Online medical consultation management server, online medical consultation management method, and program

Abstract

To provide an online medical treatment management server that can respond to a user's need to receive medical treatment from a doctor immediately, while limiting operations for receiving medical treatment immediately when a user needs to wait a long time until the doctor becomes available. [Solution] The online medical consultation management server comprises an acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical consultation method, which starts online medical consultation as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed, is acceptable when a target product requiring medical consultation is included in a user's cart; a selection / non-acceptance determination unit that determines that the first medical consultation method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable, and determines that the first medical consultation method is not selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and a display control unit that controls the display of a screen according to whether the first medical consultation method is selectable.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an online medical consultation management server, an online medical consultation management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that displays the waiting status, showing the number of people waiting for treatment, to those seeking online medical care before they reach the online medical care appointment page (landing page), so that they can receive treatment from a doctor at the time they want. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-018178 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, as with conventional technology, simply allowing a patient seeking treatment to check the number of people waiting for treatment may result in the patient having to wait a long time before actually being able to see a doctor. For example, a patient seeking treatment may apply for treatment outside of the doctor's available hours. In this case, regardless of the number of people waiting for treatment, the patient seeking treatment may be expected to wait a long time until the doctor is available to see a patient. Furthermore, a patient seeking treatment may apply for treatment without checking the number of people waiting for treatment. In this case, if there are a large number of people waiting for treatment, the patient seeking treatment may be expected to wait a long time.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an online medical consultation management server, an online medical consultation management method, and a program that can meet the user's need to receive medical treatment from a doctor immediately, while restricting the operations required to receive medical treatment immediately if a user has to wait a long time until a doctor becomes available. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the online medical consultation management server includes an acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical consultation method, in which online medical consultation begins as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed, is acceptable when a target product requiring medical consultation is included in a user's cart; a selection / non-acceptance determination unit that determines that the first medical consultation method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable, and determines that the first medical consultation method is not selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and a display control unit that controls the display of a screen depending on whether the first medical consultation method is selectable.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for managing online medical consultations includes the steps of: determining whether a first medical consultation method, which starts online medical consultation as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed, is acceptable when a target product requiring medical consultation is included in a user's cart; determining that the first medical consultation method is selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable; and determining that the first medical consultation method is not selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and controlling the display of a screen depending on whether the first medical consultation method is selectable.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes an online medical consultation management server to perform the following steps when a user's cart contains a target product that requires medical consultation: determining whether a first medical consultation method, which starts online medical consultation as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed, is acceptable; deciding that the first medical consultation method is selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable; and deciding that the first medical consultation method is not selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and controlling the display of a screen depending on whether the first medical consultation method is selectable. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the above aspect, it is possible to respond to the user's need to receive medical treatment from a doctor immediately, while restricting the operations required to receive medical treatment immediately if the user needs to wait a long time until a doctor becomes available. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an online medical consultation system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the online medical consultation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a first diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a second diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a third diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the online medical consultation system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in an online medical consultation system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an online medical consultation system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in an online medical consultation system according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in an online medical consultation system according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in an online medical consultation system according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to any one of the embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] First Embodiment Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0012] (System Configuration) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an online medical consultation system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the online medical consultation system 1 includes a management server 10, user terminals 20 (20a, 20b, ...), and an examination terminal 30. The management server 10, the user terminals 20, and the examination terminal 30 are connected so that they can communicate with each other.

[0013] The management server 10 performs various processes related to online medical consultations on a sales site (online shopping mall) for products, including pharmaceuticals, that can be sold online. When a user takes an action regarding a target product (such as a medical drug) that requires medical treatment by a doctor, the management server 10 prompts the user to apply for online medical consultation before purchasing. In this embodiment, the management server 10 presents the user with two methods for applying for online medical consultations: a first medical consultation provision method and a second medical consultation provision method. In this embodiment, an example of the first medical consultation provision method is described as "immediate medical consultation," in which, after a user applies for medical consultation, the online medical consultation begins as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed. In addition, an example of the second medical consultation provision method is described as "medical consultation appointment," in which a user selects a desired date and time for medical consultation and makes a reservation for online medical consultation.

[0014] The user terminals 20a, 20b, etc. are terminal devices such as PCs and smartphones that users use when using various services provided online, such as online shopping malls, online medical consultations, etc. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will be simply referred to as user terminals 20.

[0015] The examination terminal 30 is a terminal device such as a PC or smartphone that a doctor uses when conducting online medical consultations. The examination terminal 30 also presents the doctor with a waiting list of users who have applied for "immediate consultation." When the doctor becomes available to provide medical treatment, he or she selects a user from the waiting list to provide online medical treatment and starts the online medical treatment. Note that there may be multiple examination terminals 30.

[0016] (Management Server Functional Configuration) As shown in Figure 1, the management server 10 includes a cart information update unit 101, an acceptance determination unit 102, a selection determination unit 103, a display control unit 104, a cart information recording unit 110, a product information recording unit 111, a seller information recording unit 112, and a waiting list recording unit 113.

[0017] When the cart information update unit 101 receives an operation from the user terminal 20 to add or delete a product from the cart, it updates the user's cart information.

[0018] When a target product requiring medical treatment is included in a user's cart, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether or not it is possible to accept a first medical treatment provision method ("consult now") that starts online medical treatment as soon as another user's medical treatment is completed. In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "consult now" is acceptable when the acceptance determination reference time is within the medical treatment acceptance hours of the seller (medical facility) of the target product. The acceptance determination reference time is, for example, the time when a request to display a specific screen that has a UI for the user to select (apply for) "consult now" is received from the user terminal 20. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the specific screen is a cart screen.

[0019] The selection possibility determination unit 103 determines that the user can select "Treatment now" when it is determined that "Treatment now" can be accepted, and determines that the user cannot select "Treatment now" when it is determined that "Treatment now" cannot be accepted.

[0020] The display control unit 104 controls the display of a cart screen according to whether "Treat Now" for the target product can be selected. When it is determined that "Treat Now" is selectable, the display control unit 104 causes the requesting user terminal 20 to display a cart screen in which the UI (button, etc.) for selecting "Treat Now" is activated. When it is determined that "Treat Now" is not selectable, the display control unit 104 causes the requesting user terminal 20 to display a cart screen in which the UI for selecting "Treat Now" is deactivated. Deactivating the "Treat Now" UI may include various aspects, such as displaying the "Treat Now" button but making it inactive (graying out), or hiding the "Treat Now" button.

[0021] The cart information recording unit 110 records the cart information for each user updated by the cart information updating unit 101.

[0022] The product information recording unit 111 records product information for each product sold on the sales site of the management server 10. The product information includes product identification information (product name, product number, etc.), unit price, whether medical treatment is required, seller identification information (seller name, seller code, etc.), etc.

[0023] The seller information recording unit 112 records seller information for each seller of a target product requiring medical treatment. The seller information includes seller identification information, available hours for online medical treatment, etc.

[0024] For example, if there is only one seller selling the product on the sales site of the management server 10, the product information does not need to include seller identification information. Furthermore, the seller information recording unit 112 records only the seller information of this seller.

[0025] The waiting list recording unit 113 records a waiting list in which users who have applied for "immediate medical treatment" are arranged in the order in which they applied. The waiting list includes the reception numbers and user names of the users.

[0026] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of processing in the online medical consultation system according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 2, a process flow for determining whether or not "immediate consultation" is available and displaying a cart screen in which "immediate consultation" is selectable or unselectable will be described.

[0027] First, the user terminal 20 performs a login process to the sales site using the user identification information input by the user (step S100).

[0028] Furthermore, when the user performs an operation to add a product to the cart, the user terminal 20 transmits the user identification information, and the product specification information and quantity of the product added to the cart to the management server 10 (step S101).

[0029] The cart information update unit 101 of the management server 10 registers and updates the product specification information and quantity in the cart information corresponding to the user identification information received from the user terminal 20 (step S102). The updated cart information is recorded in the cart information recording unit 110.

[0030] Next, when the user performs an operation to display the cart screen, the user terminal 20 transmits a request to display the cart screen corresponding to the user identification information to the management server 10 (step S103). The operation to display the cart screen is, for example, pressing a "Display cart" button displayed on the sales site. Note that the processing of steps S101 to S103 may be the same as the processing performed in a conventional online shopping mall. Note that the management server 10 according to this embodiment records the time when the request to display the cart screen is received from the user terminal 20.

[0031] When the acceptance determination unit 102 of the management server 10 accepts a request to display a cart screen, it acquires product specification information registered in association with the cart corresponding to the user identification information (step S104). Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires product information corresponding to the product specification information from the product information recording unit 111 (step S105). Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the cart contains a product requiring medical treatment, based on the acquired product information (step S106). Specifically, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the cart contains a product requiring medical treatment, based on information indicating the need for medical treatment (medical treatment required or medical treatment not required) in the product information acquired from the product information recording unit 111.

[0032] If the target product is not included in the cart (step S106; NO), the acceptance determination unit 102 does not determine whether to accept the "Treat Now" request. In this case, the display control unit 104 controls the user terminal 20 to display a normal cart screen that does not include (hides) the selection buttons for "Make an appointment" and "Treat Now" for online medical treatment (step S107). The process of displaying the normal cart screen in step S107 may be the same as the process performed in conventional online shopping malls.

[0033] On the other hand, if the target product is included in the cart (step S106; YES), that is, if there is a product among the products linked to the cart whose product information includes information indicating the need for medical treatment, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller information of this target product from the seller information recording unit 112 (step S108). Specifically, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller identification information from the product information of the product among the products linked to the cart whose product information includes information indicating the need for medical treatment. Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller information corresponding to the acquired seller identification information from the seller information recording unit 112.

[0034] Next, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the seller of this target product is able to accept "immediate consultation." Specifically, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 references the available consultation acceptance hours for online medical consultation included in the seller information, and determines whether the time of acceptance of the request to display the cart screen is within the available consultation acceptance hours (step S109). The available consultation acceptance hours are, for example, the business hours (opening time to closing time) of the medical facility that is the seller. Note that the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 may set the end time of the available consultation acceptance hours to a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes before) before the closing time recorded in the seller information. Alternatively, the available consultation acceptance hours may be manually set by the medical facility via the examination terminal 30.

[0035] If the time of reception of the cart screen display request is within the medical treatment reception hours, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that this seller can accept "medical treatment now" (step S109; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "medical treatment now" is selectable (step S110).

[0036] On the other hand, if the time of reception of the cart screen display request is outside the medical treatment reception hours, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that the seller cannot accept "immediate medical treatment" (step S109; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "immediate medical treatment" is not selectable (step S111).

[0037] Next, the display control unit 104 controls the display of the cart screen that reflects whether "Treat Now" is selectable (step S112). The user terminal 20 displays the cart screen based on the control of the management server 10 (step S113). Specifically, when the selection feasibility determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is selectable, the display control unit 104 controls to activate the selection UI for "Treat Now" on the cart screen to be displayed on the user terminal 20. On the other hand, when the selection feasibility determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is not selectable, the display control unit 104 controls to deactivate the selection UI for "Treat Now" on the cart screen to be displayed on the user terminal 20.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a first diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a second diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the cart screen 200 displays detailed information 201 about products included in the user's cart, an appointment button 202, and an immediate consultation button 203. The detailed information 201 includes product-specific information (such as product name), quantity, price (unit price), etc. of the products in the cart based on the information in the cart and product information. The detailed information 201 may also include a planned payment price based on the product quantity and price. The appointment button 202 is a UI for calling up the online medical consultation appointment screen 210. The immediate consultation button 203 is a UI for requesting that an online medical consultation begin as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed.

[0039] When the Seek Medical Now button 203 is pressed, a request is sent from the user terminal 20 to the management server 10, and the user's information is added to the end of the "Seek Medical Now" waiting list in the waiting list recording unit 113. The display control unit 104 of the management server 10 also controls the user terminal 20 to display an online medical consultation waiting screen 220. The online medical consultation waiting screen 220 displays the user's reception number 221, waiting status 222, etc. The waiting status 222 includes the number of users (reception numbers) registered in the waiting list, etc. In another embodiment, the display control unit 104 may control the user terminal 20 to display a questionnaire input screen after the Seek Medical Now button 203 is pressed. In this case, after receiving the input contents of the questionnaire from the user terminal 20, the user's information is added to the end of the "Seek Medical Now" waiting list in the waiting list recording unit 113, and the "Seek Medical Now" reception is completed. In response to this, the display control unit 104 performs control so that the online medical consultation standby screen 220 is displayed on the user terminal 20.

[0040] When the selection availability determining unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is selectable (step S109), the cart screen 200 is displayed with the Treat Now button 203 activated, as in the example of Fig. 3. In other words, if the seller (medical facility) is open at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, the user can apply for "Treat Now" by pressing the Treat Now button 203, and can receive online medical treatment as soon as another user's medical treatment is finished.

[0041] On the other hand, if the selection availability determining unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is not selectable (step S110), the cart screen 200 is displayed with the Consult Now button 203 deactivated, as shown in Figure 4. In other words, if the seller (medical facility) has closed its business at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, it is not possible to apply for "Consult Now" from the cart screen. This makes it possible to prevent users who have applied for online consultation from having to wait a long time until the medical facility opens.

[0042] (Variation) Fig. 5 is a third diagram showing an example of a cart screen according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, a user's cart may contain multiple target products from different sellers (medical facilities). For example, suppose that the user's cart contains target products A, B, and C, and the seller of products A and B is Clinic X, and the seller of product C is Clinic Y. The processing of steps S108 to S113 in Fig. 2 in this case where a user intends to purchase target products from multiple sellers will be described.

[0043] In this case, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller information for each of Clinic X and Clinic Y from the seller information recording unit 112 (step S108). Specifically, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller identification information (Clinic X, Clinic Y) from the product information of products A, B, and C that are linked to the cart and whose product information includes information indicating the need for medical treatment. Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller information corresponding to each of the acquired seller identification information (Clinic X, Clinic Y) from the seller information recording unit 112.

[0044] Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the time of acceptance of the request to display the cart screen is within the consultation acceptance hours of each of Clinic X and Clinic Y (step S109).

[0045] First, a determination is made regarding Clinic X. If the reception time of the display request is within the medical treatment reception hours included in the seller information of Clinic X, the reception availability determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X is able to accept "Consult Now" (Step S109; YES). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is selectable for products A and B sold by Clinic X (Step S110). On the other hand, if the reception time of the display request is outside the medical treatment reception hours of Clinic X, the reception availability determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X is unable to accept "Consult Now" (Step S109; NO). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is not selectable for products A and B sold by Clinic X (Step S111).

[0046] A similar determination is made for Clinic Y. If the reception time of the display request is within the clinic's available medical reception hours included in the seller information of Clinic Y, the reception availability determination unit 102 determines that Clinic Y is able to accept "Consult Now" (Step S109; YES). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is selectable for product C sold by Clinic Y (Step S110). On the other hand, if the reception time of the display request is outside the clinic's available medical reception hours, the reception availability determination unit 102 determines that Clinic Y is unable to accept "Consult Now" (Step S109; NO). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is unselectable for product C sold by Clinic Y (Step S111).

[0047] The display control unit 104 controls the display of the cart screen that reflects whether "Treat Now" is selectable for each of Clinic X and Clinic Y (step S112). The user terminal 20 displays the cart screen based on the control of the management server 10 (step S113).

[0048] As shown in Fig. 5, the cart screen 200 displays detailed product information 201 for each seller, an appointment booklet button 202, and a see a doctor now button 203. In the example of Fig. 5, the cart screen 200 displays detailed product information 201x for products A and B from Clinic X, an appointment booklet button 202x, and a see a doctor now button 203x, as well as detailed product information 201y for product C from Clinic Y, an appointment booklet button 202y, and a see a doctor now button 203y.

[0049] When the Clinic X's Seek Consultation Now button 203x is pressed, a request is sent from the user terminal 20 to the management server 10, and the user's information is added to the end of the Clinic X's waiting list in the waiting list recording unit 113. In addition, the display control unit 104 of the management server 10 controls the user terminal 20 to display an online medical consultation waiting screen 220x for Clinic X. The online medical consultation waiting screen 220x displays the user's reception number 221 at Clinic X, waiting status 222, etc.

[0050] When the Clinic Y's Seek Treatment Now button 203y is pressed, a request is sent from the user terminal 20 to the management server 10, and the user's information is added to the end of the Clinic Y's waiting list in the waiting list recording unit 113. In addition, the display control unit 104 of the management server 10 controls the user terminal 20 to display an online medical consultation waiting screen 220y for Clinic Y. The online medical consultation waiting screen 220y displays the user's reception number 221 at Clinic Y, waiting status 222, etc.

[0051] If the selection possibility determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is selectable for both Clinic X and Clinic Y, the display control unit 104 performs control in step S112 so that a cart screen in which the Treat Now button 203x for Clinic X and the Treat Now button 203y for Clinic Y are activated is displayed on the user terminal 20. Note that Fig. 5 shows an example of the cart screen 200 in the case where "Treat Now" is selectable for both Clinic X and Clinic Y.

[0052] Furthermore, if the selectability determining unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is selectable for only one of Clinic X and Clinic Y, the display control unit 104 controls in step S112 to display the cart screen 200 with the Consult Now button 203 activated only for the clinic determined to be selectable. For example, if "Consult Now" is selectable only for Clinic X, the display control unit 104 controls to display on the user terminal 20 the cart screen 200 with the Consult Now button 203x for Clinic X activated and the Consult Now button 203y for Clinic Y inactivated.

[0053] If the selection possibility determination unit 103 determines that "See a doctor now" cannot be selected for both Clinic X and Clinic Y, the display control unit 104 controls in step S112 to display on the user terminal 20 the cart screen 200 in which the See a doctor now button 203x for Clinic X and the See a doctor now button 203y for Clinic Y are deactivated.

[0054] (Action and effect) As described above, the management server 10 of this embodiment includes an acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 that determines whether immediate medical treatment (first medical treatment provision method), which starts online medical treatment as soon as another user's medical treatment is completed, can be accepted when the user's cart contains a target product that requires medical treatment; a selection / non-acceptance determination unit 103 that determines that immediate medical treatment can be selected if it is determined that immediate medical treatment can be accepted, and determines that immediate medical treatment cannot be selected if it is determined that immediate medical treatment cannot be accepted; and a display control unit 104 that controls the display of a screen according to whether immediate medical treatment can be selected.

[0055] In this way, the management server 10 can respond to the user's need to receive medical treatment from a doctor immediately, while restricting the acceptance of "immediate medical treatment" requests for immediate medical treatment if a user needs to wait a long time until a doctor becomes available. This prevents the user from having to wait a long time until they can receive online medical treatment.

[0056] Furthermore, when it is determined that immediate medical treatment is available, the selection possibility determination unit 103 determines that immediate medical treatment and medical treatment appointment (second medical treatment provision method), in which the user selects any desired date and time of consultation and books an online medical treatment, are selectable, and when it is determined that immediate medical treatment is unavailable, it determines that immediate medical treatment is unavailable and that medical treatment appointment is selectable.

[0057] In this way, if the management server 10 can accept "immediate treatment", the user can select either "immediate treatment" or "medical appointment". On the other hand, if the management server 10 cannot accept "immediate treatment", the management server 10 can make "immediate treatment" unavailable and encourage the user to select "medical appointment".

[0058] The acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 also acquires the medical treatment acceptance hours of the seller of the target product, and determines that medical treatment is available immediately if the acceptance time of the display request is within the medical treatment acceptance hours of the seller of the target product.

[0059] In this way, if the seller is open at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, the management server 10 allows the user to apply for "immediate consultation," allowing the user to receive online consultation as soon as another user's consultation is finished. On the other hand, if the seller has closed at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, the management server 10 restricts the user from applying for "immediate consultation" from the cart screen. This prevents users who have applied for consultation from having to wait a long time until the seller opens for business.

[0060] Furthermore, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the medical treatment acceptance times of each seller and determines whether medical treatment is available immediately for each seller, and the selection availability determination unit 103 determines whether immediate medical treatment is selectable for each seller or not.

[0061] In this way, even when multiple different sellers sell the target product, the management server 10 can easily allow the user to know whether or not they can apply for "immediate medical treatment" for each seller. This allows the user to apply for online medical treatment from a seller that offers "immediate medical treatment" if they want to receive medical treatment immediately, while also avoiding the user from mistakenly applying for online medical treatment from a seller that does not offer "immediate medical treatment" and having to wait for a long time.

[0062] <Second embodiment> Next, the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5. Components common to the above-described embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and detailed description will be omitted.

[0063] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 of the management server 10 determines whether or not an online medical consultation can be accepted based on the number of people waiting for the "immediate consultation" of the seller of the target product.

[0064] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the online medical consultation system according to the second embodiment. The processing of steps S200 to S207 in Fig. 6 is the same as steps S100 to S107 in the first embodiment (Fig. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0065] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the seller of the target product included in the cart from the product information acquired in step S205, and acquires the seller's "immediate medical treatment" waiting list from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S208).

[0066] Next, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the number of users waiting for "immediate consultation" from the waiting list at the time the cart screen display request is received, and determines whether the seller can accept the "immediate consultation" request based on this number of users waiting (step S209). The number of users waiting for "immediate consultation" is the number of users who have applied for "immediate consultation" and whose online consultation has not yet ended at the time the display request is received. For example, the waiting list further includes the status of the online consultation. The status is set to "before consultation" when a user is registered on the waiting list and is updated to "consulted" when the online consultation ends. In this case, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 extracts users with the status "before consultation" (users whose consultation has not yet ended) from the users registered on the waiting list and identifies the number of users as the number of users waiting. Note that the status may be updated to "consulting" when the online consultation begins and then updated to "consulted" when the online consultation ends. In this case, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 may extract users whose status is "before consultation" (users who are not currently receiving a consultation or have not yet received a consultation) from among the users registered on the waiting list, and identify that number as the number of people waiting.

[0067] If the number of people waiting is equal to or less than the predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that the "consultation now" request can be accepted (step S209; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that the "consultation now" request can be selected (step S210).

[0068] On the other hand, if the number of people waiting exceeds the predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that the "immediate consultation" cannot be accepted (step S209; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that the "immediate consultation" cannot be selected (step S211).

[0069] The subsequent processing of steps S212 and S213 is the same as steps S112 and S113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0070] (Variation 1) In the example of FIG. 6, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the seller's waiting list in step S208 and determines whether to accept an online medical consultation based on the number of waiting patients obtained from the waiting list in step S209. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the seller's seller information and waiting list in step S208, and determines in step S209 that the seller's "immediate consultation" request is acceptable if the time the cart screen display request is received is within the available consultation acceptance hours and the number of waiting patients is equal to or less than a predetermined number. In this way, if there are a large number of waiting patients even within the available consultation acceptance hours, or if the number of waiting patients has already exceeded the available consultation acceptance hours, the "immediate consultation" request is not accepted, thereby preventing the user from having to wait for a long time.

[0071] (Variation 2) Furthermore, if the user's cart contains multiple target products from different sellers, the acceptance determination unit 102 and the selection determination unit 103 determine whether or not to select "Consult now" for each seller, as in the first embodiment.

[0072] As in the example of Figure 5, when the cart contains products sold by Clinic X and Clinic Y, the acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the waiting lists of Clinic X and Clinic Y from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S208).

[0073] Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the number of people waiting at each of Clinic X and Clinic Y at the time of acceptance of the cart screen display request is equal to or less than a predetermined number (step S209). Note that this predetermined number may be set to a different value for each seller.

[0074] First, a determination is made regarding Clinic X. If the number of people waiting at Clinic X is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X is able to accept a request for "Treat Now" (Step S209; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is selectable for Products A and B sold by Clinic X (Step S210). Then, by the processing of Steps S212 to S213, the "Treat Now" button 203x for Clinic X is displayed in an activated state on the cart screen 200 of the user terminal 20.

[0075] On the other hand, if the number of people waiting at Clinic X exceeds the predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X cannot accept the request for "Treat Now" (step S209; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" cannot be selected for Products A and B sold by Clinic X (step S211). Then, by the processing of steps S212 to S213, the "Treat Now" button 203x for Clinic X is displayed in an inactive state on the cart screen 200 of the user terminal 20.

[0076] A similar process is performed for Clinic Y.

[0077] Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 according to the second modification may determine whether to accept an online medical consultation based on both the number of people waiting and the available time for accepting medical consultations, as in the first modification described above.

[0078] (Action and effect) As described above, in the management server 10 according to this embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the number of people waiting for immediate medical treatment from the seller of the target product at the time of acceptance of the request to display the cart screen, and determines that immediate medical treatment is available if the number of people waiting is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

[0079] By doing this, the management server 10 can prevent users from applying for "immediate medical treatment" without checking the number of people waiting, which results in the user having to wait a long time before being able to receive online medical treatment.

[0080] In addition, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the hours during which the seller of the target product is available to accept medical treatment and the number of people waiting for immediate medical treatment from the seller of the target product at the time the display request is accepted, and determines that immediate medical treatment is available if the time the display request is accepted is within the hours during which the seller of the target product is available to accept medical treatment and the number of people waiting is equal to or less than a predetermined number.

[0081] By doing this, the management server 10 will not allow applications for "immediate medical treatment" if there are a large number of people waiting even during the hours when medical treatment is available, or if the number of people waiting has already exceeded the hours when medical treatment is available, thereby preventing users from having to wait a long time until they can receive online medical treatment.

[0082] Furthermore, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the number of people waiting for immediate medical treatment for each seller and determines whether immediate medical treatment is available for each seller, and the selection availability determination unit 103 determines whether immediate medical treatment is available for each seller.

[0083] In this way, even when multiple different sellers sell the target product, the management server 10 can easily allow the user to know whether or not they can apply for "immediate medical treatment" for each seller. This allows the user to apply for online medical treatment from a seller that offers "immediate medical treatment" if they want to receive medical treatment immediately, while also avoiding the user from mistakenly applying for online medical treatment from a seller that does not offer "immediate medical treatment" and having to wait for a long time.

[0084] <Third embodiment> Next, the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 7. Components common to the above-described embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and detailed description will be omitted.

[0085] In this embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 of the management server 10 predicts the waiting time of the user based on the number of people waiting for the "immediate medical consultation" of the seller of the target product, and determines whether or not the online medical consultation can be accepted taking this waiting time into consideration.

[0086] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the online medical consultation system according to the third embodiment. The processing of steps S300 to S307 in Fig. 6 is the same as steps S100 to S107 in the first embodiment (Fig. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0087] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the seller of the target product included in the cart from the product information acquired in step S305. Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires seller information of this seller from the seller information recording unit 112 (step S308), and acquires the "Treat Now" waiting list of this seller from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S309).

[0088] Next, the acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the number of people waiting for "immediate treatment" at the time of acceptance of the cart screen display request based on the waiting list, and calculates the predicted waiting time for "immediate treatment" for this seller based on the identified number of people waiting (step S310). The method for calculating the number of people waiting is the same as the process in the second embodiment (step S209 in FIG. 6).

[0089] For example, the acceptance determination unit 102 calculates the predicted waiting time by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average consultation time (a fixed value). The average consultation time is a preset value (for example, 5 minutes). This average consultation time may be arbitrarily set by the seller via the consultation terminal 30, for example.

[0090] Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 may acquire the actual consultation time obtained from the seller's past online medical consultation history and calculate the average consultation time (statistical value). For example, the seller information for each seller includes online medical consultation history information. The online medical consultation history information includes information on the consultation time of each online medical consultation conducted in the past. The acceptance determination unit 102 acquires information on the consultation time of each online medical consultation by referencing the online medical consultation history information included in the seller information acquired in step S308. Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 calculates the seller's average consultation time based on the acquired information on the consultation time of each online medical consultation. Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 calculates the predicted waiting time by multiplying the number of waiting people by the average consultation time (statistical value) obtained from the actual consultation time included in the online medical consultation history information.

[0091] Next, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the seller is available to accept an "immediate consultation" request based on the seller's predicted waiting time and the time when the seller is available to accept a consultation (step S311).

[0092] Specifically, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "Consult Now" is acceptable if the time obtained by adding the calculated predicted waiting time to the acceptance time of the cart screen display request is within the seller's available consultation hours (step S311; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Consult Now" is selectable (step S312). Note that the processing of step S311 described above is an example, and different processing may be performed as long as a substantially equivalent determination is possible. For example, the acceptance determination unit 102 may determine that "Consult Now" is acceptable if the acceptance time of the cart screen display request is before the time obtained by subtracting the predicted waiting time from the end time of the seller's available consultation hours. Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 may determine that "Consult Now" is acceptable if the time from the acceptance time of the cart screen display request to the end time of the available consultation hours is longer than the predicted waiting time.

[0093] On the other hand, if the time obtained by adding the calculated predicted waiting time to the time when the request to display the cart screen is accepted exceeds the time when the seller is available to accept treatment, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "Treat immediately" is not available (step S311; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Treat immediately" is not available for selection (step S313).

[0094] The subsequent processing in steps S314 and S315 is the same as steps S112 and S113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0095] (Variation) Furthermore, if the user's cart contains multiple target products from different sellers, the acceptance determination unit 102 and the selection determination unit 103 determine whether or not to select "Consult now" for each seller, as in the first embodiment.

[0096] As in the example of Figure 5, when the cart contains products sold by Clinic X and Clinic Y, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the seller information of each of Clinic X and Clinic Y from the seller information recording unit 112 (step S308), and acquires the waiting list of each of Clinic X and Clinic Y from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S309).

[0097] Furthermore, the acceptance determination unit 102 calculates the predicted waiting time for each clinic from the number of people waiting at each of Clinic X and Clinic Y at the time when the request to display the cart screen is accepted (Step S310).

[0098] Next, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether each clinic is able to accept an online consultation based on the predicted waiting time and the time when the clinic X and the clinic Y are available for consultation (step S311).

[0099] First, a determination is made regarding Clinic X. If the time obtained by adding the estimated waiting time of Clinic X to the reception time of the cart screen display request is within the hours when Clinic X is available to accept treatment, the reception availability determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X is available to accept a "Treat Now" request (step S311; YES). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is selectable for Products A and B sold by Clinic X (step S312). Then, by the processing of steps S314 to S315, the "Treat Now" button 203x for Clinic X is displayed in an activated state on the cart screen 200 of the user terminal 20.

[0100] On the other hand, if the time obtained by adding the estimated waiting time of Clinic X to the reception time of the cart screen display request exceeds the time during which Clinic X is available to accept treatment, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that Clinic X cannot accept the "Treat Now" request (step S311; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" cannot be selected for Products A and B sold by Clinic X (step S313). Then, by the processing of steps S314 to S315, the "Treat Now" button 203x for Clinic X is displayed in an inactive state on the cart screen 200 of the user terminal 20.

[0101] A similar process is performed for Clinic Y.

[0102] (Action and effect) As described above, in the management server 10 according to this embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the time during which the seller of the target product is available to accept consultations and the number of people waiting for immediate consultation from the seller of the target product at the time the display request is accepted, calculates the predicted waiting time until online consultation from the seller becomes available based on the number of people waiting, and determines that immediate consultation is available if the time obtained by adding the predicted waiting time to the time the display request is accepted is within the time during which consultations are available.

[0103] In this way, even if the time of reception of the cart screen display request is within the available hours for medical treatment, the management server 10 can limit the reception of "medical treatment now" if the predicted waiting time for "medical treatment now" is long and there is a possibility that the medical treatment cannot start within the available hours for medical treatment. This prevents a situation in which a user applies for "medical treatment now" but the seller's closing time passes while they are waiting, causing them to wait a long time until the next opening time.

[0104] The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average consultation time.

[0105] In this way, the user's predicted waiting time for "immediate medical treatment" can be easily calculated.

[0106] The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by the average consultation time based on the consultation time obtained from the seller's past online medical history.

[0107] In this way, a more accurate predicted waiting time can be calculated based on the actual consultation time of the seller.

[0108] Furthermore, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the time when each seller is available to accept medical treatment and the number of people waiting, and determines whether immediate medical treatment is available for each seller, and the selection availability determination unit 103 determines whether immediate medical treatment is selectable for each seller.

[0109] In this way, even when multiple different sellers sell the target product, the management server 10 can easily allow the user to know whether or not they can apply for "immediate medical treatment" for each seller. This allows the user to apply for online medical treatment from a seller that offers "immediate medical treatment" if they want to receive medical treatment immediately, while also avoiding the user from mistakenly applying for online medical treatment from a seller that does not offer "immediate medical treatment" and having to wait for a long time.

[0110] <Fourth embodiment> Next, the fourth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Components common to the above-described embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and detailed description will be omitted.

[0111] In each of the above-described embodiments, an example has been described in which the seller (medical facility) of the target product provides online medical consultation. However, for some target products, there are cases in which the online medical consultation may be provided by a doctor belonging to a medical facility other than the seller, rather than by the seller himself. In the online medical consultation system 1 according to this embodiment, a doctor at a medical facility other than the seller handles such cases of online medical consultation.

[0112] (System Configuration) 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an online medical consultation system according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the management server 10 according to this embodiment further includes a doctor information recording unit 114.

[0113] The doctor information recording unit 114 records the doctor information of doctors who are set to be able to provide online medical care for the target product. The doctor information includes the doctor's name and the working hours during which the doctor is available to provide online medical care (online working hours).

[0114] In addition, in this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether or not the "immediate consultation" request can be accepted based on the working hours of the doctor who handles the online consultation for the target product in the cart.

[0115] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the online medical consultation system according to the fourth embodiment. The processing of steps S400 to S407 in Fig. 9 is the same as steps S100 to S107 in the first embodiment (Fig. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0116] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 extracts doctors who can provide online medical consultations for the target products included in the cart from the product information acquired in step S405. Note that in this embodiment, the product information recorded by the product information recording unit 111 is linked to each target product with information such as the name of a doctor who can provide online medical consultations. Then, the acceptance determination unit 102 acquires the doctor information of the extracted doctor from the doctor information recording unit 114 (step S408).

[0117] Next, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the doctor can accept the "immediate consultation" request based on the doctor's online working hours included in the acquired doctor information (step S409). The online working hours are, for example, the time period during which the doctor is available for online consultation (from the start time of the online consultation to the end time of the online consultation). The acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 may set the end time of the doctor's working hours to a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes before) before the end time of the online consultation recorded as working hours. The online working hours may also be manually set by the doctor via the consultation terminal 30.

[0118] The acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "Consult now" is acceptable if the acceptance time of the cart screen display request is within the working hours of at least one of the extracted doctors (step S409; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Consult now" is selectable (step S410).

[0119] On the other hand, if the time of reception of the cart screen display request is outside the working hours of all the extracted doctors, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "Treat Now" is not acceptable (step S409; NO). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "Treat Now" is not selectable (step S411).

[0120] The subsequent processing of steps S412 to S413 is the same as steps S112 to S113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0121] (Action and effect) As described above, in the management server 10 according to this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the working hours of the doctor who handles online medical consultations for the target product, and determines that the consultation can be accepted immediately if the time the display request is received is within the doctor's working hours.

[0122] In this way, the management server 10 can obtain the same effect as in the first embodiment even when a doctor at a medical facility other than the seller of the target product provides online medical consultation. That is, if the doctor is providing online medical consultation at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, the management server 10 allows the user to apply for "immediate consultation," so that the user can receive online medical consultation as soon as the medical consultation for another user is finished. On the other hand, if the doctor has finished online medical consultation at the time the operation to display the cart screen is performed, the management server 10 restricts the user from applying for "immediate consultation" from the cart screen. This prevents a user who has requested medical consultation from having to wait a long time until the seller's business hours begin.

[0123] <Fifth embodiment> Next, the fifth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 9. Components common to the above-described embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and detailed description will be omitted.

[0124] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 of the management server 10 determines whether or not an online medical consultation can be accepted based on the number of people waiting for "immediate consultation" of the doctor who can provide online medical consultation for the target product.

[0125] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of processing of the online medical consultation system according to the fifth embodiment. The processing of steps S500 to S507 in Fig. 10 is the same as steps S100 to S107 in the first embodiment (Fig. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the processing of step S508 in Fig. 10 is the same as step S408 in the fourth embodiment (Fig. 9), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0126] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 extracts a doctor who can provide online medical treatment for the target product included in the cart from the product information acquired in step S504, and acquires the waiting list for ``immediate treatment'' of the extracted doctor from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S509).

[0127] Next, the acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the number of doctors waiting for "immediate treatment" from the waiting list at the time of receiving the cart screen display request, and determines whether there is a doctor who can accept "immediate treatment" based on this number of doctors waiting (step S510). The method for determining the number of doctors waiting is the same as the process in the second embodiment (step S209 in FIG. 6).

[0128] If there is at least one doctor whose waiting number is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "consult now" is acceptable (step S510; YES). In this case, the selection acceptance determination unit 103 determines that "consult now" is selectable (step S511).

[0129] On the other hand, if there is no doctor whose waiting number is equal to or less than the predetermined number, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that "immediate consultation" is not available (step S510; NO). In this case, the selection determination unit 103 determines that "immediate consultation" is not available (step S512).

[0130] The subsequent processing in steps S513 and S514 is the same as steps S112 and S113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0131] (Action and effect) As described above, in the management server 10 according to this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the working hours of the doctors who handle online medical consultations for the target product, and determines that medical consultations can be accepted immediately if the time of receipt of the request to display the cart screen is within the working hours of at least one doctor.

[0132] By doing this, the management server 10 can prevent users from applying for "immediate medical treatment" without checking the number of people waiting, which results in the user having to wait a long time before being able to receive online medical treatment.

[0133] Sixth Embodiment Next, the sixth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 11. Components common to the above-described embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and detailed description will be omitted.

[0134] In this embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 of the management server 10 predicts the user's waiting time based on the number of people waiting for the "immediate consultation" option of the doctor who can provide online consultation for the target product, and determines whether the online consultation can be accepted or not, taking this waiting time into consideration.

[0135] (Example of processing in an online medical consultation system) FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the online medical consultation system according to the sixth embodiment. The processing of steps S600 to S607 in Fig. 11 is the same as steps S100 to S107 in the first embodiment (Fig. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Also, the processing of step S608 in Fig. 11 is the same as step S408 in the fourth embodiment (Fig. 9), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0136] In this embodiment, the acceptance determination unit 102 extracts a doctor who can provide online medical treatment for the target product included in the cart from the product information acquired in step S605, and acquires the waiting list for ``immediate treatment'' of the extracted doctor from the waiting list recording unit 113 (step S609).

[0137] Next, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 identifies the number of patients waiting for "immediate treatment" for each doctor at the time of receipt of the cart screen display request based on the extracted waiting list for each doctor, and calculates the predicted waiting time for "immediate treatment" for each doctor based on the identified number of patients waiting (step S609). The method for calculating the number of patients waiting is the same as the process in the second embodiment (step S209 in FIG. 6).

[0138] For example, the admission decision unit 102 calculates the predicted waiting time by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average consultation time (a fixed value). The average consultation time is a preset value (for example, 5 minutes). This average consultation time may be arbitrarily set by each doctor via the consultation terminal 30, for example.

[0139] Furthermore, the acceptance / rejection determination unit 102 may acquire the actual consultation time obtained from each doctor's past online medical consultation history and calculate the average consultation time (statistical value) for each doctor. For example, the doctor information for each doctor includes online medical consultation history information. The online medical consultation history information includes information on the consultation time for each online medical consultation conducted in the past. The acceptance / rejection determination unit 102 acquires information on the consultation time for each online medical consultation by referencing the online medical consultation history information included in the doctor information acquired in step S608. Furthermore, the acceptance / rejection determination unit 102 calculates the doctor's average consultation time based on the acquired information on the consultation time for each online medical consultation. Then, the acceptance / rejection determination unit 102 multiplies the number of waiting people by the average consultation time (statistical value) calculated from the actual consultation time included in the online medical consultation history information to calculate the predicted waiting time for each doctor.

[0140] Next, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether there is a doctor who is available to accept an "immediate consultation" request based on the predicted waiting time and working hours for each doctor (step S611).

[0141] For example, suppose that Doctor 1 and Doctor 2 perform online medical consultations for the target items in the cart. The acceptance determination unit 102 determines whether the time obtained by adding Doctor 1's predicted waiting time to the time when the request to display the cart screen was received is within Doctor 1's working hours. The acceptance determination unit 102 also determines whether the time obtained by adding Doctor 2's predicted waiting time to the time when the request to display the cart screen was received is within Doctor 2's working hours. Note that the processing in step S611 is an example, and a different processing similar to the processing in step S311 in the third embodiment (FIG. 7) described above may be performed as long as a substantially equivalent determination is possible.

[0142] If at least one of Doctor 1 and Doctor 2 is within working hours even after the predicted waiting time, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that there is a doctor who can accept the request for "immediate consultation" (step S611; YES). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "immediate consultation" is selectable (step S612).

[0143] Furthermore, if all doctors are off duty at the time after the predicted waiting time, the acceptance determination unit 102 determines that there is no doctor available to accept the request for "immediate consultation" (step S611; NO). In this case, the selection availability determination unit 103 determines that "immediate consultation" is not selectable (step S613).

[0144] The subsequent processing in steps S614 and S615 is the same as steps S112 and S113 in the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

[0145] (Action and effect) As described above, in the management server 10 according to this embodiment, the acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit 102 obtains the working hours of the doctor who handles online medical consultations for the target product and the number of doctors who handle online medical consultations for the target product who are waiting for immediate consultation at the time the display request is received, calculates the predicted waiting time until the doctor becomes available for online consultation based on the number of waiting people, and determines that immediate consultation is available if there is at least one doctor whose working hours include the time when the cart screen display request is received plus the predicted waiting time.

[0146] In this way, even if the time of reception of the cart screen display request is within the doctor's working hours, the management server 10 can limit the reception of "Now Consultation" if the predicted waiting time for "Now Consultation" is long and there is a possibility that the consultation will not start within the doctor's working hours. This prevents a situation in which a user applies for "Now Consultation" but the doctor's working hours pass while they are waiting, causing them to wait a long time until the next online consultation starts.

[0147] <Computer configuration> 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to any one of the embodiments. The computer 900 includes a processor 901, a main storage device 902, an auxiliary storage device 903, and an interface 904. The management server 10 described above is implemented in the computer 900. The operations of the above-described processing units are stored in the auxiliary storage device 903 in the form of a program. The processor 901 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 903, loads it into the main storage device 902, and executes the above-described processing in accordance with the program. The processor 901 also allocates a storage area in the main storage device 902 to be used in the above-described processing in accordance with the program.

[0148] The program may be for realizing some of the functions to be performed by the computer 900. For example, the program may be combined with other programs already stored in the auxiliary storage device 903 or other programs implemented in other devices to perform the functions. In other embodiments, the computer may include a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) in addition to or instead of the above configuration. Examples of PLDs include PAL (Programmable Array Logic), GAL (Generic Array Logic), CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In this case, some or all of the functions realized by the processor may be realized by the integrated circuit.

[0149] Examples of the auxiliary storage device 903 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM), and a semiconductor memory. The auxiliary storage device 903 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of the computer 900, or an external medium (external storage device 910) connected to the computer 900 via the interface 904 or a communication line. Furthermore, when this program is distributed to the computer 900 via a communication line, the computer 900 that receives the program may load the program into the main storage device 902 and execute the above-described processing. In at least one embodiment, the auxiliary storage device 903 is a non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0150] <Other embodiments> Although one embodiment has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design modifications are possible. That is, in other embodiments, the order of the above-described processes may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, some processes may be executed in parallel.

[0151] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0152] (Appendix 1) An online medical consultation management server comprising: an acceptance / non-acceptance determination unit that, when a request to display a cart screen is received, determines whether a first medical consultation method, which starts online medical consultation as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed, is acceptable if the user's cart contains a target product that requires medical consultation; a selection / non-acceptance determination unit that determines that the first medical consultation method is selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable, and determines that the first medical consultation method is not selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and a display control unit that controls the display of the cart screen depending on whether the first medical consultation method is selectable.

[0153] (Appendix 2) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1, wherein the selection determination unit determines that the first medical consultation method and a second medical consultation method in which the user selects a desired date and time of consultation and books an online medical consultation are selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable, and determines that the first medical consultation method is unselectable and that the second medical consultation method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical consultation method is unacceptable.

[0154] (Appendix 3) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the medical consultation acceptance hours of the seller of the target product, and determines that the first medical consultation provision method is acceptable if the acceptance time of the display request is within the medical consultation acceptance hours of the seller of the target product.

[0155] (Appendix 4) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 3, wherein the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, obtains the medical consultation acceptance times for each seller and determines whether the first medical consultation method is acceptable for each seller, and the selection determination unit determines whether the first medical consultation method is selectable or not for each seller.

[0156] (Appendix 5) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the number of people waiting for the first medical consultation method of the seller of the target product at the time the display request is accepted, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if the number of people waiting is less than a predetermined number.

[0157] (Appendix 6) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the medical consultation acceptance hours of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting for the first medical consultation method of the seller of the target product at the time of acceptance of the display request, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if the acceptance time of the display request is within the medical consultation acceptance hours of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting is less than a predetermined number.

[0158] (Appendix 7) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 5, wherein the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, obtains the number of people waiting for the first medical care delivery method for each seller and determines whether the first medical care delivery method is acceptable for each seller, and the selection determination unit determines whether the first medical care delivery method is selectable or not for each seller.

[0159] (Appendix 8) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the medical consultation acceptance time of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting for the first medical consultation method of the seller of the target product at the time of acceptance of the display request, calculates a predicted waiting time until online medical consultation from the seller becomes available based on the number of people waiting, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if the time obtained by adding the predicted waiting time to the acceptance time of the display request is within the medical consultation acceptance time.

[0160] (Appendix 9) The online medical consultation management server according to claim 8, wherein the predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average medical consultation time.

[0161] (Appendix 10) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 8, wherein the predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by an average consultation time based on consultation times obtained from the seller's past online medical consultation history.

[0162] (Appendix 11) The online medical consultation management server according to any one of Supplementary Note 8 to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products from multiple sellers, obtains the medical consultation acceptance times and the number of waiting people for each seller and determines whether the first medical consultation method is acceptable for each seller, and the selection determination unit determines whether the first medical consultation method is selectable or not for each seller.

[0163] (Appendix 12) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the working hours of doctors who handle online medical consultations for the target product, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if the reception time of the display request is within the working hours of at least one of the doctors.

[0164] (Appendix 13) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the number of doctors who are waiting for the first medical consultation method and who can provide online medical consultation for the target product at the time the display request is received, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if the time the display request is received is within the working hours of at least one doctor.

[0165] (Appendix 14) The online medical consultation management server according to Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the acceptance determination unit obtains the working hours of the doctor who handles online medical consultations for the target product and the number of doctors who are waiting for online medical consultations for the target product using the first medical consultation method at the time the display request is received, calculates a predicted waiting time until the doctor becomes available for online consultation based on the number of doctors who are waiting, and determines that the first medical consultation method is acceptable if there is at least one doctor whose working hours include the time when the display request is received plus the predicted waiting time.

[0166] (Appendix 15) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 14, wherein the predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average medical consultation time.

[0167] (Appendix 16) The online medical consultation management server described in Appendix 14, wherein the predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by the average medical consultation time obtained from the doctor's online medical consultation history.

[0168] (Appendix 17) A method for managing online medical consultations, comprising the steps of: when a request to display a cart screen is received, if the user's cart contains a target product that requires medical consultation, determining whether a first medical consultation method that starts online medical consultation as soon as another user's medical consultation is completed is acceptable; determining that the first medical consultation method is selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is acceptable, and determining that the first medical consultation method is not selectable if it is determined that the first medical consultation method is not acceptable; and controlling the display of the cart screen depending on whether the first medical consultation method is selectable.

[0169] (Appendix 18) A program that causes an online medical consultation management server to execute the following steps when a request to display a cart screen is received, and if the user's cart contains a target product that requires medical treatment, whether a first medical treatment method that starts online medical treatment as soon as another user's medical treatment is completed is acceptable; if it is determined that the first medical treatment method is acceptable, deciding that the first medical treatment method is selectable, and if it is determined that the first medical treatment method is unacceptable, deciding that the first medical treatment method is unselectable; and controlling the display of the cart screen depending on whether the first medical treatment method is selectable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0170] 1. Online medical consultation system 10 Management Server 101 Cart information update section 102 Acceptance decision unit 103 Selection decision unit 104 Display control unit 110 Cart information recording section 111 Product information recording unit 112 Seller Information Record Section 113 List Recording Section 114 Physician Information Records Department 20, 20a, 20b User terminal 30 Examination terminal

Claims

1. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit Obtain the medical consultation hours of the seller of the target product, determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the request to display the cart screen from the user is received is within the medical care acceptance hours of the seller of the target product; Online medical consultation management server.

2. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit obtain the number of people waiting for the first medical care provision method of the seller of the target product at the time of receiving the cart screen display request from the user; If the number of people waiting is equal to or less than a predetermined number, it is determined that the first medical care provision method is acceptable. Online medical consultation management server.

3. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit acquire the medical treatment reception available time of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting for the first medical treatment provision method of the seller of the target product at the time of receiving the cart screen display request from the user; determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the display request is received is within the medical care acceptance hours of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting is equal to or less than a predetermined number; Online medical consultation management server.

4. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit acquire the medical treatment reception available time of the seller of the target product and the number of people waiting for the first medical treatment provision method of the seller of the target product at the time of receiving the cart screen display request from the user; Calculating an estimated waiting time until online medical treatment by the seller becomes available based on the number of people waiting; determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when a time obtained by adding the predicted waiting time to the reception time of the display request is within the medical care acceptance time; Online medical consultation management server.

5. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit Obtain the working hours of the doctor who is set up to be able to provide online medical care for the target product; determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the request to display the cart screen from the user is received is within the working hours of at least one of the doctors; Online medical consultation management server.

6. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit acquire the number of doctors who are set to be able to provide online medical care for the target product and who are on standby for the first medical care provision method at the time of receiving the cart screen display request from the user; determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the display request is received is during the working hours of at least one doctor and the number of people waiting is equal to or less than a predetermined number; Online medical consultation management server.

7. an acceptance determination unit that determines whether a first medical care provision method in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed is acceptable when a target product requiring medical care is included in the user's cart; a selectability determining unit that determines that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and that determines that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a display control unit that controls to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; Equipped with The acceptance determination unit Acquire the working hours of the doctor who is set to be able to provide online medical care for the target product and the number of doctors who are waiting for the first medical care provision method who are set to be able to provide online medical care for the target product at the time of receiving the cart screen display request from the user, Calculating a predicted waiting time until the doctor becomes available for online medical treatment based on the number of people on standby; determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when there is at least one doctor whose working hours include the time obtained by adding the predicted waiting time to the time when the display request is received; Online medical consultation management server.

8. The selection possibility determination unit When it is determined that the first medical care provision method is acceptable, it is determined that the first medical care provision method and a second medical care provision method in which the user selects any desired consultation date and time and makes an appointment for online medical care are selectable; When it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable, it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable and that the second medical care delivery method is selectable; The display control unit controls, when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable and the second medical care delivery method is selectable, to display a screen on which the first medical care delivery method is not selectable and the second medical care delivery method is selectable. The online medical consultation management server according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products of a plurality of sellers, acquires the medical treatment acceptance time of each of the sellers and determines whether the first medical treatment provision method is acceptable for each of the sellers; The selection possibility determination unit determines whether the first medical care provision method is selectable or unselectable for each of the sellers. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 1.

10. the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products of a plurality of sellers, acquires the number of people waiting for the first medical care provision method for each of the sellers and determines whether the first medical care provision method is acceptable for each of the sellers; The selection possibility determination unit determines whether the first medical care provision method is selectable or unselectable for each of the sellers. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 2.

11. The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average treatment time. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 4.

12. The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by an average consultation time based on consultation times obtained from the seller's past online medical consultation history. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 4.

13. the acceptance determination unit, when the cart contains target products of a plurality of sellers, acquires the medical treatment acceptance time and the number of waiting people of each of the sellers, and determines whether the first medical treatment provision method is acceptable for each of the sellers; The selection possibility determination unit determines whether the first medical care provision method is selectable or unselectable for each of the sellers.

13. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 4, 11, or 12.

14. The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by a predetermined average consultation time. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 7.

15. The predicted waiting time is calculated by multiplying the number of people waiting by an average consultation time obtained from the doctor's online medical consultation history. The online medical consultation management server according to claim 7.

16. A step in which an online medical consultation management server determines whether it is possible to accept a first medical consultation provision method in which online medical consultation begins immediately after another user's medical consultation ends when the user's cart contains a target product requiring medical consultation; a step in which the online medical consultation management server determines that the first medical care provision method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care provision method is acceptable, and determines that the first medical care provision method is not selectable when it is determined that the first medical care provision method is not acceptable; a step in which the online medical consultation management server performs control to display a screen on which the first medical consultation method can be selected when the first medical consultation method is selectable, and to display a screen on which the first medical consultation method cannot be selected when the first medical consultation method is not selectable; and The step of determining whether the first medical care delivery method is acceptable includes: Obtain the medical consultation hours of the seller of the target product, determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the request to display the cart screen from the user is received is within the medical care acceptance hours of the seller of the target product; How to manage online consultations.

17. a step of determining whether a first medical care providing method is acceptable, in which an online medical care is started as soon as another user's medical care is completed, when the user's cart contains a target product requiring medical care; determining that the first medical care delivery method is selectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is acceptable, and determining that the first medical care delivery method is unselectable when it is determined that the first medical care delivery method is unacceptable; a step of controlling the display of a screen on which the first medical care delivery method can be selected when the first medical care delivery method is selectable, and the display of a screen on which the first medical care delivery method cannot be selected when the first medical care delivery method is not selectable; A program that causes an online medical consultation management server to execute the above, The step of determining whether the first medical care delivery method is acceptable includes: Obtain the medical consultation hours of the seller of the target product, determining that the first medical care provision method is acceptable when the time when the request to display the cart screen from the user is received is within the medical care acceptance hours of the seller of the target product; program.

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