Business support device, business support system, business support method, and business support program

Abstract

To allow information about patients to be exchanged more easily between a medical institution as an introduction source and a medical institution as an introduction destination.SOLUTION: A work support device has a control unit which detects occurrence of events related to a patient who came to a second medical institution by the introduction from a first medical institution, and calculates the point of time when the time passage for a generated event has passed as a passage point of time from the point of time when the generation of the event was detected with reference to definition information defining the time interval to the next report from the second medical institution to the first medical institution for each of the events every time the control unit detects the occurrence of events, and presents notification information for promoting a user to make the next report according to the arrival of the calculated passage point of time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a business support device, a business support system, a business support method, and a business support program. [Background technology]

[0002] As the functions of medical institutions become more differentiated, patients are being referred from one medical facility to another in order to provide appropriate treatment tailored to the patient's condition.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that supports patient referrals between different medical institutions. Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose systems related to the delivery of referral letters. Patent Document 4 discloses a system that manages the flow of information using medical records. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-305440 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-174360 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6772814 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-56093 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Even after a patient is referred, it is desirable for the referring medical institution to report on the patient to the original medical institution at a time appropriate to the patient's condition, and for information about the patient to be exchanged frequently. However, preparing reports is time-consuming. Furthermore, patients' conditions vary widely, making it difficult to uniformly determine the timing for preparing reports. As a result, there are cases where the timing for preparing reports is missed.

[0006] The purpose of the present disclosure is to facilitate the exchange of information about patients between referring medical facilities and referring medical facilities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A business support device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a control unit that, each time it detects the occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events relating to a patient who has visited a second medical facility after being referred from a first medical facility, refers to definition information that defines the time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, calculates the notification time as the time when the time interval corresponding to the event that has occurred has elapsed from the time the occurrence of the event is detected, and presents notification information prompting the user to create the next report at the arrival of the calculated notification time.

[0008] In one embodiment, the plurality of events includes actions taken by or on the patient at the first medical facility or the second medical facility; The control unit detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to the action by referring to information input in association with the action.

[0009] In one embodiment, the action includes the referral from the first medical facility, the patient's visit, diagnosis, treatment, admission, or discharge at the second medical facility, or a reverse referral of the patient from the second medical facility to the first medical facility.

[0010] In one embodiment, the plurality of events includes a communication by the second medical facility to the first medical facility about the patient; The control unit detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to the notification by referring to information input in association with the notification.

[0011] In one embodiment, the communication includes sending a report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, such as a visit report, diagnosis report, treatment report, admission report, or discharge report for the patient, or sending a referral letter from the second medical facility to the first medical facility to refer the patient.

[0012] In one embodiment, in the definition information, the time intervals corresponding to the respective plurality of events are defined in association with the types of the respective plurality of events, Each time the control unit detects the occurrence of an event, it identifies the type of event that has occurred and calculates the notification time as the point at which a time interval corresponding to the identified type has elapsed from the point at which the occurrence of the event was detected.

[0013] In one embodiment, the control unit selects the user from among users including doctors, nurses, or administrative staff of the second medical facility according to the type of the identified event.

[0014] In one embodiment, in the definition information, the time intervals corresponding to the plurality of events are defined in association with a plurality of ordinal numbers representing an order of occurrence of the plurality of events, The control unit increments a counter each time it detects the occurrence of an event, and calculates the notification time as the time when a time interval corresponding to the ordinal number matching the counter has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event was detected.

[0015] In one embodiment, the control unit creates a template for the next report in accordance with the arrival of the notification time point, and presents the created template together with the notification information.

[0016] In one embodiment, the control unit refers to information indicating whether the next report has been created after the notification time arrives, and if the next report has not been created, presents the notification information again.

[0017] In one embodiment, the business support device further includes a communication unit that communicates with a terminal device installed in the first medical facility, The control unit generates medical information indicating the status of medical treatment for the patient at the second medical facility, and transmits the generated medical information to the terminal device via the communication unit.

[0018] In one embodiment, when the control unit receives an access request sent from the terminal device via the communication unit, it sends the medical information to the terminal device via the communication unit in response to the received access request.

[0019] In one embodiment, the control unit generates the medical information by referring to a medical history of the patient at the second medical facility.

[0020] In one embodiment, the control unit generates the medical information by referring to a medical treatment schedule for the patient at the second medical facility.

[0021] A business support system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes the business support device and the terminal device.

[0022] A business support method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: detecting, by a business support device, the occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited a second medical facility after being referred from a first medical facility; Each time the business support device detects the occurrence of an event, it refers to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculates, as a notification time, a time when a time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed since the time the occurrence of the event was detected; presenting notification information that prompts the user to create the next report when the calculated notification time arrives by the business support device; Includes:

[0023] A business support program according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: detecting an occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited a second medical facility after being referred from a first medical facility; Each time an occurrence of an event is detected, referring to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculating the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event is detected as a notification time; presenting notification information prompting the user to create the next report at the calculated notification time; The computer is caused to perform operations including: [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the present disclosure, information about patients can be more easily exchanged between the referring medical facility and the referring medical facility. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which information about a patient is exchanged. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of definition information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a plurality of events and time intervals defined in definition information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a business assistance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a block diagram illustrating each function of a task assistance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a task assistance device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 10 is a table illustrating examples of items selected depending on the type of template used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 10 is a table illustrating an example of a user selected depending on the type of report in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table showing contact information of users, used in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for creating a template according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a terminal device installed in a first medical facility in the business support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0027] In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the description of this embodiment, the description of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0028] The configuration of a business support system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0029] The task support system 10 according to this embodiment includes at least one task support device 20 and two or more terminal devices 30.

[0030] Each of the two or more terminal devices 30 is used by a staff member at the first medical facility H1. The staff member at the first medical facility H1 is, for example, a medical professional such as a doctor or a nurse, or an office staff member.

[0031] The number of terminal devices 30 is not limited to a plurality of devices, and may be only one. For convenience of explanation, the following description will be given of one terminal device 30.

[0032] The terminal device 30 is held by a staff member at the first medical facility H1. Alternatively, the terminal device 30 is installed at the first medical facility H1. The business support device 20 is, for example, a general-purpose terminal such as a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, or PC, or a dedicated terminal such as a gadget. "PC" is an abbreviation for personal computer.

[0033] The business support device 20 is capable of communicating with the terminal device 30 via a network 40 .

[0034] The business support device 20 is installed in a second medical facility H2 different from the first medical facility H1. The business support device 20 is, for example, a server computer belonging to an on-premise computing system. The business support device 20 may be installed in a facility other than the second medical facility H2, such as a data center. The business support device 20 may be, for example, a server computer belonging to a cloud computing system.

[0035] Network 40 may include the Internet, at least one WAN, at least one MAN, or any combination thereof. "WAN" is an abbreviation for wide area network. "MAN" is an abbreviation for metropolitan area network. Network 40 may include at least one wireless network, at least one optical network, or any combination thereof. A wireless network may be, for example, an ad-hoc network, a cellular network, a wireless LAN, a satellite communication network, or a terrestrial microwave network. "LAN" is an abbreviation for local area network.

[0036] An overview of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0037] In recent years, with the increase in patients with chronic diseases due to the aging population and the functional differentiation of hospital beds, it is expected that resources at general hospitals and other acute care hospitals will become strained in the future. Acute care hospitals are hospitals that specialize in treating patients with acute diseases or severe illnesses. For this reason, regional medical cooperation is being promoted, in which initial medical care and ongoing chronic care are handled by "family doctors," while treatment requiring specialized testing, consultations, and hospitalization is handled by acute care hospitals. Regional medical cooperation is also important from the perspective of providing medical care and management in a setting appropriate to the patient's condition. There is a need for regional medical facilities to cooperate smoothly with each other and make effective use of their functions so that patients can receive appropriate, continuous medical care in their local area.

[0038] One concrete measure to promote regional medical cooperation is to refer patients from one medical facility to another. Patient referrals and reverse referrals must be made at an appropriate time according to the patient's condition.

[0039] Furthermore, in regional medical cooperation, it is desirable for medical facilities to frequently exchange information about patients. However, information exchange is not always carried out sufficiently, and there are complaints from medical professionals. Even when information exchange is taking place, there are issues such as the content being too technical or not containing all the necessary information. Currently, regional medical cooperation is not being carried out sufficiently, and it is difficult to say that patient referrals and reverse referrals are being carried out at an appropriate time based on the patient's condition.

[0040] In regional medical cooperation, the exchange of information between medical facilities is the basis for mutual trust. Therefore, if information exchange does not occur or if there are problems with the content of the information, regional medical cooperation may be hindered. Therefore, there is a need to support timely communication about patients between medical facilities without increasing the burden on doctors.

[0041] Therefore, in the task support system 10 according to this embodiment, the task support device 20 detects the occurrence of an event included in multiple events related to a patient P1 who visits a second medical facility H2 after being referred by a first medical facility H1. Each time the task support device 20 detects the occurrence of an event, it refers to definition information D1 and calculates a notification time T2, which is the time when a time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time T1 at which the event occurrence was detected. The definition information D1 defines the time interval until the next report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, corresponding to each of the multiple events. The task support device 20 presents notification information D2 prompting the user to create the next report when the calculated notification time T2 arrives.

[0042] In this embodiment, the "plurality of events" includes actions taken by or on the patient P1 at the first medical facility H1 or the second medical facility H2. Such "actions" include, for example, the referral of the patient P1 from the first medical facility H1, the visit, diagnosis, treatment, admission, or discharge of the patient P1 at the second medical facility H2, or a reverse referral from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. Alternatively, the "plurality of events" includes communication about the patient P1 made by the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. Such "communication" includes, for example, the sending of a visit report, diagnosis report, treatment report, admission report, or discharge report about the patient P1 from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, or the sending of a referral letter from the second medical facility H2 to refer the patient P1 to the first medical facility H1.

[0043] In this embodiment, "sending" a report includes either or both of transmitting the report as electronic data and mailing the report as a handwritten document or printed matter.

[0044] Referring to Figure 2, an example of a situation is described in which information about patient P1 is exchanged between a first medical facility H1, which is the referral source of patient P1, and a second medical facility H2, which is the referral destination, as envisioned in the business support system 10 of this embodiment.

[0045] Table 100 in Figure 2 shows the movement of patient P1 who has been referred from the first medical facility H1 to the second medical facility H2 with arrows. The horizontal axis of table 100 is the time axis. The upper section of table 100 shows anticipated situations for patient P1 in chronological order. The middle section of table 100 shows the types of reports that will be prepared at the second medical facility H2 in each of several of the multiple situations. The lower section of table 100 shows that a referral letter will be prepared at the first medical facility H1 in the "referral" situation, and that a hospital visit report will be prepared at the first medical facility H1 in the "first visit" situation.

[0046] In table 100, in the "Referral" scene, second from the left, a referral letter is prepared at the first medical facility H1 to refer patient P1, who is visiting the first medical facility H1, from the first medical facility H1 to the second medical facility H2. In the "First Visit" scene, third from the left, patient P1 visits the second medical facility H2 for the first time upon referral from the first medical facility H1. At the second medical facility H2, a visit report is prepared from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. In the "Treatment" scene, fifth from the left, treatment is provided to patient P1 at the second medical facility H2. At the second medical facility H2, a "Treatment Report" is prepared from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. In the "Discharge" scene, sixth from the left, patient P1 is discharged from the second medical facility H2. At the second medical facility H2, a "Discharge Report" is prepared from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. In the "reverse referral" scene, eighth from the left, a referral letter is prepared at the second medical facility H2 to refer patient P1 from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. In the "first visit" scene, ninth from the left, patient P1 visits the first medical facility H1 for the first time after being referred by the second medical facility H2. At the first medical facility H1, a visit report is prepared from the first medical facility H1 to the second medical facility H2.

[0047] In the example of FIG. 2, the scenes of "hospital visit," "referral," "first visit," "treatment," "discharge," and "reverse referral" are listed, but the scenes are not limited to these. Furthermore, in this embodiment, reports may be created in any scene. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, no reports are created in the "hospital visit" scenes shown first, fourth, seventh, and tenth from the left, but even in the "hospital visit" scenes, some kind of report may be created at the first medical facility H1 or the second medical facility H2.

[0048] The "definition information D1" in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. In this embodiment, the "definition information D1" is information that defines the time interval until the next report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, corresponding to each of a plurality of events. Fig. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a table in which the definition information D1 in this embodiment is stored, as table 200.

[0049] In table 200 in FIG. 3 , the first record contains, for the event "visit," a schedule ID of "C1," a step ID of "ST1," a template ID of "#1," and a time interval until the next report of "3 days." This means that the next report must be created within three days of the event "visit" being detected. Schedule IDs, step IDs, and template IDs are described below. The second record contains, for the event "send visit report," a schedule ID of "C1," a step ID of "ST2," a template ID of "#2," and a time interval until the next report of "4 days." This means that the next report must be created within four days of the event "send visit report" being detected. The third record contains, for the event "treatment," a schedule ID of "C1," a step ID of "ST3," a template ID of "#3," and a time interval until the next report of "3 days." This means that the next report must be created within three days of the event "treatment" being detected. The record on line 5 stores, for the event "Discharge," a schedule ID of "C1," a step ID of "ST7," a template ID of "#4," and a time interval until the next report of "2 days." This means that the next report must be created within two days of the event "Discharge" being detected. The record on line 6 stores, for the event "Reverse Referral," a schedule ID of "C1," a step ID of "ST8," a template ID of "#5," and a time interval until the next report of "3 days." This means that the next report must be created within three days of the event "Reverse Referral" being detected. The time intervals defined in the definition information D1 are not limited to the above example and may be defined arbitrarily. In the definition information D1, the time intervals corresponding to each of the multiple events may be defined in association with each of multiple ordinal numbers representing the order in which the multiple events occur.Alternatively, in the definition information D1, the time intervals corresponding to the plurality of events may be defined in association with the types of the plurality of events.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 4, the relationship between each of the multiple events and the time intervals defined in the definition information D1 will be described. In the example of FIG. 4, when a patient visits the second medical facility H2 through a referral, the occurrence of an event called "Visit" is detected. Starting from the point in time when the occurrence of the event called "Visit" is detected, a visit report must be created as the next report within "three days," defined as the time interval corresponding to the "Visit." For example, when a visit report is created and sent to the first medical facility H1 three days later, the occurrence of an event called "Visit Report Sent" is detected. The patient must be diagnosed and a diagnosis report must be created as the next report within "four days," defined as the time interval corresponding to the "Visit Report Sent." Thereafter, when it is decided to refer the patient back to the first medical facility H1, the occurrence of an event called "Reverse Referral" is detected. A referral letter for reverse referral must be created as the next report within "three days," defined as the time interval corresponding to the "Reverse Referral."

[0051] According to this embodiment, when an event occurs, the user is prompted to create a report corresponding to the event or a report that should be created next after the report created for the event within a predetermined period. This can prevent reports from being missed or delayed. As a result, patient information can be more easily exchanged between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0052] The configuration of the task assistance device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0053] The business support device 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an input unit 24, and an output unit 25.

[0054] The control unit 21 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. "CPU" is an abbreviation for central processing unit. "GPU" is an abbreviation for graphics processing unit. An example of the programmable circuit is an FPGA. "FPGA" is an abbreviation for field-programmable gate array. An example of the dedicated circuit is an ASIC. "ASIC" is an abbreviation for application specific integrated circuit. The control unit 21 controls each part of the business assistance device 20 and executes processing related to the operation of the business assistance device 20.

[0055] The memory unit 22 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM or ROM. "RAM" is an abbreviation for random access memory. "ROM" is an abbreviation for read only memory. RAM is, for example, SRAM or DRAM. "SRAM" is an abbreviation for static random access memory. "DRAM" is an abbreviation for dynamic random access memory. ROM is, for example, EEPROM. "EEPROM" is an abbreviation for electrically erasable programmable read only memory. The memory unit 22 functions as, for example, a main memory device, an auxiliary memory device, or a cache memory. The memory unit 22 stores data used in the operation of the business support device 20 and data obtained by the operation of the business support device 20. In this embodiment, the storage unit 22 further stores medical examination schedule information indicating the medical examination schedule for each patient, template information indicating a template for each report, notification target information indicating the target of notification of the report, and contact information indicating the user's contact information. The storage unit 22 may also store template item information indicating items to be extracted when creating a template. The "medical examination schedule information," "template information," "notification target information," "contact information," and "template item information" will be described later.

[0056] The communication unit 23 includes at least one communication interface. The communication interface is, for example, an interface compatible with a mobile communication standard such as LTE, 4G standard, or 5G standard, an interface compatible with a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a LAN interface. "LTE" is an abbreviation for Long Term Evolution. "4G" is an abbreviation for 4th generation. "5G" is an abbreviation for 5th generation. The communication unit 23 receives data used in the operation of the business assistance device 20 and transmits data obtained by the operation of the business assistance device 20. In this embodiment, the communication unit 23 communicates with the terminal device 30.

[0057] The input unit 24 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, a touch screen integrated with a display, or a microphone. The input unit 24 accepts an operation to input data used for the operation of the business assistance device 20. The input unit 24 may be connected to the business assistance device 20 as an external input device instead of being provided in the business assistance device 20. The connection interface may be, for example, an interface compatible with standards such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark). "USB" is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. "HDMI (registered trademark)" is an abbreviation for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

[0058] The output unit 25 includes at least two output interfaces. One output interface is a display such as an LCD or an organic EL display. "LCD" is an abbreviation for liquid crystal display. "EL" is an abbreviation for electroluminescence. The other output interface is, for example, a speaker. The output unit 25 outputs data obtained by the operation of the business assistance device 20. The output unit 25 may be connected to the business assistance device 20 as an external output device instead of being provided in the business assistance device 20. As the connection interface, for example, an interface compatible with standards such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

[0059] The functions of the business assistance device 20 are realized by executing a business assistance program according to this embodiment on a processor serving as the control unit 21. That is, the functions of the business assistance device 20 are realized by software. The business assistance program causes a computer to execute the operations of the business assistance device 20, thereby causing the computer to function as the business assistance device 20. That is, the computer functions as the business assistance device 20 by executing the operations of the business assistance device 20 in accordance with the business assistance program.

[0060] The program can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include flash memory, magnetic recording devices, optical disks, magneto-optical recording media, and ROMs. The program can be distributed by selling, transferring, or lending portable media such as SD cards, DVDs, or CD-ROMs that store the program. "SD" is an abbreviation for Secure Digital. "DVD" is an abbreviation for digital versatile disc. "CD-ROM" is an abbreviation for compact disc read only memory. The program can also be distributed by storing it in the storage of a server and transferring it from the server to another computer. The program can also be provided as a program product.

[0061] A computer temporarily stores a program stored on a portable medium or transferred from a server in its main storage device. The computer then reads the program stored in the main storage device using a processor and executes processing in accordance with the read program. The computer may also read the program directly from a portable medium and execute processing in accordance with the program. The computer may also execute processing in accordance with the received program each time a program is transferred from a server to the computer. Processing may also be executed through a so-called ASP-type service that achieves its functions by issuing execution instructions and obtaining results without transferring the program from the server to the computer. "ASP" is an abbreviation for application service provider. A program is information used for processing by a computer and includes something equivalent to a program. For example, data that is not a direct instruction to a computer but has properties that specify computer processing falls under the category of "something equivalent to a program."

[0062] Some or all of the functions of the business assistance device 20 may be realized by a programmable circuit or a dedicated circuit as the control unit 21. In other words, some or all of the functions of the business assistance device 20 may be realized by hardware.

[0063] Each function of the task assistance device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0064] 6, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 according to this embodiment has a schedule management function F1, an event determination function F2, a contact management function F3, and a patient management function F4. The communication unit 23 of the business support device 20 has a report sending / receiving function F5 and a schedule notification function F6. The input unit 24 of the business support device 20 has an event input function F7, a template input function F8, and a report input function F9. The output unit 25 of the business support device 20 has a schedule display function F10 and a report display function F11.

[0065] The operation of the business assistance device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. This operation corresponds to the business assistance method according to this embodiment.

[0066] In step S101, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 detects the occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient P1 who has visited the second medical facility H2 after being referred from the first medical facility H1.

[0067] In this embodiment, the multiple events include actions performed by or on the patient P1 at the first medical facility H1 or the second medical facility H2. The control unit 21 detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to an action by referring to information input in association with the action. As described above, in this embodiment, the actions include the referral of the patient P1 from the first medical facility H1, the visit, diagnosis, treatment, hospitalization, or discharge of the patient P1 at the second medical facility H2, or a reverse referral in which the second medical facility H2 refers the patient P1 to the first medical facility H1. As an example, information input in association with the visit of the patient P1 at the second medical facility H2 will be specifically described. When the patient P1 referred from the first medical facility H1 visits the second medical facility H2 and the referral letter brought by the patient P1 is submitted to the reception desk of the second medical facility H2, the name of the patient P1 and other information about the patient P1 written on the submitted referral letter is input by a user at the second medical facility H2 via the input unit 24 of the task support device 20. The referral letter may be transmitted as electronic data from the first medical facility H1. In this case, the transmitted referral letter is received via the communication unit 23 of the task support device 20. The control unit 21 of the task support device 20 detects the "visit" of the patient P1 by referring to the information about the patient P1 input via the input unit 24 or the referral letter received via the communication unit 23. Alternatively, the information input in response to the occurrence of an event may be manually input by staff, including doctors, nurses, or administrative staff, of the first medical facility H1 or the second medical facility H2. As an example, the referral letter from the first medical facility H1 may be transmitted by the doctor, nurse, or administrative staff of the first medical facility H1 manually pressing a button labeled "Refer to New Patient" displayed on the touchscreen of the terminal device 30. As another example, when patient P1 visits the second medical facility H2, the doctor, nurse, or administrative staff at the second medical facility H2 may manually press a button labeled "Register new referred patient" displayed on a touch screen serving as the input unit 24 of the business support device 20, thereby detecting the "visit" of patient P1.

[0068] In this embodiment, the multiple events also include a notification about patient P1 made by the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. The control unit 21 detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to the notification by referring to information input in association with the notification. As described above, in this embodiment, the notification includes a report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, such as a hospital visit report, diagnosis report, treatment report, hospitalization report, or discharge report about patient P1, or a referral letter from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1 to introduce patient P1. In this embodiment, a referral letter is also considered a type of report, but a referral letter may be treated as a different type of report. As an example, information input in association with the transmission of a hospital visit report about patient P1 from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1 will be specifically described. At the second medical facility H2, a user creates a hospital visit report as electronic data via the report input function F9 included in the input unit 24 of the task support device 20. The created hospital visit report is stored in the storage unit 22. The hospital visit report may be created as a handwritten document or a printed document at the second medical facility H2. In this case, the user inputs a record of the hospital visit report creation via the input unit 24 of the business support device 20. The input record of the hospital visit report creation is stored in the memory unit 22. The control unit 21 of the business support device 20 detects the "sending of the hospital visit report" by referring to the hospital visit report or the record of the hospital visit report creation stored in the memory unit 22. In this embodiment, contact information of staff at the first medical facility H1 may be stored in a database in advance, and the database may be referenced when sending the report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1. The database may be constructed in, for example, the memory unit 22. The control unit 21 may refer to the database, select a contact using a contact management function F3 provided in the control unit 21, and send the report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1 to the selected contact. The report can be sent using a report sending / receiving function F5 provided in the control unit 21.

[0069] In this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 may refer to any information as information input in association with an action or communication as an event. For example, the control unit 21 may refer to information input via an event input function F7 provided in the input unit 24 from a hospital information system such as an electronic medical record, a department system, or a medical accounting system. For example, the control unit 21 may refer to any of the following information input in association with the "admission" of patient P1: information indicating the execution history of various diagnoses and the confirmation of a surgery schedule input from the electronic medical record, information indicating the start of management in the nursing support system input from the department system, and medical information related to hospitalization input from the medical accounting system. Alternatively, information indicating a combination of various diagnostic history and scheduled surgery information input from the electronic medical record, information indicating the start of management in the nursing support system input from the department system, and medical information related to hospitalization input from the medical accounting system, which corresponds to an event, may be pre-registered in the storage unit 22 as master information. The control unit 21 may then read the registered master information from the storage unit 22 and, by referring to the read master information, determine whether the combination of input information corresponds to an event using the event determination function F2 provided by the control unit 21. Specifically, a combination of information likely to be input in relation to the event of interest may be pre-identified from one or more databases within the second medical facility H2 and registered as master information. The control unit 21 may then refer to the master information and determine that the event has occurred if there is an event related to the combination of input information. This ensures that the occurrence of the event of interest can be reliably detected. As will be described later, in this embodiment, the order of occurrence of multiple events related to a patient is identified by a step ID. Therefore, the control unit 21 can identify the step ID of an event that has already occurred for a certain patient, and perform the above process by setting the event identified by the next step ID of the identified step ID as the "event to be confirmed."

[0070] In step S102, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 refers to definition information D1 that defines the time interval until the next report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1 corresponding to each of the multiple events, and calculates the notification time T2 as the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time T1 when the occurrence of the event is detected.

[0071] In this embodiment, in the definition information D1, the time intervals corresponding to each of the multiple events are defined in association with the type of each of the multiple events. Each time the control unit 21 detects the occurrence of an event in step S101, it identifies the type of the event that occurred and calculates the notification time T2 as the time when the time interval corresponding to the identified type has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event was detected. The type of the event that occurred may be identified using any procedure. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 identifies the type of the event that occurred based on information referenced when the occurrence of the event was detected. For example, if the control unit 21 references information about the patient P1 input via the input unit 24 or a referral letter received via the communication unit 23 in step S101, it identifies the type of the event that occurred as "hospital visit." The control unit 21 references the table 200 shown in FIG. 3 as the definition information D1 and calculates the notification time T2 by adding the time interval "3 days" defined in association with "hospital visit" to the time T1.

[0072] In the definition information D1, the time intervals corresponding to the multiple events may be defined in association with multiple ordinal numbers representing the order in which the multiple events occur. In this case, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 increments a counter each time the occurrence of an event is detected in step S101, and calculates the notification time T2 as the time when the time interval corresponding to the ordinal number matching the counter has elapsed from the time T1 at which the occurrence of the event was detected. In this embodiment, the "step ID" in the table 200 of FIG. 3 corresponds to the ordinal number. For example, when the control unit 21 detects the first event related to patient P1, "visit to the hospital," the control unit 21 increments the counter, which is initially set to "0," by one to obtain "1." The control unit 21 refers to the table 200 shown in FIG. 3 as the definition information D1, and calculates the notification time T2 by adding the time interval "3 days," which is defined in association with "ST1," which corresponds to the ordinal number "1," to the time T1.

[0073] In step S103, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 determines whether the next report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1 has been created. For example, if "Visit" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 determines whether a visit report corresponding to the "Visit" has been created. If "Visit Report Sent" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 determines whether a diagnosis report has been created, which is the report that should be created next after the visit report created in "Visit Report Sent". If "Treatment" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 determines whether a treatment report corresponding to the "Treatment" has been created. If "Discharge" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 determines whether a discharge report corresponding to the "Discharge" has been created. If "Reverse Referral" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 determines whether a referral letter for reverse referral, which is a report corresponding to the "reverse referral", has been created.

[0074] The determination of whether a report has been created may be made by any procedure, but in this embodiment, the control unit 21 makes the determination by referring to report creation information D3 that indicates the creation history of the report. The report creation information D3 is information that indicates the type of report created and the creation date and time. The control unit 21 may also make the determination by referring to the operation history of the report input function F9 provided in the input unit 24. In this embodiment, when a report is created by a user as electronic data, the created report is stored in the memory unit 22. The report creation information D3 is created based on the report stored in the memory unit 22. The report may be created as a handwritten document or a printed document. In this case, a record of the creation of the hospital visit report is stored in the memory unit 22. The report creation information D3 is created based on the record stored in the memory unit 22.

[0075] If it is determined in step S103 that a report has not been created, the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that a report has been created, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0076] In step S104, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 determines whether the notification time T2 calculated in step S102 has arrived. Specifically, the control unit 21 compares today's date with the notification time T2 calculated in step S102. If today's date is after the notification time T2, the control unit 21 determines that the notification time T2 has arrived. If it is determined in step S104 that the notification time T2 has arrived, the process of step S105 is performed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that the notification time T2 has not arrived, the process of step S103 is performed again.

[0077] In step S105, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 presents notification information D2 prompting the user to create the next report. Specifically, if the event detected in step S101 is an action performed by or on patient P1 at the first medical facility H1 or the second medical facility H2, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a report on the action. That is, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a report corresponding to the event that occurred. For example, if "Visit to the Hospital" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a hospital visit report, which is a report corresponding to the "Visit to the Hospital." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays, as notification information D2, a text message such as "Patient P1 has visited the hospital! Please create a hospital visit report." If "Treatment" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a treatment report, which is a report corresponding to the "Treatment." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays a text message, "Please create a treatment report," as notification information D2 on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25. The control unit 21 may further display a message, "Has treatment been performed on patient P1?" If "admission" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information urging the user to create an admission report, which is a report corresponding to "admission." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays a text message, "Please create an admission report," as notification information D2 on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25. The control unit 21 may further display a message, "Is patient P1 hospitalized?" If "discharge" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information urging the user to create a discharge report, which is a report corresponding to "discharge." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays a text message, "Please create a discharge report," as notification information D2 on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25.The control unit 21 may further display a message such as "Has patient P1 been discharged?" If a "reverse referral" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a referral letter for the reverse referral, which is a report corresponding to the "reverse referral." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays a text message such as "Please create a referral letter" as notification information D2 on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25. The control unit 21 may further display a message such as "Do you want to reverse refer patient P1?" Alternatively, if the event detected in step S101 is a contact about patient P1 made by the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a report to be sent in the next contact after the contact. That is, the control unit 21 presents information prompting the user to create a report to be created next to the report created for the event that occurred. For example, if "Send Hospital Visit Report" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 presents information urging the user to create a diagnosis report, which is the report that should be created next after the hospital visit report created in "Send Hospital Visit Report." As an example of such information, the control unit 21 displays a text message, "Please create a diagnosis report," as notification information D2 on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25. The control unit 21 may further display a message, "Have you diagnosed patient P1?" The control unit 21 may output each message as notification information D2 as audio from a speaker serving as the output unit 25.

[0078] In step S106, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 determines whether there is an event scheduled to occur next. The control unit 21 determines whether there is an event scheduled to occur next by using the schedule management function F1 included in the control unit 21. Specifically, the control unit 21 reads out medical treatment schedule information indicating the medical treatment schedule for patient P1 from the storage unit 22, and by referring to the medical treatment schedule indicated by the read medical treatment schedule information, determines by the schedule management function F1 whether there is an event scheduled to occur next after the event whose occurrence was detected in step S101.

[0079] In general, a patient's medical treatment process is often determined for each disease. In this embodiment, information indicating the results of calculating the order of occurrence of multiple events based on the medical treatment process for each disease is stored in the storage unit 22 as medical treatment schedule information indicating the medical treatment schedule for each patient. Specifically, the medical treatment schedule information includes a schedule ID that identifies the medical treatment schedule for each disease and information indicating a step ID that identifies the order of occurrence of each event. As shown in table 200 in FIG. 3, the medical treatment schedule for patient P1 is identified by schedule ID "C1." The event "Visit" is identified by step ID "ST1." The event "Visit Report Sending," which occurs after the event "Visit," is identified by step ID "ST2." Similarly, the event "Treatment" is identified by step ID "ST3." The event "Discharge" is identified by step ID "ST7." The event "Reverse Referral" is identified by step ID "ST8."

[0080] As an example, assume that the event detected in step S101 is a "hospital visit." In the medical treatment schedule identified by the schedule ID "C1," the "hospital visit" is identified by a step ID "ST1." Therefore, the control unit 21 refers to the medical treatment schedule information to determine whether there is an event identified by a step ID with a number greater than the step ID "ST1." In this example, there is a step ID "ST2" with a number greater than the step ID "ST1" of "hospital visit." Therefore, the control unit 21 determines that there is an event scheduled to occur next. Similarly, if "hospital visit report sending" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 refers to the medical treatment schedule information to determine whether there is an event identified by a step ID with a number greater than the step ID "ST2" of "hospital visit report sending." If "treatment" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 refers to the medical treatment schedule information to determine whether there is an event identified by a step ID with a number greater than the step ID "ST3" of "treatment." If "Discharge" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 refers to the medical schedule information and determines whether there is an event identified by a step ID with a number greater than the step ID "ST7" of "Discharge". If "Reverse Referral" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 refers to the medical schedule information and determines whether there is an event identified by a step ID with a number greater than the step ID "ST8" of "Reverse Referral".

[0081] If it is determined in step S106 that there is a next event scheduled to occur, the process returns to step S101. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S106 that there is no next event scheduled to occur, the control unit 21 ends the process.

[0082] As described above, in this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 detects the occurrence of an event included in multiple events related to the patient P1 who visited the second medical facility H2 after being referred by the first medical facility H1. Each time the control unit 21 detects the occurrence of an event, the control unit 21 refers to definition information D1 that defines the time interval until the next report from the second medical facility H2 to the first medical facility H1, corresponding to each of the multiple events, and calculates a notification time T2, which is the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time T1 at which the occurrence of the event was detected. The control unit 21 presents notification information D2 prompting the user to create the next report at the arrival of the calculated notification time T2.

[0083] According to this embodiment, it becomes easier to transmit information about a patient to a collaborating facility. Therefore, it becomes easier to exchange information about a patient between a referral source medical facility and a referral destination medical facility. As a result of strengthening collaboration between medical facilities, trust between doctors is fostered. Ultimately, this may lead to an improvement in the quality of medical care for patients.

[0084] As a modified example of this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 may refer to information indicating whether the next report has been created after the notification time T2 arrives, and if the next report has not been created, may present the notification information D2 again. Specifically, after presenting the notification information D2 in step S105 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 may again perform steps S103′ and S104′, which are the same processes as steps S103 and S104. As with step S103, any information may be used as the information indicating whether the next report has been created. For example, the control unit 21 makes the determination by referring to the report creation information D3 indicating the report creation history, as performed in step S103 described above. The control unit 21 may also make the determination by referring to the operation history of the report input function F9 provided in the input unit 24. If it is determined in step S103′ that the report has not been created, the control unit 21 performs the process of step S104′. In step S104', instead of determining whether notification time T2 has arrived, control unit 21 compares the time elapsed since notification time T2 with the time interval defined in association with the event whose occurrence was detected in step S101. If the elapsed period is equal to or greater than the time interval, control unit 21 performs the process of step S105. Control unit 21 may repeat the processes of steps S104' and S105 until it is determined in step S103' that the next report has been created.

[0085] According to this modification, the notification information D2 is repeatedly transmitted until a report is prepared, which further reduces the occurrence of missed reports and delays in the preparation of reports. This further facilitates the exchange of information about patients between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0086] As a modified example of this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 may select a report template according to the type of event whose occurrence has been detected, and present the selected template together with the notification information D2. In this example, it is assumed that a template to be selected in association with the type of event is determined in advance. In this example, information indicating the association between the type of event and the template to be created is stored in advance in the storage unit 22 as template information.

[0087] Specific examples of templates will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

[0088] FIG. 8 shows an example of a hospital visit report template designated by template ID "#1" as an example of a template selected in this example. FIG. 9 shows an example of a diagnosis report template designated by template ID "#2". FIG. 10 shows an example of a treatment report template designated by template ID "#3". FIG. 11 shows an example of a discharge report template designated by template ID "#4". FIG. 12 shows an example of a referral letter template for reverse referral designated by template ID "#5".

[0089] The hospital visit report template is selected in response to the event "hospital visit." The diagnosis report template is selected in response to the event "hospital visit report sent." The diagnosis report template may be selected in response to the event "diagnosis." The treatment report template is selected in response to the event "treatment." The discharge report template is selected in response to the event "discharge." The referral letter template for reverse referral is selected in response to the event "reverse referral." Note that the templates selected in this example are not limited to these, and any template can be selected in response to various events. For example, an admission report template can be stored in advance in the memory unit 22, and the admission report template can be selected in response to the event "admission." Templates are input using a template input function F8 provided in the input unit 24 of the business support device 20.

[0090] The items included in each template may be determined arbitrarily. In this example, the visit report template includes the following items: "Name of Addressee," "Greeting," "Patient Name," "Visit Date and Time," "Department," and "Name of Person in Charge," as shown in FIG. 8. The diagnosis report template includes the following items: "Name of Addressee," "Greeting," "Patient Name," "Diagnosis," "Planned Treatment," and "Name of Person in Charge," as shown in FIG. 9. The treatment report template includes the following items: "Name of Addressee," "Greeting," "Patient Name," "Diagnosis," "Treatment Results," and "Name of Person in Charge," as shown in FIG. 10. The discharge report template includes the following items: "Name of Addressee," "Greeting," "Patient Name," "Diagnosis," "Treatment Results," "Discharge Date and Time," and "Name of Person in Charge," as shown in FIG. 11. The referral letter template for reverse referral includes the following items: "Name of Addressee," "Greeting," "Patient Name," "Diagnosis," "Treatment Progress," "Future Policy," "Prescription," "Next Visit Date," and "Name of Person in Charge," as shown in FIG. 12.

[0091] In step S105, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 presents information indicating the selected template together with the notification information D2. Specifically, the selected template is displayed when the message as the notification information D2 is output as text or audio on a display or the like serving as the output unit 25. For example, if "Visit" is detected in step S101, the control unit 21 displays a visit report template along with the message "Patient P1 has visited the hospital! Please create a visit report." displayed as the notification information D2. The user creates a report by inputting necessary information for the items included in the displayed template via a report input function F9 provided on a touch screen or the like serving as the input unit 24 of the business support device 20. The user may input the necessary information by voice. Alternatively, the user may input the necessary information while interacting with an automated voice.

[0092] According to this example, reports are created according to a template, allowing doctors to reliably convey patient information to collaborating parties without any omissions. Furthermore, even non-specialist doctors can fully understand the patient's medical information when they receive the report. This facilitates the exchange of patient information between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0093] As a further modification of this modification, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 may extract information corresponding to each item of the selected template. Specifically, the control unit 21 may extract information corresponding to the template items by referring to template item information stored in the storage unit 22. Information corresponding to the template items is extracted from a hospital information system such as an electronic medical record, a department system, or a medical accounting system. FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration of a table 300 in which template item information is stored.

[0094] 13, the first record has the template ID "#1," "department visited, doctor in charge" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the electronic medical record system created based on input by a physician for medical examination-related actions, "not applicable" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the medical record created based on input by a person other than a physician for treatment actions other than medical examinations, and "patient name, date and time of visit" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the medical accounting system. The second record has the template ID "#2," "department visited, doctor in charge, diagnosis, planned treatment" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the electronic medical record system created based on input by a physician for medical examination-related actions, "not applicable" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the medical record created based on input by a person other than a physician for treatment actions other than medical examinations, and "patient name, date and time of visit" as the item for which corresponding information is extracted from the medical accounting system. The third record defines the template ID as "#3," the fields for which corresponding information is extracted from an electronic medical record system created based on input by a physician for medical examination-related procedures, such as "department visited, attending physician, and surgical results," the fields for which corresponding information is extracted from a medical record created based on input by a non-physician for procedures other than medical examinations, such as "hospitalization progress," and the fields for which corresponding information is extracted from a medical accounting system. In this embodiment, the electronic medical record system created based on input by a physician is a system in which a physician inputs information about a patient's medical care. Input by a non-physician includes, for example, input from a nursing support system. A nursing support system is a system in which nurses and other non-physician users input information about medical care. A nursing support system is a system for managing or recording patients in a ward after their admission, and can be configured as a system for inputting or confirming daily prescriptions or vital signs.

[0095] In this example, if the selected template is a hospital visit report template, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 refers to table 300 and extracts information indicating "received medical fees and attending physician" from the electronic medical record system created based on input by the doctor as information corresponding to template ID "#1" that identifies the hospital visit report template, and extracts information indicating "patient name and visit date and time" from the medical accounting system. If the selected template is a diagnosis report template, the control unit 21 refers to table 300 and extracts information indicating "visited department, attending physician, diagnosis, planned treatment" from the electronic medical record system created based on input by the doctor as information corresponding to template ID "#2" that identifies the diagnosis report template, and extracts information indicating "patient name and visit date and time" from the medical accounting system. If the selected template is a treatment report template, the control unit 21 refers to table 300 and extracts, as information corresponding to template ID "#3" that identifies the treatment report template, information indicating the "department visited, doctor in charge, and results of surgery" from the electronic medical record system created based on input by the doctor, information indicating the "progress during hospitalization" from the medical record created based on input by someone other than the doctor, and information indicating the "patient name, date and time of visit" from the medical accounting system. The control unit 21 automatically inputs the extracted information into the selected template.

[0096] According to this example, at least some of the items to be included in the report are pre-filled in the template, further reducing the burden on the report creator, and making it easier to exchange information about patients between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0097] As a variation of this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 may select a user depending on the type of event whose occurrence is detected. In this example, the users include doctors, nurses, or administrative staff at the second medical facility H2. The reason for selecting a user depending on the type of event whose occurrence is detected is that some types of reports cannot be created by administrative staff alone. For example, a hospital visit report can be created by administrative staff. On the other hand, a diagnosis report or treatment report cannot be created by administrative staff alone and must be created with the cooperation of the doctor or nurse who examined the patient. While a user may be selected arbitrarily, in this example, it is assumed that users to be selected as notification targets of a template are predetermined depending on the type of event. In this example, information indicating the association between the type of event and the selected user is pre-stored in the storage unit 22 as notification target information. FIG. 14 shows an example of the configuration of a table 400 in which notification target information is stored.

[0098] In table 400 of FIG. 14 , the first record row contains "A" as the patient name, "Clinic A" as the institution, "P1" as the patient ID, "C1" as the schedule ID, "ST1" as the step ID, and "Doctor A, Doctor C, and Admin B" as the notification recipients. This indicates that the name of the patient identified by the patient ID "P1" who was referred by the institution "Clinic A" is "A," and that the users to be notified of the report corresponding to the event identified by the step ID "ST1" in the medical schedule identified by the schedule ID "C1" are "Doctor A, Doctor C, and Admin B." "Admin" refers to administrative staff. Similarly, the second record row contains "B" as the patient name, "Clinic A" as the institution, "P2" as the patient ID, "C1" as the schedule ID, "ST3" as the step ID, and "Doctor C, Doctor D, and Admin E" as the notification recipients. This indicates that the name of the patient referred by the institution "Clinic A" and identified by the patient ID "P2" is "B," and the users to be notified of the report corresponding to the event identified by the step ID "ST3" in the medical schedule identified by the schedule ID "C1" are "Doctor C, Doctor D, and Administrative E." The record on the third line stores "C" as the patient name, "Hospital A" as the institution, "P3" as the patient ID, "C2" as the schedule ID, "ST1" as the step ID, and "Doctor A, Doctor D, and Administrative E" as the notification recipients. This indicates that the name of the patient referred by the institution "Hospital A" and identified by the patient ID "P3" is "C," and the users to be notified of the report corresponding to the event identified by the step ID "ST1" in the medical schedule identified by the schedule ID "C2" are "Doctor A, Doctor D, and Administrative E." The record on the fourth line contains the patient name "D," the institution "Hospital B," the patient ID "P4," the schedule ID "C2," the step ID "ST5," and the notification recipients "Doctor A, Doctor C, Admin B."This indicates that the name of the patient identified by the patient ID "P4" who was referred from the institution "Hospital B" is "D," and the users to be notified of the report corresponding to the event identified by the step ID "ST5" in the medical schedule identified by the schedule ID "C2" are "Doctor A, Doctor C, and Admin B." The record on the fifth line stores "E" as the patient name, "Hospital B" as the institution, "P5" as the patient ID, "C1" as the schedule ID, "ST2" as the step ID, and "Doctor A, Doctor C, and Admin E" as the notification recipients. This indicates that the name of the patient identified by the patient ID "P5" who was referred from the institution "Hospital A" is "E," and the users to be notified of the report corresponding to the event identified by the step ID "ST2" in the medical schedule identified by the schedule ID "C1" are "Doctor A, Doctor C, and Admin E." Note that in this example, the notification recipients are not limited to doctors and administrative staff and may include nurses.

[0099] In this example, contact information indicating the contact information of the user to be notified is stored in advance in the storage unit 22. Fig. 15 shows, as table 500, an example of the configuration of a table storing contact information indicating the contact information of the user to be notified.

[0100] In table 500 of FIG. 15, the record in the first row stores "A" as the name, "Doctor" as the title, and "U1" as the user ID. This indicates that the user identified by the user ID "U1" has the title "Doctor" and the name "A." The record also stores an email address, a telephone number, and a fax number as contact information for the user. Similarly, the record in the second row stores "B" as the name, "Administrative" as the title, and "U2" as the user ID, and stores an email address, a telephone number, and a fax number as contact information for the user. The record in the third row stores "C" as the name, "Doctor" as the title, and "U3" as the user ID, and stores an email address, a telephone number, and a fax number as contact information for the user. The record in the fourth row stores "D" as the name, "Doctor" as the title, and "U4" as the user ID, and stores an email address, a telephone number, and a fax number as contact information for the user. The record on the fifth line stores "E" as the name, "clerical" as the job title, "U5" as the user ID, and stores an email address, a telephone number, and a fax number as the corresponding contact information.

[0101] FIG. 16 shows an example of a procedure for creating a template by the control unit 21 of the business support device 20.

[0102] In step S201, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 selects a template corresponding to the event from among multiple templates indicated by the template information. For example, if "Visit to Hospital" is detected in step S101 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 selects a hospital visit report template as a template corresponding to "Visit to Hospital." If "Visit Report Sending" is detected in step S101 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 selects a diagnosis report template, which is a report to be created next after the visit report, as a template corresponding to "Visit Report Sending." If "Treatment" is detected in step S101 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 selects a treatment report template as a template corresponding to "Treatment." If "Discharge from Hospital" is detected in step S101 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 selects a discharge report template as a template corresponding to "Discharge from Hospital." If a "reverse introduction" is detected in step S101 of FIG. 7, the control unit 21 selects a letter of introduction template for reverse introduction as a template corresponding to the "reverse introduction."

[0103] In step S202, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 acquires the destination of the selected template as contact information. The control unit 21 reads out notification target information stored in the memory unit 22. The control unit 21 refers to the table 400 read out as the notification target information and makes a selection using the contact management function F3 provided in the control unit 21. For example, if a hospital visit report template for patient P1 is selected in step S201, the control unit 21 selects doctor A, doctor C, and office worker B, who correspond to patient ID "PI," step ID "C1," and step ID "ST1," as the destination of the hospital visit report template. Then, the control unit 21 reads out the contact information stored in the memory unit 22. The control unit 21 refers to the table 500 read out as the contact information and acquires the contact information of the selected notification target using the contact management function F3 provided in the control unit 21. Similarly, if Doctor D or Office E is selected, the control unit 21 refers to the table 500 and acquires the email address, telephone number, or fax number of Doctor D or Office E as the contact information.

[0104] In step S203, the control unit 21 of the task support device 20 transmits the template selected in step S201 to the contact information acquired in step S202.

[0105] According to this modification, templates are sent not only to administrative staff but also to doctors, so reports that cannot be prepared by administrative staff alone can be prepared with the cooperation of doctors or nurses. This makes it easier to prepare reports. As a result, it becomes easier to exchange information about patients between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0106] As a variant of this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 may generate medical information D4 indicating the status of medical treatment for patient P1 at the second medical facility H2, and transmit the generated medical information D4 to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 23.

[0107] The control unit 21 of the business support device 20 generates medical information D4 by using the patient management function F4, with reference to the medical history of the patient P1 at the second medical facility H2. The control unit 21 references the occurrence history of events related to the patient P1 as the medical history.

[0108] Alternatively, the control unit 21 uses the schedule management function F1 to generate medical information D4 by referring to the medical treatment schedule for the patient P1 at the second medical facility H2. The control unit 21 refers to the medical treatment schedule information identified by the schedule ID corresponding to the patient P1 as the medical treatment schedule.

[0109] In this example, the medical information D4 includes information showing the progress of a patient P1 who was referred from a first medical facility H1 to a second medical facility H2. Fig. 17 shows an example of the medical information D4 transmitted to the terminal device 30 and displayed on a display serving as an output unit of the terminal device 30.

[0110] In the example of medical information D4 shown in Figure 17, the patient name, visit date and time, department, name of person in charge, planned treatment, and current condition are displayed as a summary of patient P1. The medical treatment process for patient P1's illness is displayed as the progress from referral. From the displayed medical treatment process, it can be seen that patient P1's illness is XX, that patient P1 was referred on August 19th, visited the hospital on August 23rd, and is scheduled to be referred back on November 3rd.

[0111] In this modification, when the control unit 21 of the business support device 20 receives an access request transmitted from the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 23, the control unit 21 may transmit medical information D4 to the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 23 in response to the received access request. The access request may include login information such as an account ID and a password. The control unit 21 performs authentication by comparing the login information with legitimate account information stored in a database. If the authentication is successful, the control unit 21 transmits the medical information D4 to the terminal device 30. The terminal device 30 outputs the transmitted medical information D4 to an output unit such as a display.

[0112] According to this example, it becomes possible for the first medical facility H1 to view data stored in the second medical facility H2 about the patient P1 referred from the first medical facility H1, which makes it easier to exchange information about the patient between the referring medical facility and the referred medical facility.

[0113] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, multiple blocks shown in the block diagrams may be integrated, or a single block may be divided. Instead of executing multiple steps shown in the flowcharts in chronological order as described, steps may be executed in parallel or in a different order depending on the processing capabilities of the device executing each step, or as needed. Other modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0114] For example, the medical treatment schedule indicated by the medical treatment schedule information may be amended midway depending on when the occurrence of an event is detected, etc. The schedule may also be manually amended by the user.

[0115] For example, the business support system 10 of the present disclosure may be linked to another system in the second medical facility H2. That is, the business support system 10 of the present disclosure may be used to exchange documents with another department in the same hospital.

[0116] For example, after the second medical facility H2 reversely refers the patient P1 to the first medical facility H1, the business support system 10 of the present disclosure may manage the date of the patient P1's next visit to the first medical facility H1 in a schedule and notify the patient P1. In this way, even if the doctor at the first medical facility H1 or the patient P1 may have forgotten the date of the visit, follow-up can be carried out. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 10 Systems 20 Business support equipment 21 Control section 22 Memory section 23 Communications Department 24 Input section 25 Output section 30 Terminal Equipment 40 Network F1 Schedule Management Function F2 Event determination function F3 Contact Management F4 Patient management function F5 Report Sending and Receiving Function F6 Schedule notification function F7 Event input function F8 Template input function F9 Report input function F10 Schedule display function F11 Report display function P1 patient #1 Visit Report Template #2 Diagnostic Report Template #3 Treatment Report Template #4 Discharge Report Template #5 Template for a letter of introduction for reverse referrals

Claims

1. a control unit that, each time an occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited a second medical facility after being referred from a first medical facility is detected, refers to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, calculates a notification time as the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event is detected, and presents notification information that prompts a user to create the next report at the arrival of the calculated notification time; In the definition information, a time interval corresponding to each of the plurality of events is defined in association with a type of each of the plurality of events, The control unit of the business support device identifies the type of event that has occurred each time the occurrence of an event is detected, and calculates the notification time as the point at which a time interval corresponding to the identified type has elapsed from the point at which the occurrence of the event was detected.

2. the plurality of events include actions taken by or on the patient at the first medical facility or the second medical facility; The task assistance device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to the action by referring to information input in association with the action.

3. The business support device of claim 2, wherein the actions include the referral from the first medical facility, the patient's visit, diagnosis, treatment, admission, or discharge at the second medical facility, or a reverse referral that refers the patient from the second medical facility to the first medical facility.

4. the plurality of events includes a communication by the second medical facility to the first medical facility about the patient; The task support device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit detects the occurrence of an event corresponding to the contact by referring to information input in association with the contact.

5. 5. The business support device of claim 4, wherein the communication includes sending a report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, such as a visit report, diagnosis report, treatment report, hospitalization report, or discharge report about the patient, or sending a referral letter from the second medical facility to the first medical facility.

6. 6. The business support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects the user from among users including doctors, nurses, or administrative staff of the second medical facility according to the type of the identified event.

7. a control unit that, each time an occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited a second medical facility after being referred from a first medical facility is detected, refers to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, calculates a notification time as the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event is detected, and presents notification information that prompts a user to create the next report at the arrival of the calculated notification time; In the definition information, the time intervals corresponding to the plurality of events are defined in association with a plurality of ordinal numbers each representing an order of occurrence of the plurality of events, The control unit increments a counter each time an event is detected, and calculates the notification time as the time when a time interval corresponding to the ordinal number matching the counter has elapsed from the time the event is detected.

8. 8. The business support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit creates a template for the next report in accordance with the arrival of the notification time point, and presents the created template together with the notification information.

9. 9. The business support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit refers to information indicating whether the next report has been created after the notification time arrives, and if the next report has not been created, presents the notification information again.

10. further comprising a communication unit that communicates with a terminal device installed in the first medical facility; 10. The business support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit generates medical information indicating the status of medical treatment for the patient at the second medical facility, and transmits the generated medical information to the terminal device via the communication unit.

11. 11. The business support device according to claim 10, wherein when the control unit receives an access request transmitted from the terminal device via the communication unit, the control unit transmits the medical information to the terminal device via the communication unit in response to the received access request.

12. The business support device according to claim 10 or 11; A business support system comprising the terminal device.

13. Detecting, by the business support device, the occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited the second medical facility after being referred from the first medical facility; Each time the business support device detects the occurrence of an event, it refers to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculates, as a notification time, a time when a time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed since the time the occurrence of the event was detected; presenting notification information that prompts the user to create the next report when the calculated notification time arrives by the business support device; Including, In the definition information, a time interval corresponding to each of the plurality of events is defined in association with a type of each of the plurality of events, The business support method in which the business support device identifies the type of event that has occurred each time it detects the occurrence of an event, and calculates the notification time as the point at which a time interval corresponding to the identified type has elapsed from the point at which the occurrence of the event was detected.

14. Detecting, by the business support device, the occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient who has visited the second medical facility after being referred from the first medical facility; Each time the business support device detects the occurrence of an event, it refers to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculates, as a notification time, a time when a time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed since the time the occurrence of the event was detected; presenting notification information that prompts the user to create the next report when the calculated notification time arrives by the business support device; Including, In the definition information, the time intervals corresponding to the plurality of events are defined in association with a plurality of ordinal numbers each representing an order of occurrence of the plurality of events, The business support method in which the business support device increments a counter each time it detects the occurrence of an event, and calculates the notification time as the time when a time interval corresponding to an ordinal number matching the counter has elapsed from the time the occurrence of the event was detected.

15. Detecting an occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient referred from a first medical facility to a second medical facility; Each time an occurrence of an event is detected, referring to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculating the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event is detected as a notification time; presenting notification information prompting the user to create the next report at the calculated notification time; causing a computer to perform operations including In the definition information, a time interval corresponding to each of the plurality of events is defined in association with a type of each of the plurality of events, The operation of the business support program includes identifying the type of event that has occurred each time an event is detected, and calculating the notification time as the point at which a time interval corresponding to the identified type has elapsed from the point at which the event was detected.

16. Detecting an occurrence of an event included in a plurality of events related to a patient referred from a first medical facility to a second medical facility; Each time an occurrence of an event is detected, referring to definition information that defines a time interval until the next report from the second medical facility to the first medical facility, corresponding to each of the plurality of events, and calculating the time when the time interval corresponding to the event has elapsed from the time when the occurrence of the event is detected as a notification time; presenting notification information prompting the user to create the next report at the calculated notification time; causing a computer to perform operations including In the definition information, the time intervals corresponding to the plurality of events are defined in association with a plurality of ordinal numbers each representing an order of occurrence of the plurality of events, The operation includes incrementing a counter each time an event is detected, and calculating the notification time as the time when a time interval corresponding to an ordinal number matching the counter has elapsed from the time the event is detected.

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