Medicine storage system and control method

Abstract

To provide a medicines storage device which can suppress a risk of mix-up in a case of being operated by plural persons.SOLUTION: A medicines storage device according to the present invention comprises: a storage container which stores medicines; a housing part which holds the storage container; an open drive mechanism which is on the rear side of the storage container and performs an open operation by biasing the storage container forward; and display means which is arranged on the front side of the storage container or the housing part and can selectively display one of plural colors according to user information of an operator. The open drive mechanism performs the open operation of the storage container which stores a medicine indicated by medicine information on the basis of a signal including the user information and the medicine information from a control terminal. The display means changes the color of the display means according to the user information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a medicine storage device such as a medicine storage device, medicine shelf, dispensing table, medical equipment storage cabinet, etc., and more particularly to a medicine storage device that has a plurality of drawable storage containers into which medicines such as pharmaceuticals and medical materials can be manually put in and taken out, and that allows medicines to be selectively taken out of the storage containers based on medicine dispensing information. System and The present invention relates to a control method for facilitating the removal of medicines from a medicine storage device. [Background technology]

[0002] If the storage items are not limited to medicines, typical examples of storage cabinets with separate storage functions include general-purpose lockers and equipment item stands, where the storage area is divided into multiple compartments and each compartment has a door. In contrast, when the storage object is medicines, medicines such as ampoules are stored in a large number of cassettes (storage containers) for separate storage, and medicine storage devices have been developed that not only select the medicines from the cassettes but also automatically open them (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).

[0003] In such medicine storage devices, in order to prevent mixing up medicines or taking out valuable or dangerous medicines, a configuration is known in which the storage containers are locked at all times and dispensing information such as prescriptions is checked so that only the storage containers containing the necessary medicines can be opened (see Patent Document 4, etc.). Such medicine storage devices are generally designed to be operated by a single operator, and it is difficult to have multiple operators operate them simultaneously, even in order to prevent mix-ups. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-007093 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-195494 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-255724 [Patent Document 4] Patent application No. 2021-207986 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, there has been a demand for a medicine storage device that can be operated by multiple people simultaneously while also improving maintainability.

[0006] The present invention is intended to solve such technical problems, and aims to provide a medicine storage device that can reduce the risk of mix-ups even when operated by multiple people. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The medicine storage system of the present invention includes a storage container for storing medicines, a housing part for holding the storage container, an opening drive mechanism located behind each of the storage containers for biasing the storage container forward to open the storage container, and a drive mechanism located in front of the storage container or the housing part. , corresponding to each storage container Placed Ta a control terminal for controlling the medicine storage device; and at least two mobile terminals linked to the user information, wherein the control terminal associates the user information of the operator with a color one-to-one, when the operator logs in to the mobile terminal, and the control terminal associates the user information of the operator with a color one-to-one, and the control terminal associates the user information of the operator with a color one-to-one, when the operator logs in to the mobile terminal, and the control terminal and displaying the color as a background color on the screen of the mobile terminal to notify the operator of the assigned color; the mobile terminal has a reading means for reading drug information from a drug packaging; The operator The medicine corresponding to the storage container according to the medicine information SupplementWhen charging, the mobile terminal Terminal together with the above drug information The user information Send and control Terminal changes the color of the display means to a color corresponding to the user information determined at the time of login. When the operator takes out medicine from the medicine storage device based on prescription information, the control terminal transmits the prescription information to the portable terminal, and the control terminal changes the color of the display means to a color corresponding to the user information determined at the time of login, and opens the storage container using the opening drive mechanism. It is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to such a medicine storage device, the shelves for medicines to be obtained can be easily identified by the color coding corresponding to each operator, so that medicines can be taken out without confusion even when multiple people are operating. or replenish This becomes possible. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a medicine storage system as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the medicine storage device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the storage shelf shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the opening drive mechanism. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of a control unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a dispensing operation using the medicine storage device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a login screen displayed on the mobile terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen configuration at login. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration during a payout operation. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a payout operation by another user. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a color-coded login screen by another user. [Figure 12]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration when another user performs a payout operation. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a menu screen. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration when replenishing. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for the replenishment quantity at the time of replenishment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation when replenishing. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the operation shown in FIG. 16. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation for checking inventory. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration during an inventory check operation. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a screen configuration during an inventory check operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A specific embodiment of a medicine storage device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of simplicity, the drawings omit details of fasteners such as bolts, drive sources such as electric motors, transmission members such as gears, electrical circuits such as motor drivers, and electronic circuits such as controllers, and instead focus on those necessary for explaining the invention and those related to it.

[0011] First, a system configuration diagram and an external view of a medicine storage device 1 of the present invention are shown in FIGS. The medicine storage system 2 is a system made up of a medicine storage device 1, a control terminal 2 for controlling the medicine storage device 1, a portable digital assistant (PDA) 3 which is a mobile terminal connected to the control terminal 2 and the medicine storage device 1 via a network 9 which allows mutual communication between them, and application software 4 which is a control means operating between these terminals. In this embodiment, the PDA 3 is connected to an access point 90 via a wireless LAN, and the access point 90 is connected to a higher-level device 8 such as a higher-level dispensing server or prescription management system via the network 9, so that the entire system operates as an integrated system. The application software 4 is a control means for establishing the medicine storage system 2 by actually operating the medicine storage device 1, and in this embodiment is a program for executing a control method for the medicine storage device 1. Note that, in this embodiment, the application software 4 is described as being installed in the PDA 3 in particular, but the application software 4 may be installed in any of the elements constituting the medicine storage system 5.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, the medicine storage device 1 has a storage shelf 110 for storing medicines formed in a housing 100, which is a housing part; storage containers 10 attached so that they can be pulled out, one by one, in each compartment of the storage shelf 110; an opening drive mechanism 20 located behind the storage containers 10 and which biases the storage containers 10 forward to open them; and light-emitting units 30 attached to the front of the medicine storage device 1 in correspondence with each storage container 10. The medicine storage device 1 has a control unit 40 for controlling the operation of the opening drive mechanism 20 and the light emission of the light emitting unit 30, a retractable receiving member 50 that also functions as a workbench when an operator stands in front of it to work, and guide members 60 on both sides of the receiving member 50 for guiding the receiving member 50 when it is retracted.

[0013] As shown in Figure 3, the storage container 10 is a long, box-like container that can be manually inserted and removed from inside to hold medicines, including PTP sheets, and other medical materials, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top. The storage container 10 is forced forward by the operation of the opening drive mechanism 20 located at the rear, pushing the front part out from the storage shelf 110 as shown in Figure 4, and the operator can use this forward-protruding part as a handle to pull it out and remove or replenish medicines from the top side.

[0014] The opening drive mechanism 20 has an electric motor 21 that operates under control in accordance with electrical signals from the control unit 40, and a push-out mechanism 22 that is a link mechanism linked to the drive of the electric motor 21 and extends forward to force the storage container 10 forward. The opening drive mechanism 20 also has a locking mechanism 23 that is released when the push-out mechanism 22 urges the storage container 10 forward, and that engages with the rear end 10a of the storage container 10 when it is pushed rearward to prevent the storage container 10 from moving forward on its own, and a sensor 24 that serves as an open / closed state discrimination unit for discriminating between an open state in which the storage container 10 protrudes forward and a closed state in which the storage container 10 is stored in the storage shelf 110.

[0015] When the opening drive mechanism 20 receives an electrical signal from the control unit 40 via communication from the PDA 3 in the closed state as described below, it releases the locking mechanism 23 and causes the push-out mechanism 22 to change shape, thereby forcing the storage container 10 to be pushed forward. At this time, the sensor 24 may notify the control unit 40 or the PDA 3 that the storage container 10 has entered the open state in which it protrudes forward. Furthermore, when the operator closes the storage container 10, the opening drive mechanism 20 can notify the operator that the storage container 10 has been closed by the sensor 24. In this way, the sensor 24 functions as a detection means for detecting whether the storage container 10 is open or closed.

[0016] In this embodiment, the light-emitting unit 30 is an LED lamp that is individually attached to the front side of the storage shelf 110 so as to correspond to each storage container 10, and lights up when the opening drive mechanism 20 located behind the corresponding storage container 10 operates and the storage container 10 enters the open state. The light emitting unit 30 can be color coded using multiple types of LED lamps, for example, two types, red and green, with colors corresponding one-to-one to the users who are the operators using the PDA 3, as will be described later. In this way, the light emitting unit 30 also functions as a display means that can change the display according to the user operating the PDA 3 . Furthermore, although the light-emitting unit 30 is used in this embodiment, the front surface of the storage container 10 may be, for example, a liquid crystal monitor or an ESL (Electronic Shelf Label). However, to improve visibility in the relatively short time that the storage container 10 is opened, two types of color-coded LED lamps are most suitable. Furthermore, using two types of LED lamps in this way is also suitable for reducing costs.

[0017] As shown in Figure 5, the control unit 40 communicates with a mobile terminal PDA3 and a control terminal 2 via a network 9, and controls the actual operations of the light-emitting unit 30, the electric motor 21 of the opening drive mechanism 20, the extrusion mechanism 22, the locking mechanism 23, the sensor 24, etc. based on user operations from the PDA3. The control unit 40 has an illumination control unit 41 for distinguishing the color of the LED lamp to be illuminated based on the user information received from the control terminal 2, a drive control unit 42 for rotating the electric motor 21 to change the extrusion mechanism 22 as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and an opening operation determination unit 43 for determining whether the storage container 10 is in an open state or a closed state based on the signal from the sensor 24. In this embodiment, the PDAs 3 are two independent mobile terminals, each used by one operator and operated by a specific user 61, 62. In the following description, when a distinction is needed, the PDA 3 used by user 61 will be referred to as PDA31 and the PDA used by user 62 as PDA32. However, for example, when performing the login process described below, user 62 may use PDA31 to perform the login process. In this case, the user information of user 62 will be registered in association with PDA31. Thus, the present invention is not limited to a specific mobile terminal being used by a specific individual, and the user information in the present invention is information about who is using the terminal.

[0018] Hereinafter, using these configurations, the control of the dispensing operation when two operators, user 61 and user 62, use medicine storage device 1 simultaneously will be described according to the process of FIG. The PDA 3 is a so-called portable terminal equipped with a barcode reading function, and as shown in FIG. 7, displays a screen requesting the user to log in as an initial screen. On this screen, the user 61 first performs the login process by, for example, entering a user ID and password using a system keyboard, or by having the PDA 3 recognize the barcode on the user 61's own employee ID card (step S101). When user 61 logs in in the authentication step of step S101, a selectable waiting screen is displayed on the screen of PDA 31 in a user interface with a background color (here green) indicated by diagonal lines corresponding to the order in which user 61 logged in, as shown in Figure 8, with registered patient names linked to corresponding prescriptions as shown in Figure 8 (step S102). In this way, steps S101 and S102 also function as color scheme determination steps for combining the user information of the operator who has logged in to the PDA 3, which is a portable terminal, with a color on a one-to-one basis. In this way, when the waiting screen is displayed immediately after the login process, the PDA 3 displays the background color corresponding to the user 61, so that the user 61 can operate the device while understanding the color assigned to him or her, thereby improving visibility during the opening operation steps described below. This waiting screen incorporates prescription information received by, for example, an electronic medical record management system higher than the medicine storage system or other higher-level terminal, and patient information that can be read from a database stored in advance in the control terminal 2 is linked to the prescription information, making the patient information accessible to the user 61 as shown in Figure 9.

[0019] In the prescription information selection screen shown in Figure 8, for example, unprocessed prescription information is organized into two tabs: "Waiting" for unprocessed information and "Completed" for processed prescription information. When the user 61 selects, for example, the first patient information C1 displayed in the "Waiting" tab (step S103), the screen of the PDA 31 displays a medicine list screen, which is prescription information corresponding to the patient information C1 shown in Fig. 8, as shown in Fig. 9 (step S104). In this way, step S103 functions as a prescription selection step that links the medicine information for identifying the medicines corresponding to the prescription with the user information of the user 61. In step S104, the user 61 can check the prescription information corresponding to the patient information C1 and select whether to dispense the medicine in a lump sum or individually (step S105). For example, on the medicine list screen displayed in step S104, selecting medicine M1 from the listed medicines M1, M2, and M3 will result in individual dispensing, while swiping upward without selecting anything will result in lump sum dispensing. In the case of individual payouts, the process is the same as in the case of lump-sum payouts, only the payout order is different, so only the lump-sum payouts will be explained here.

[0020] When the user 61 performs a lump-sum dispensing using the PDA 31, the drug M1 at the top of the prescription information is selected on the screen of the PDA 31, and the drug information of the selected drug M1 is notified to the drug storage device 1 (step S106). Here, the drug information is information sufficient to identify the drug M1, such as the name or GS1 code of the drug M1, and may be any number assigned by the drug storage device 1 as long as such identification is possible. Furthermore, linking such drug information with the storage container 10 means that the drug identified from the drug information is associated one-to-one with the cassette number of the storage container 10 in which the drug is stored.

[0021] As already mentioned, when the control unit 40 receives the drug information of the drug M1 from the PDA 31, it identifies the corresponding storage container 10 (step S107) and causes the opening drive mechanism 20 attached to the back of the storage container 10 to perform an opening operation (step S108). At this time, step S107 functions as a container identification step that identifies the storage container 10 corresponding to the drug information according to the prescription selected by the prescription selection step, and step S108 functions as an opening operation step that opens the opening drive mechanism 20 attached to the storage container 10 identified in step S107.

[0022] At the same time that the storage container 10 protrudes from the storage shelf 110 in steps S107 and S108, the control unit 40 lights up the light emitting unit 30 corresponding to the position of the storage container 10 in green (step S109). The color that is lit in step S109 is the same as the background color that was displayed on the UI on the screen of the PDA 31 when the user 61 logged in. In this way, by changing the lighting color to indicate that the storage container 10 was opened by the operation of the user 61, the user 61 can easily take out the corresponding medicine from the PDA 31 that he or she is operating. Step S109 functions as a display step that changes the display of the light-emitting unit 30 in accordance with the user information.

[0023] When the user 61 confirms that the light-emitting unit 30 is lit and that the storage container 10 has been opened in step S108, the user 61 removes the drug M1 from the storage container 10 and uses the PDA 31 to read the barcode attached to the packaging or the like of the drug M1. The PDA 31 confirms that the drug M1 has been certainly taken out by reading the barcode (step S110). Note that reading the barcode is described as an example to clarify that the drug M1 has been certainly taken out, but it is not an essential step. For example, even without step S110, if the correct drug M1 is stored in the opened storage container 10, the user 61 would not be able to open different storage containers 10 at the same time using the PDA 31, and therefore the user 61 would be able to take out only the correct drug M1. In addition, by reducing unnecessary confirmation, there is also the benefit of efficient dispensing. Whether or not to perform the barcode reading step at the time of dispensing can be freely changed as a setting from, for example, the control terminal 2. When the user 61 manually closes the storage container 10 after step S110, the sensor 24 detects the closed state due to this action (step S111). If the sensor 24 does not detect the closed state in step S111, the PDA 31 continues the process assuming that the medicine M1 has not yet been taken out.

[0024] Now, when the sensor 24 detects that the storage container 10 is closed in step S111, the control unit 40 determines that the drug M1 has been taken out into the PDA 31, and the PDA 31 performs the operations of steps S106 to S111 for the next drug M2. When such a loop process is performed for all medicines M1, M2, M3, etc. described in the prescription information (step S112), the user 61 confirms that the medicines described in the prescription information have been dispensed. When this processing is completed, the PDA 31 returns the screen to the waiting screen and waits until the user 61 performs the next operation.

[0025] In such medicine storage device 1, a case where a second user 62 also performs a dispensing operation during the same time period as user 61 will be described. Conventionally, when operating a medicine storage device 1 via a portable terminal such as a PDA 3, it is expected to be difficult to quickly distinguish whether the storage container 10 was opened by the user or by someone else. However, if only one user uses the medicine storage device 1, even if multiple storage containers 10 are prepared, the number of people who can use the device at one time is limited, and it is difficult to arrange multiple medicine storage devices 1 in the limited space of a dispensing room.

[0026] Therefore, the present embodiment aims to provide application software 4 that allows multiple people to simultaneously operate the medicine storage device 1 using user information at the time of login, as will be described below.

[0027] A case where a user 62 different from the user 61 logs in using a PDA 32 different from the PDA 31 while any of the processes in steps S101 to S112 is ongoing will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in step S201, when logging in using the PDA 32, the user 62 inputs login information in the same manner as in step S101.

[0028] When user 62 logs in in step S201, the control terminal 2 determines that the user 62 is the second person to log in, and displays a selectable waiting screen on the screen with a user interface with a background color (red in this case) as shown in Figure 11, in which the registered patient name and the corresponding prescription are linked (step S202). Thereafter, for example, if the light emitting unit 30 is capable of displaying even more colors, multiple people can log in at the same time, with the number of colors being the upper limit. In addition, there are various ways to color-code the light-emitting unit 30 other than lighting a single color LED, such as lighting red and green simultaneously to color the unit yellow, and it is also possible to make even more distinctions by using a method such as displaying the user name in text, but it is preferable to use a range of two to four colors within the range that ensures visibility and taking into account the number of storage shelves 110.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 11, the PDA 32 of the logged-in user 62 displays the same patient information as that shown in FIG. 8, except that the background color is red. In this way, steps S201 and S202 also function as color scheme determination steps for combining the user information of the user 62 who has logged in to the PDA 3, which is a portable terminal, with a color on a one-to-one basis. When the user 62 selects the patient information C2 (step S203), a list of medicines, which is the prescription information corresponding to the patient information C2, is displayed on the screen of the PDA 32 (step S204), as shown in Fig. 12. Note that this prescription information is the same as the prescription information corresponding to the patient information C1 shown in Fig. 9, except that the medicines and the background color are different. Step S203 also functions as a prescription selection step that links the drug information for identifying the drugs corresponding to the prescription with the user information of the user 62.

[0030] In step S204, similar to step S105, the user 62 can confirm the prescription information corresponding to the patient information C2 and select whether to make a lump sum payment or an individual payment (step S205).

[0031] When the user 62 dispenses the medicine in one lump sum in step S205, the medicine at the top of the prescription information is selected on the screen of the PDA 32, and the medicine information of the selected medicine M4 is notified to the medicine storage device 1 (step S206). As in step S106, when the control unit 40 receives the drug information for the drug M4 from the PDA 32, it identifies the corresponding storage container 10 (step S207) and causes the opening drive mechanism 20 attached to the back of the storage container 10 to perform an opening operation (step S208). At this time, step S207 functions as a container identification step that identifies the storage container 10 corresponding to the drug information according to the prescription selected by the prescription selection step, and step S208 functions as an opening operation step that opens the opening drive mechanism 20 attached to the storage container 10 identified in step S207.

[0032] At the same time that the storage container 10 protrudes from the storage shelf 110 in steps S207 and S208, the control unit 40 lights up the light emitting unit 30 corresponding to the position of the storage container 10 in red, which is the background color of the user 62 (step S209). In this way, the storage container 10 opened by the operation of user 61 and the storage container 10 opened by the operation of user 62 are easily distinguishable from each other by the different colors of the light-emitting section 30, making it easier for user 62 to take out the corresponding medicine from the PDA 32 that he or she is operating. Furthermore, even when users 61 and 62 handle different medicines at the same time, they can handle the medicine storage device 1 at the same time without mixing up the medicines they should take.

[0033] When the user 62 confirms that the light-emitting unit 30 is lit and that the storage container 10 has been opened in step S208, the user 62 removes the medicine M4 from the storage container 10 and uses the PDA 32 to read the barcode attached to the packaging of the medicine M4. The PDA 32 reads the barcode to confirm that the medicine M4 has been taken out (step S210). Note that step S210 may not be executed depending on the settings of the control terminal 2 for the same reason as step S110. When the user 62 manually closes the container 10 after step S210, the sensor 24 detects the closed state due to this action (step S211). The operations in steps S209 to S212 are the same as those in steps S109 to S112 except for the user, and therefore will not be described further.

[0034] Depending on the patient information C1 and the patient information C2, there may be cases where the user 61 and the user 62 want to retrieve the same drug M3 prescribed for different patients, so the processing in this case will be described. If the control unit 40 receives an instruction in either step S106 or step S206 first, the control unit 40 performs processing by prioritizing the earlier instruction. For example, here, a case will be described in which the user 62 first opens the storage container 10 that is the target of the drug M3. At this time, since step S206 takes priority, the control unit 40 performs the operations of steps S207 to S211 with priority, and lights up the light-emitting unit 30 in red, which corresponds to the user 62.

[0035] During the operation of steps S206 to S211, the PDA 31 held by the user 61 displays or sounds a message to the effect that it is on standby. At this time, even if the lump-sum dispensing process is in progress on the PDA 31 side, the user 61 can cancel the waiting dispensing process at any time by pressing the cancel button or swiping the waiting screen, thereby interrupting the waiting dispensing process and changing to a replenishment mode as described below. With this configuration, two people can work together more efficiently because they can perform other tasks even when they are forced to access the same storage container 10 at the same time. Even after such an interruption, if the user 61 selects the lump-sum dispensing mode again on the menu screen, the PDA 31 can continue the dispensing operation from where it was interrupted.

[0036] When the sensor 24 detects in step S211 that the storage container 10 has entered the closed state, the control unit 40 then performs the pending processing of step S106, and similarly performs the processing of steps S107 to S111, thereby lighting the light-emitting unit 30 in green, corresponding to the user 61. In step S111, the user 61 confirms that the drug M3 has also been removed, and when the storage container 10 is closed, the process is completed. In addition, between the end of processing in step S211 and the start of processing in step S106, it is desirable to notify the PDA31, which was waiting, by displaying or audio that processing will resume, and to display the drug information for drug M3 before carrying out processing from step S206. This is because the user 61 may be engaged in other work during a long interruption period.

[0037] In this way, by lighting the light emitting part 30 in a color that matches the user information, the user 61 and the user 62 can use the medicine storage device 1 at the same time, so that medicines can be taken out without confusion even when multiple people are operating it.

[0038] Next, as another processing using the PDA 31, a replenishment mode will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the login operation and color scheme determination steps such as steps S101 and S102 do not need to be performed more than once, and therefore will be omitted and given the same reference numerals. The PDA 3 can move from the screen shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 11 to the menu screen by performing the operation shown in the upper left of the figure, such as swiping to the right. As shown in FIG. 13, the menu screen displays buttons 35 that allow the user to select and execute operations such as "normal replenishment," "return," "exceptional dispensing," and "inventory check." When the normal refill button is pressed, the PDA 31 transitions to a refill screen as shown in Fig. 14. On the refill screen, the PDA 31 displays a message on a green background saying, "Please read the GS1 code of the medicine or the barcode on the case" (step S303). When the barcode of the drug M1 is read on the PDA 31 displaying the message in step S303 (step S304), the screen changes to a screen for inputting the refill amount as shown in Fig. 15, and the user 61 inputs the number of refills on this screen (step S305). By reading the barcode when refilling a drug in this way, the control unit 40 can check whether the drug in the currently open storage container 10 matches the drug M1 read by the PDA 3, thereby reducing mistakes such as refilling the wrong drug. The quantity can be entered manually or automatically by entering the quantity linked to the GS1 code of drug M1. Now, in step S304, when the PDA 31 recognizes the barcode of the drug M1, the PDA 31 simultaneously transmits the drug information of the drug M1 to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 finds the corresponding storage container 10 from the drug information and operates the opening drive mechanism 20 to open it (step S320). Furthermore, the control unit 40 lights up the light emitting unit 30 in a color (for example, green in this case) corresponding to the user 61 who performed the operation (step S321).

[0039] After inputting the refill quantity of the medicine M1 using the PDA 31, the user 61 places the medicine M1 inside the storage container 10 opened in step S320, and closes the storage container 10 again (step S322). When the sensor 24 confirms that the storage container 10, which was opened in step S320, has been closed, the control unit 40 notifies the PDA 31 that the refilling of the medicine M1 has been completed. When the refilling of the medicine M1 is completed, the PDA 31 increases the quantity of the medicine M1 stored in the control terminal 2 by the refilled quantity and records it again (step S306). After that, if there is another medicine to be replenished, the process returns to step S303, the medicine is changed, and the loop process is performed again.

[0040] If the medicine to be replenished runs out, the user can press the end button or swipe right on the replenishment mode screen of the PDA 31 to exit the replenishment mode and return to the menu screen.

[0041] A case where two people replenish the same medicine M1 in this replenishment mode will also be described. In this case, the process of step S304 is performed first for either the PDA 31 or the PDA 32, and the process of the PDA that has opened the storage container 10 of the drug M1, for example, the PDA 31, is given priority. At this time, the PDA 32 that is next in line waits, giving a display or audio notification that it is on standby, in the same way as when the storage container 10 to be taken out for dispensing overlaps with the storage container 10 that is being dispensed. While the PDA 32 is waiting, the PDA 31 performs the operations from step S304 to step S306, and at the same time, the control unit 40 performs the operations of step S320 and step S321. In this way, once the refilling of the drug M1 on the PDA 31 side is completed and the sensor 24 confirms in step S322 that the storage container 10 has entered a closed state, the control terminal 2 displays or notifies by voice on the refill mode screen of the PDA 32 that processing will resume, displays the drug information for the drug M1, and then the PDA 32 performs processing from step S304.

[0042] In this way, even if two people need to replenish the same medicine M1 at the same time, one of them can be put on standby, allowing two people to easily work simultaneously using one medicine storage device 1.

[0043] Furthermore, on the menu screen, among the buttons 35, in addition to the normal replenishment, the return button can also be selected. The return mode is a function that assumes, for example, a case in which the user 61 dispenses the medicine M2 using the PDA 31 and then returns the medicine M2 that has not actually been used. Such a return mode will be described with reference to Figure 17. Note that the return mode is similar to the replenishment mode except for step S330, so the same reference numerals are used and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0044] In this return mode, after the quantity of the medicine M2 to be returned to the storage container 10 is input as in step S305 using the PDA 31, a return reason input mode is inserted as shown in step S330. Such step S330 functions as a return reason input step. In the step of inputting the reason for return, the user 61 can input the reason for return as appropriate using the PDA 31 and save it in the log of the control terminal 2. In addition to inputting the reason for return as text into the PDA 31, it is also possible to select a reason for return that has been registered in advance.

[0045] Additionally, on the menu screen, you can check the inventory by selecting the inventory check button. The stock confirmation mode is a function that assumes a case where the user 61 checks the quantity of medicines stored inside the medicine storage device 1 using the PDA 31, for example. The stock confirmation mode will be described with reference to FIG.

[0046] In the stock check mode, when the user 61 selects the stock check mode (step S401), a stock check screen such as that shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the PDA 31 (step S402). On the inventory check screen, the background color of the PDA 31 used by the user 61 is displayed in green, and the user 61 can select, for example, the drug M6 for which he or she wishes to check the inventory from among all the drugs stored inside the drug storage device 1. To search for such drugs M6, for example, the initials of the drug names may be displayed on the left edge, and only drugs with specific initials may be displayed on the right display surface, or a search window 36 for specifying a period may be provided, which allows only drugs used within a specified period to be extracted and searched from the logs stored in the control terminal 2. Alternatively, an input means for searching by drug name may be provided.

[0047] When a specific drug M6 is specified and selected on the inventory confirmation screen in step S402 (step S403), inventory confirmation information including the name of the drug M6, the cassette number, and the current inventory amount stored in the storage container 10 is displayed on the PDA 31 as shown in Figure 20. Here, when an instruction to open the storage container 10 is given by swiping upward as displayed on the screen, the PDA 31 communicates the drug information of the drug M6 to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 opens the corresponding storage container 10 (step S404). At the same time, the light emitting unit 30 corresponding to the storage container 10 lights up in green (step S405), allowing the user 61 to easily visually identify the location of the specified medicine M6. The above series of operations constitutes the stock confirmation step in the stock confirmation mode.

[0048] The user 61 checks whether the quantity of the medicine M6 contained in the storage container 10 opened in step S404 matches the stock amount of the medicine M6 displayed on the PDA 31 (step S406). In step S406, when it is confirmed that the stock amount and the quantity of the medicine M6 in the storage container 10 match, the user 61 closes the storage container 10, assuming that the stock has been confirmed. When the sensor 24 detects that the storage container 10 has been closed (step S407), the inventory check mode for the drug M6 is terminated. If there are other drugs to be checked for inventory, the process may return to step S402 and the inventory check screen may be displayed according to instructions from the user 61. When all the drugs have been checked for inventory or when end is selected on the inventory check screen, the process returns to the login screen.

[0049] In addition, even in the above inventory check mode, when PDA 32 is used, light-emitting unit 30 lights up red, and when PDA 31 is used, light-emitting unit 30 lights up green, so user 61 and user 62 can perform the same operation at the same time. If two people try to check the inventory of the same drug M6 at the same time, the control unit 40 will give priority to the person who first processed step S404 and display the result, and the person who was last to process the result will be notified by a message on the inventory check screen or by voice that they are waiting. When the first to perform the process closes the container 10 in step S407, the control terminal 2 notifies the second to perform the process that the standby state is released, and the process resumes from step S404.

[0050] <1> In this embodiment, the device includes a storage container 10 for storing medicines, a housing 100 which is a housing part for holding the storage container 10, an opening drive mechanism 20 located at the rear of each storage container 10 and which opens the storage container 10 by forcing the storage container 10 forward, and a light-emitting unit 30 located on the front side of the storage container 10 or the housing 100 and which can selectively display one of a plurality of colors according to the user information of the operator, and the opening drive mechanism 20 opens the storage container 10 which stores the medicine indicated by the medicine information based on a signal including the user information and medicine information from the control terminal 2, and the light-emitting unit 30 changes the color it lights up in accordance with the user information. According to this configuration, the display of the shelves for the medicines to be obtained changes according to each user, so that each user can easily distinguish between them, and therefore, even when multiple people are operating, medicines can be taken out without confusion.

[0051] <2> In this embodiment, <1> In addition to the configuration described above, the light emitting unit 30 has a plurality of LEDs, and lights up the LEDs of the corresponding colors according to the user information. According to this configuration, the shelf from which the medicines should be obtained can be easily identified by the color coding corresponding to each user, so that medicines can be taken out without confusion even when multiple people are operating the system.

[0052] <3> In addition, in this embodiment <1> or <2> In addition to the medicine storage device 1 described above, the medicine storage system 5 is configured by a control terminal 2 for controlling the medicine storage device 1, and PDAs 31 and 32 linked to user information. When a user logs in to each of the PDAs 31 and 32, the control terminal 2 associates the user information with a color on a one-to-one basis. With this configuration, the operations performed by each user using the PDAs 31 and 32 operated by each user and the opening and closing of the storage container 10 performed by said operations can be easily distinguished by the corresponding color coding, so that medicines can be taken out without confusion even when multiple people are operating.

[0053] <4> In addition, in this embodiment <3> In the medicine storage system described above, the PDAs 31 and 32 have a reading means for reading medicine information from the medicine packaging, and by reading the medicine information, the storage container 10 can be replenished with the corresponding medicine. With this configuration, each user reads drug information such as the drug barcode using the PDA31, 32 that they operate, and the read drug information can be easily combined with the user information linked to the PDA31, 32 that they operated, allowing for efficient replenishing of drug products even when multiple people are replenishing.

[0054] <5> In this embodiment, application software 4 for operating a medicine storage device 1 is installed on a PDA 3, the medicine storage device 1 comprising storage containers 10 for storing medicines, a housing 100 for holding the storage containers 10, an opening drive mechanism 20 located behind each storage container 10 for forcing the storage container 10 forward to open it, and a light-emitting unit 30 located on the front side of the storage container 10 or the housing 100. The application software 4 executes a color scheme determination step of matching the operator's user information with a color on a one-to-one basis; a prescription selection step of linking the user information with drug information for identifying the drug types corresponding to the prescription; a container identification step of identifying a storage container corresponding to the drug information according to the prescription selected by the prescription selection step; an opening operation step of opening the opening drive mechanism attached to the storage container identified by the container identification step; and a display step of changing the display of the display means according to the user information. With this configuration, the user information linked to the PDA 3 operated by the user can be easily combined with the storage container 10 that has been opened in the medicine storage device 1, thereby reducing mistakes such as mix-ups when operating the device by multiple people and enabling efficient operation.

[0055] <6> In addition, in this embodiment <5> In addition to the control method described above, control is performed to switch the medicine information to that of the next medicine in the prescription on the condition that the opening operation step is completed and the storage container 10 is closed. According to this configuration, the next operation can be started after the sensor 24 has confirmed that the storage container 10 is certainly closed, and the operations of opening and closing the storage container 10 are performed as a series of operations, which contributes to improved safety when removing medicines from the storage container 10.

[0056] <7> In addition, in this embodiment <5> or <6> In addition to the control method described above, a replenishment medicine specifying step is executed to link the medicine information to be replenished with the storage container 10. With this configuration, the control unit 40 manages which storage container 10 contains the medicine to be replenished, so that even when multiple people are operating the system, mistakes such as mix-ups can be reduced and the system can be operated efficiently.

[0057] <8> In addition, in this embodiment <7> In addition to the control method described above, a replenishment mode selection step is executed before the replenishment drug identification step in which two replenishment methods, normal replenishment and return replenishment, are selected, and when return replenishment is selected in the replenishment mode selection step, a return reason input mode in which the reason for return is input is executed after the opening operation step. According to this configuration, the user can optionally keep a record of the return of medicines even when returning the medicines, so that the number of medicines in stock can be more accurately recorded.

[0058] <9> In addition, in this embodiment <5> In addition to the control method described above, the control is performed so as to execute an inventory confirmation step that can confirm the quantity of medicine stored in the storage container 10. According to this configuration, the inventory amount of medicines stored inside the medicine storage device 1 can be checked after the end of the day's work such as dispensing, thereby improving the maintainability of the medicine storage device 1.

[0059] [others] In the above embodiment, only the case where two mobile terminals are used by a unique user has been described, but two mobile terminals may be shared by a plurality of users with different user names. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6...chemicals 1. Medicine storage device 2...Control terminal 3. Mobile devices 5. Medicine storage system 10...Storage container 20...Open drive mechanism 30...Display means (light emitting section) 31...Mobile device 32...Mobile device S101, S102, S201, S202...Color scheme decision steps S103, S203...Prescription selection steps S107, S207...Container identification steps S108, S208...Opening operation steps S109, S209...Display steps S304: Replenishment medicine identification step S303...Refill mode selection step S330…Return reason input mode S403...Stock check target selection step

Claims

1. a storage container for storing chemicals; a housing portion for holding the storage container; an opening drive mechanism disposed behind each of the storage containers to bias the storage container forward to open the storage container; a display means provided with a plurality of LEDs arranged in correspondence with the respective storage containers on the front side of the storage containers or the housing portion, and capable of selectively displaying one of a plurality of colors in accordance with user information of an operator; and the opening drive mechanism performs an opening operation on the storage container containing the medicine indicated by the medicine information based on a signal including user information and medicine information from a control terminal; the display means changes the color of the display means by lighting an LED of a color corresponding to the user information according to the user information of the user who performed the opening operation; and a control terminal for controlling the medicine storage device; At least two mobile terminals linked to the user information; and the control terminal, when the operator logs in to the mobile terminal, associates user information of the operator with a color on a one-to-one basis, and notifies the operator of the assigned color by displaying the color as a background color on the screen of the mobile terminal; the portable terminal has a reading means for reading drug information from the drug packaging, and when the operator replenishes the storage container with a drug corresponding to the drug information read from the drug packaging, the portable terminal transmits the user information together with the drug information to the control terminal, and the control terminal changes the color of the display means to a color corresponding to the user information determined at the time of login, and opens the storage container using an opening drive mechanism; When the operator removes medicine from the medicine storage device based on prescription information, the control terminal transmits the prescription information to the mobile terminal, and the control terminal changes the color of the display means to a color corresponding to the user information determined at the time of login, and opens the storage container using an opening drive mechanism.

2. a storage container for storing chemicals; a housing portion for holding the storage container; an opening drive mechanism disposed behind each of the storage containers to bias the storage container forward to open the storage container; a display means provided on the front side of the storage container or the housing portion, the display means including a plurality of LEDs arranged corresponding to each storage container; A control method for operating a medicine storage device comprising the above from a control terminal, a color scheme determination step in which, when an operator logs in to the portable terminal of the operator, the control terminal combines the user information of the operator with a color one-to-one and displays the color as a background color on the screen of the portable terminal; a prescription selection step of linking prescription information for identifying medicines corresponding to the prescription with the user information; a container specifying step of specifying a storage container corresponding to the prescription information according to the prescription selected by the prescription selecting step; an opening operation step of opening the opening drive mechanism attached to the storage container identified in the container identification step; a display step of changing the display of the display means by lighting an LED of a color corresponding to the user information in accordance with the user information that has executed the opening operation step; a replenishment medicine specifying step of transmitting medicine information to be replenished to the medicine storage device when the operator replenishes the medicine, and linking the medicine information and the storage container to the user information of the operator; and in the refill medicine specifying step, the control terminal changes the color of the display means to a color corresponding to the user information determined at the time of login.

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