146] Furthermore, when the corresponding staff in the medical information S41 is changed from doctor D1 to doctor D2, the server device 10 also changes the corresponding staff in the medical information S51 from doctor D1 to doctor D2. In this way, the server device 10 makes the same changes to the medical appointment associated with the medical appointment as the changes made to the medical appointment by the receptionist. When the change process is completed, the processes of A103 (display of change result), A104 (generation of notification data), and A105 (notification of appointment change) are performed in the same manner as A95, A96, and A97.

[0147] In this way, when a change is made to one of two or more medical appointments related by link processing, the server device 10 executes a reservation display process in which the other medical appointments among the two or more medical appointments are also reflected in the change and displayed on the schedule. By automatically reflecting changes to linked appointments in this way, it is possible to reduce the effort required to change appointments, compared to when two or more medical appointments related by link processing are both changed by the user.

[0148] In the example of Fig. 29, the reservation was changed by the receptionist, but the reservation may also be changed by the patient operating the patient terminal 20. In that case, the reservation result is displayed on the patient terminal 20, and a notification of the reservation change is sent to the reception terminal 30. However, for linked reservations, since the patient does not know the reservation details (the staff member who made the linked reservation and the equipment to be used, etc.), it may be possible to prevent the reservation from being changed from the patient terminal 20 (although it is of course possible to change a normal medical appointment).

[0149] In addition, when the server device 10 automatically reflects changes to a linked reservation as described above, if the equipment or medical staff is heavily booked and reflecting the changes would result in a gap of more than a certain amount of time (e.g., one hour) between the linked medical reservation and the linked reservation, the server device 10 may notify the user of this and ask them to correct the changes.

[0150] Furthermore, when a medical appointment is changed as shown in Fig. 29, the server device 10 notifies the patient's terminal (patient terminal 20) of the change. On the other hand, when one of two or more medical appointments related by link processing is input from the patient's terminal (patient terminal 20) and another of the two or more medical appointments is input from the medical institution's terminal (reception terminal 30), the server device 10 does not notify the patient of the input as shown in Fig. 4 (in the example of Fig. 4, after the link processing is executed in A32, a schedule is displayed on the patient terminal 20 based on the patient's operation, but no notification is made from the server device 10).

[0151] Even if a link reservation is made, the patient still visits the hospital to receive treatment, and detailed treatment information such as the facilities to be used and the staff to be available is not provided to the patient in the first place. Therefore, even if a notification is made that a link reservation has been made, the patient may feel annoyed because the notification only conveys that the treatment time will be slightly longer. Therefore, by not executing the notification process in the above case, the annoyance caused by the notification to the patient can be reduced compared to when a notification is sent to the patient terminal 20 even when a link reservation is made.

[0152] Next, the cancellation of a medical appointment will be described. Fig. 30 is an activity diagram showing an example of reservation cancellation processing. In the example of Fig. 30, a case where a medical appointment is cancelled by an operation on the reception terminal 30 will be described. First, the server device 10 performs a process of displaying a reception screen in A111, and the reception terminal 30 displays a reception screen indicated by the screen data transmitted from the server device 10 in A112. The reception terminal 30 displays, for example, the reception appointment screen C3 shown in Fig. 10.

[0153] When the receptionist selects the appointment area to be canceled, the details of the medical appointment shown in the selected appointment area are displayed in the input fields E31 to E36 as described in Fig. 10. The receptionist checks the details displayed in the input fields E31 to E36, and if it is confirmed that the appointment is to be canceled, presses the cancel button B33. The reception terminal 30 accepts these operations as appointment cancellation operations at A113, and transmits cancellation target data indicating the appointment to be canceled by the appointment cancellation operation to the server device 10.

[0154] When the server device 10 receives the data to be cancelled, the process to be performed next varies depending on whether the medical appointment requested to be cancelled is a linked appointment or not. If the medical appointment requested to be cancelled is neither a linked appointment nor a linked appointment, there is no other medical appointment associated with that medical appointment, so in A114, the server device 10 performs a process to delete only the medical appointment indicated by the data to be cancelled from the medical information database DB1 as a cancellation process for the medical appointment. The server device 10 may also perform a process to store a cancellation flag in association with the medical appointment to be cancelled as a cancellation process.

[0155] When the server device 10 has performed the cancellation process, it transmits a cancellation result to the reception terminal 30. In A115, the reception terminal 30 displays the transmitted cancellation result. In this way, when a medical appointment is canceled, the server device 10 executes a cancellation process to cancel the medical appointment.

[0156] If the medical appointment requested to be cancelled is a linked appointment or a linked appointment, there is another medical appointment associated with that appointment, so in A121 the server device 10 reads out all medical appointments associated with the medical appointment to be cancelled from the medical information database DB1. Next, in A122, the server device 10 executes a cancellation process for the read medical appointments, i.e., all medical appointments associated by the link process.

[0157] For example, when the medical information S41 is canceled, the server device 10 performs a process of canceling the medical information S51 associated with the medical information S41. Also, when the medical information S51 is canceled, the server device 10 performs a process of canceling the medical information S41 associated with the medical information S51. The server device 10 transmits a cancellation result to the reception terminal 30, and the reception terminal 30 displays the transmitted cancellation result in A123.

[0158] In this way, when one of two or more medical appointments related by link processing is canceled, the server device 10 executes processing to cancel the other medical appointments of the two or more medical appointments. According to this aspect, it is possible to reduce the effort of canceling appointments, compared to a case where both of two or more medical appointments related by link processing need to be canceled manually (by the user's own operation).

[0159] Furthermore, even if there is a time gap between the end time of a medical appointment and the start time of the next medical appointment, the server device 10 executes link processing for those two or more medical appointments. For example, in the example of FIG. 11, the server device 10 may execute link processing to associate a medical appointment with a consultation time of 13:30-14:30 with the medical information S41. According to this aspect, the degree of freedom of reservation can be improved compared to a case where linked reservations are possible only for medical appointments that are consecutive in time. Specifically, for example, even if the time immediately following a medical appointment is filled with reservations for equipment or medical staff, a linked reservation can be made at a time after those reservations are finished.

[0160] <Example: Link reservation> In the example of Figure 11, a linked reservation is made in which the consultation time, consultation menu, and equipment to be used are different for the linked medical appointment, but this is not limited to this, and linked reservations may be made by different staff members.

[0161] In the above embodiment, the server device 10 performs linking processing between appointments on the same day, but this is not limited to the above, and may also perform linking processing between appointments on different days. However, since once a linked appointment is made, payment cannot be made until the last appointment is completed, it is desirable to limit the period. Therefore, the server device 10 may perform linking processing when two or more appointments are all within a specified period.

[0162] In the embodiment, the predetermined period is, for example, the period of "the same day." In that case, even if the link reservation button B34 is operated in the example of Fig. 11, the server device 10 cannot link the medical appointment of the day with the medical appointment of the next day. According to this embodiment, the medical record information and the accounting process can be consolidated only for the medical treatment in the predetermined period.

[0163] The appointment format includes face-to-face and online. When one or more of two or more medical appointments are appointments for online medical care, the server device 10 may not execute link processing for those two or more medical appointments. For example, when a medical appointment for which the medical appointment format is online medical care is selected, the server device 10 may make the link reservation button B34 shown in FIG. 11 inoperable, or when the link reservation button B34 is operated while an appointment for online medical care is selected, the server device 10 may display "Link reservation not possible" and not execute link processing.

[0164] Link reservations are made, for example, when the patient's medical condition necessitates treatment using different equipment immediately after consultation, or when the treating staff needs to be replaced midway. On the other hand, online medical consultations are usually handled by a single medical staff member, and no equipment is used, so link reservations are not necessary. Therefore, by not executing link processing when online medical consultations are included, confusion can be reduced when making reservations for online medical consultations, compared to when link reservations are possible for online medical consultations.

[0165] In the embodiment, the server device 10 executes the process of associating two pieces of medical information as a link process, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the server device 10 may execute the process of associating three or more pieces of medical information of the same patient with each other as a link process. In this case, the server device 10 also executes the process of outputting the medical record information output in the first medical treatment among the three or more medical treatments based on the three or more medical appointments in the next medical treatment, and outputs the same medical record information in the further next medical treatment, as a medical record output process. The server device 10 also outputs accounting information that is a combination of the medical treatments performed based on the three or more medical appointments that are associated with each other.

[0166] <Example: Link operation> In the embodiment, the server device 10 accepts an operation of selecting one piece of medical information, an operation of pressing the link reservation button B34 shown in FIG. 11, etc., and an operation of inputting a new medical appointment as link operations, and executes a process of associating an existing medical appointment with the newly input medical appointment as a link process, but the link operation is not limited to this.

[0167] For example, when two or more pieces of medical information for the same patient are input separately, the server device 10 may accept the operation of selecting those two or more pieces of medical information and the subsequent operation of pressing the link reservation button B34 as a link operation, and execute a link process to associate the selected medical information.

[0168] When the medical information is input separately, the medical information and patient information are stored separately even for the same patient, so that not only the medical information ID but also the medical record ID and accounting ID are stored separately. Therefore, the server device 10 sets the earlier medical appointment as the link destination and the later medical appointment as the linked appointment, and changes the medical record ID and accounting ID associated with the medical information of the linked appointment to the medical record ID and accounting ID associated with the medical information of the linked appointment.

[0169] Furthermore, when the medical information is input separately, the basic information and medical record information are stored in the patient information of the linked reservation, so the server device 10 deletes the basic information (excluding the patient name and patient ID) and medical record information (excluding the medical record ID) from the patient information of the linked reservation so that the information is not duplicated between the linked destination and the linked reservation. By doing this, it is possible to use the same medical record information for the medical treatment at the linked destination and the medical treatment at the linked reservation, as in the embodiment.

[0170] Furthermore, at the time the link operation is performed, neither the linked medical treatment nor the linked reservation medical treatment has been performed, so no accounting information other than the accounting ID is stored. The server device 10 does not accept accounting operations until the linked reservation medical treatment has ended, and so accounting information is output all at once, as in the embodiment.

[0171] Furthermore, when two or more medical appointments are made for the same patient on the same day, the server device 10 may accept the operation of inputting the second or subsequent medical appointments as a linking operation, and execute a linking process that associates the two or more pieces of input medical information for the same patient on the same day. In this case, the storage of the medical record information and the output of the accounting information may be performed in the same manner as in the embodiment. In this case, two or more medical appointments for the same patient on the same day will necessarily be associated with each other. In short, any operation may be used as a linking operation as long as it is possible to distinguish that the two or more medical appointments are associated with each other and are linked appointments.

[0172] <Example: Reservation change> In the embodiment, the server device 10 executes a status display process that displays the status information of a patient who has made a medical appointment on the schedule together with the medical appointment of the patient. The patient's status information is information that indicates the status before or after medical treatment. "Not yet" shown in FIG. 11 is an example of a status before medical treatment, and "Total" and "Complete" are examples of a status after medical treatment. Strictly speaking, "See" includes both the situation before medical treatment and the situation after medical treatment, but here "See" is considered to be an example of a status after medical treatment.

[0173] When an instruction to change the contents of a medical appointment is given, if the status information indicates a status before medical treatment (e.g., "Not yet") and an instruction to change the contents of the medical appointment is given, the server device 10 executes a change process to accept the changed contents in accordance with the instruction, but if the status information indicates a status after medical treatment (e.g., "Consultation", "Accounting", "Completed"), the server device 10 may not execute the change process. If an appointment is changed after medical treatment, for example, a billing process that had progressed halfway may be interrupted, causing confusion. By determining whether or not to execute a change process depending on the status, it is possible to reduce confusion caused by appointment changes compared to always executing a change process.

[0174] <Example: Overall configuration> In the embodiment, the server device 10 executes the reading and storing of medical record information in the patient information database DB2 as the medical record processing, but is not limited to this. For example, the server device 10 may execute the process of accessing an external electronic medical record system and exchanging medical record information as the medical record processing. Also, in the embodiment, the server device 10 executes the calculation and display of the patient's medical fee and the storage of the payment result in the patient information database DB2 as the accounting processing, but is not limited to this. For example, the server device 10 may execute the calculation and output of the medical fee (medical fee paid by medical insurance) as the accounting processing.

[0175] The overall configuration shown in Fig. 1 is an example, and is not limited thereto. For example, the server device 10 may be distributed to two or more devices, or may be replaced by a cloud computing system. In addition, the medical information database DB1 and the patient information database DB2 may be an integrated single database, or each may be divided into two or more databases. In addition, each database may be stored in an external device other than the server device 10.

[0176] The aspects of the above-mentioned embodiment are the server device 10 and the medical practice management system 1, i.e., the information processing device and the information processing system, but may also be an information processing method. The information processing method is a method including a step in which a computer executes each process executed by the information processing device or the information processing system. The aspects of the above-mentioned embodiment may also be a program. The program causes a computer to execute each process executed by the same information processing device or the information processing system.

[0177] <Additional Notes> Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects:

[0178] (1) A program that causes a computer that manages patient medical appointments to execute a linking process that associates two or more medical appointments for the same patient based on user operation, and an accounting output process that outputs accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the medical appointments, wherein, when the medical appointment for which accounting is performed is an appointment for which the linking process has been performed, the accounting output process outputs the accounting information that is compiled into one for the medical treatment performed based on the two or more medical appointments to which the medical appointment is associated.

[0179] According to this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments can be consolidated into one.

[0180] (2) In the program described in (1) above, the link processing is processing that is executed when the user operation is performed from a terminal of a medical institution.

[0181] According to this embodiment, the medical institution can manage whether or not to consolidate the accounting information.

[0182] (3) In the program described in (1) or (2) above, the linking process is executed when the two or more medical appointments are all within a predetermined period.

[0183] According to this embodiment, accounting information can be compiled only for medical treatments during a specified period.

[0184] (4) A program according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the linking process is executed for two or more medical appointments even if there is a time gap between the end time of one medical appointment and the start time of the next medical appointment.

[0185] According to this embodiment, the flexibility of reservations can be improved.

[0186] (5) A program according to any one of (1) to (4) above, which causes the computer to execute an appointment display process for displaying the medical appointments on a schedule, the appointment display process being a process for displaying the two or more medical appointments in a manner different from other medical appointments.

[0187] According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily grasp medical appointments in which accounting information is consolidated into one.

[0188] (6) A program according to any one of (1) to (5) above, which causes the computer to execute an appointment display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule and a status display process for displaying status information of a patient who has made the medical appointment on the schedule together with the medical appointment of the patient, and the status display process is a process for displaying the same status information for a patient who receives medical treatment based on two or more medical appointments for which the link process has been executed, for each of the two or more medical appointments.

[0189] According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily grasp medical appointments in which accounting information is consolidated into one.

[0190] (7) A program in which the patient's status information in the program described in (6) above is information indicating the status before medical treatment or the status after medical treatment, and when the status information indicates the status before medical treatment and an instruction has been given to change the contents of the medical appointment, the computer executes a change process to accept the changed contents in accordance with the instruction, and when the status information indicates the status after medical treatment, the change process is not executed.

[0191] According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress confusion caused by reservation changes.

[0192] (8) A program according to any one of (1) to (7) above, which causes the computer to execute an appointment display process for displaying the medical appointments on a schedule, the appointment display process being a process for displaying the two or more medical appointments as separate medical appointments on a medical institution's terminal and displaying the two or more medical appointments as a single medical appointment on a patient's terminal.

[0193] According to this embodiment, accurate information can be conveyed to the medical institution while preventing the patient from becoming confused.

[0194] (9) In the program described in (8) above, the computer is made to execute a process in which, when one of the two or more medical appointments is input from the patient's terminal and another of the two or more medical appointments is input from a terminal of a medical institution where the patient is treated, the computer does not notify the patient of the input, but, when there is a change in the content of the medical appointment, the computer notifies the patient's terminal who is receiving treatment based on the medical appointment of the change.

[0195] According to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the inconvenience caused by notifications.

[0196] (10) A program according to any one of (1) to (9) above, which causes the computer to execute a cancellation process to cancel the medical appointment when the medical appointment is canceled, and which is a process to cancel the other medical appointments among the two or more medical appointments when one of the two or more medical appointments is canceled.

[0197] According to this embodiment, the hassle of canceling a reservation can be reduced.

[0198] (11) A program according to any one of (1) to (10) above, which causes the computer to execute an appointment display process for displaying the medical appointments on a schedule, and the appointment display process is a process for, when a change is made to one of the two or more medical appointments, displaying the other medical appointments on the schedule while reflecting the change.

[0199] According to this embodiment, the effort required for changing reservations can be reduced.

[0200] (12) A program that causes a computer to execute a generation process for generating medical information indicating a patient's medical appointment, and an accounting output process for outputting accounting information according to the results of a medical appointment when the medical appointment is performed based on the medical appointment indicated by the generated medical information, wherein the generation process is a process for generating at least one of first medical information not associated with two or more medical appointments and second medical information associated with two or more medical appointments, and the accounting output process is a process for outputting the accounting information for a medical appointment when the medical appointment is performed based on the medical appointment indicated by the generated first medical information, and for outputting a single accounting information for the two or more medical appointments when two or more medical appointments are performed based on two or more medical appointments indicated by the generated second medical information.

[0201] In accordance with this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments may be consolidated.

[0202] (13) An information processing system for managing patient medical appointments, which executes a linking process for linking two or more medical appointments for the same patient based on a user operation, and an accounting output process for outputting accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the medical appointments, and when the medical appointment for which accounting is performed is an appointment for which the linking process has been performed, the accounting output process outputs the accounting information that is consolidated into one for the medical treatment performed based on the two or more medical appointments with which the medical appointment is associated.

[0203] According to this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments can be consolidated into one.

[0204] (14) A method to be executed by a computer that manages patient medical appointments, the method comprising: a linking processing step of linking two or more medical appointments of the same patient based on a user operation; and an accounting output processing step of outputting accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the medical appointments, wherein, when the medical appointment for which accounting is performed is an appointment for which the linking processing step was performed, the accounting output processing step outputs the accounting information that is consolidated into one for the medical treatment performed based on the two or more medical appointments associated with the medical appointment.

[0205] According to this embodiment, accounting information for two or more medical treatments can be consolidated into one. Of course, this is not the case. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined in any desired manner.

[0206] Finally, although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The new embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiments and their modifications are within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0207] 1: Medical Management System 2: Communication lines 10: Server device 11: Control section 20: Patient terminal 21: Control section 30: Reception terminal 31: Control section 40: Doctor's terminal 41: Control section

Claims

1. The computer that manages patients' medical appointments A linking process for linking two or more medical appointments of the same patient based on a linking operation by a user on a terminal of the medical institution; an accounting output process for outputting accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the medical treatment reservation; Run the command, The accounting output process is a process for outputting the accounting information that is a compilation of the medical treatments performed based on two or more medical treatment appointments that are associated with each other, when the medical treatment appointment for which accounting is performed is an appointment for which the link process has been performed. program.

2. The program according to claim 1, The link process is executed when two or more medical appointments for the same patient are all scheduled within a predetermined period. program.

3. The program according to claim 1, The linking process is executed even if there is a time interval between the end time of one medical appointment and the start time of the next medical appointment among the two or more medical appointments of the same patient. program.

4. The program according to claim 1, The computer includes: Executing a reservation display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule; The reservation display process is a process of displaying two or more mutually associated medical appointments in a manner different from other medical appointments. program.

5. The program according to claim 1, The computer includes: A reservation display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule; and executing a status display process for displaying status information of the patient who has made the medical appointment on the schedule together with the medical appointment of the patient. The status display process is a process of displaying the same status information about a patient who receives medical treatment based on the two or more medical treatment appointments for which the link process has been executed, on each of the two or more medical treatment appointments. program.

6. In the program according to claim 5 , The patient status information is information indicating a pre-medical status or a post-medical status, The computer includes: When the status information indicates the status before the medical treatment and an instruction to change the contents of the medical treatment appointment is given, a change process is executed to accept the changed contents according to the instruction; The change process is not executed when the status information indicates the post-medical treatment status. program.

7. The program according to claim 1, The computer includes: Executing a reservation display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule; The appointment display process is a process of displaying two or more of the medical appointments associated with each other as separate appointments on a terminal of the medical institution, and displaying the two or more appointments as one appointment on a terminal of the patient. program.

8. The program according to claim 7, The computer includes: When one of the two or more medical appointments for the same patient is input from the patient's terminal, and another of the two or more medical appointments is input from a terminal of a medical institution where the patient is treated, the medical institution does not notify the user that the input has been made, When there is a change in the contents of the medical appointment, a process is executed to notify the terminal of the patient who will receive the medical treatment based on the medical appointment of the change. program.

9. The program according to claim 1, The computer includes: If the medical appointment is cancelled, a cancellation process is executed to cancel the medical appointment; the cancellation process is a process of canceling other medical appointments among the two or more medical appointments associated with each other when one of the medical appointments is canceled; program.

10. The program according to claim 1, The computer includes: Executing a reservation display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule; The reservation display process is a process for displaying, when a change is made to one of the two or more medical appointments associated with each other, the other medical appointments also being reflected in the change and displayed on the schedule. program.

11. A computer for managing patient appointments, comprising: A linking process for linking two or more medical appointments of the same patient based on a linking operation by a user on a terminal of the medical institution; A reservation display process for displaying the medical appointment on a schedule; and executing a status display process for displaying status information of the patient who has made the medical appointment on the schedule together with the medical appointment of the patient. The status display process is a process of displaying the same status information about a patient who receives medical treatment based on the two or more medical treatment appointments for which the link process has been executed, on each of the two or more medical treatment appointments. program.

12. An information processing system for managing patient medical appointments, A linking process for linking two or more medical appointments of the same patient based on a linking operation by a user on a terminal of the medical institution; an accounting output process for outputting accounting information according to the results of medical treatment performed based on the medical treatment reservation; Run The accounting output process is a process for outputting the accounting information that is a compilation of the medical treatments performed based on two or more medical treatment appointments that are associated with each other, when the medical treatment appointment for which accounting is performed is an appointment for which the link process has been performed. Information processing system.

13. A method for managing patient appointments, the method comprising: a linking process step of associating two or more medical appointments of the same patient based on a linking operation by a user on a terminal of the medical institution; an accounting output processing step for outputting accounting information according to the results of the medical treatment performed based on the medical treatment reservation; Equipped with The accounting output processing step is a step of outputting the accounting information that is a compilation of the medical treatments performed based on two or more medical treatment appointments that are associated with each other, when the medical treatment appointment for which accounting is performed is a medical treatment appointment for which the link processing step has been performed. method.

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