Distribution system, activation method, and activation program

Abstract

To provide a diagnosis application distribution system that receives a prescription from a medical staff member, and can implement a diagnosis application.SOLUTION: A distribution system, which distributes a diagnosis application having a function unit functioning with existence of a prescription from a medical staff member, comprises: a reception unit that receives a prescription request of the diagnosis application from a first terminal of a patient; an acceptance unit that accepts prescription permission information permitting a prescription of the diagnosis application with respect to the patient of the first terminal from the medical staff member, responding to the prescription request; and an effectuation unit that, when accepting the prescription permission information, effectuates the function unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distribution system for activating a therapeutic application, a method for activating a therapeutic application, and an activation program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, therapeutic applications have been developed with the aim of improving users' health-related behavior, treating illnesses, managing physical condition, etc. (For example, Patent Document 1). Therapeutic applications are applications that record a patient's daily behavior and, based on the patient's behavior, notify the patient of messages indicating what the patient should do to encourage improvement of the patient's condition. According to Patent Document 1, messages for improving poor health-related behavior are provided to individuals based on data collected from the individual. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-92876 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because such therapeutic applications may handle information that is likely to be medically relevant, they should be available only after receiving a prescription from a healthcare professional. However, there is a problem in that it is time-consuming for both the patient and the healthcare professional to have to undergo a medical examination and receive a prescription in order for the patient to start using the therapeutic application.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a distribution system, an activation method, and an activation program for therapeutic applications that can be prescribed by medical professionals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a therapeutic application distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a distribution system that distributes a therapeutic application having a functional unit that functions with a prescription from a medical professional, and includes: a receiving unit that receives a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of a patient; a receiving unit that receives prescription permission information from the medical professional that allows the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient at the first terminal in response to the prescription request; and an enabling unit that enables the functional unit when the prescription permission information is received.

[0007] In the above distribution system, the enabling unit may transmit an enabling signal that enables a functional unit of the therapeutic application stored in the first terminal.

[0008] In the above distribution system, the activation unit may transmit a prescription code for activating the functional unit to the first terminal, and the functional unit may be activated by inputting the prescription code into the treatment application on the first terminal.

[0009] In the above distribution system, the receiving unit receives patient identification information of the first terminal along with the prescription request, and the distribution system may include a memory unit that stores patient identification information indicating a patient in association with patient information related to the patient, and if the patient identification information received by the receiving unit is not stored in the memory unit, the distribution unit may distribute a treatment application in a state in which the functional unit is not enabled.

[0010] In the above distribution system, when the receiving unit receives patient identification information of the first terminal along with a prescription request, and the patient information includes advance information about the disease related to the treatment application, the system may be provided with a transmitting unit that transmits the prescription request and the patient information to a second terminal of the medical professional, and the receiving unit may receive prescription permission information from the second terminal that has received input from the medical professional after the transmitting unit has transmitted the prescription request and the patient information to the second terminal.

[0011] In the above distribution system, the treatment application has an interview section as a function that functions without a prescription from a medical professional, and the interview section of the treatment application executed on the first terminal conducts an interview with the patient of the first terminal about the disease related to the treatment application and transmits the patient's response to the interview, and the distribution system may receive the response together with patient identification information of the patient of the first terminal, associate the response with the patient identification information, and store the response in a memory section as patient information.

[0012] In the above distribution system, the memory unit may further store medical institution information indicating medical institutions that can accept prescription requests, and the transmission unit may transmit the prescription request and patient information to a second terminal of a medical professional included in the medical institution information.

[0013] In the above distribution system, the receiving unit may receive designation information that designates a medical institution included in the medical institution information, and the transmitting unit may transmit a prescription request and patient information to a second terminal of the medical institution designated by the designation information.

[0014] In the distribution system, the functions that can be used by the functional unit may include viewing of the patient information of the patient stored in the storage unit.

[0015] In the distribution system, the advance information may be medical interview information that indicates to the patient the results of a medical interview regarding the disease related to the treatment application.

[0016] In the above distribution system, the advance information may be medical examination and checkup information relating to a disease related to a patient's treatment application.

[0017] In the distribution system, the functions that can be used by the functional unit may include viewing patient information of the patient at the first terminal.

[0018] In the distribution system, the functions that can be used by the functional unit may include proposing a treatment method for the patient in accordance with the treatment status of the patient at the first terminal.

[0019] In addition, a method for activating a therapeutic application according to one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving step in which a computer of a distribution system that distributes a therapeutic application having a functional unit that functions with a prescription from a medical professional receives a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of the patient, an accepting step in response to the prescription request, of accepting prescription permission information from the medical professional that allows the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient at the first terminal, and an activation step of activating the functional unit when the prescription permission information is received.

[0020] In addition, a therapeutic application activation program according to one embodiment of the present invention provides a computer in a distribution system that distributes a therapeutic application having a functional unit that functions upon receipt of a prescription from a medical professional with the following functions: a receiving function that receives a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of a patient; a reception function that receives prescription permission information from the medical professional that authorizes the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient at the first terminal in response to the prescription request; and an activation function that activates the functional unit when the prescription permission information is received. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] A therapeutic application distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives a prescription request for a therapeutic application from a patient's first terminal, a receiving unit that receives prescription permission information from a medical professional in response to the prescription request, which allows the medical professional to prescribe the therapeutic application to the patient at the first terminal, and an enabling unit that enables a functional unit when the prescription permission information is received, thereby allowing the patient to begin using the non-therapeutic functions of the therapeutic application without receiving medical treatment from a medical professional. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an overview of a therapeutic application management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a management server. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a distribution server. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a medical staff terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an operation server. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a conceptual data diagram showing an example of the data structure of management information. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of communication between devices related to the therapeutic application management system. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the management server. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of a user terminal. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of a distribution server. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medical staff terminal. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the operation server. [Figure 14](a) An example of a display screen of a medical treatment application. (b) An example of a display screen showing an example of a medical interview using the medical treatment application. (c) An example of a display screen of a functional part of the medical treatment application. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of exchanges between devices related to the therapeutic application management system. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management server according to the second example of exchange. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a user terminal according to a second example of exchange. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a third example of exchanges between devices related to the therapeutic application management system. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a user terminal according to the third example of exchange. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management server according to the third example of exchange. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a distribution server according to the third example of exchange. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0024] <Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overview of a therapeutic application distribution system 1 according to a first embodiment, showing an example of the system configuration. As shown in FIG. 1, the therapeutic application distribution system 1 includes a management server 100 and a distribution server 300, and may also include a user terminal 200, a medical staff terminal 500, and an operation server 600. The management server 100, the user terminal 200, the distribution server 300, the medical staff terminal 500, and the operation server 600 are communicably connected to each other via a network 400. Note that while FIG. 1 shows one of each device, each terminal and each type of server is not limited to one, and multiple terminals and various servers may be present. The multiple servers may each have the same function, or multiple servers may be configured to have the same function as a single server.

[0025] The management server 100 is a server device that manages therapeutic applications used by patients who hold the user terminal 200 using the user terminal 200. The management server 100 is a server that validates the therapeutic applications executed on the user terminal 200 when there is prescription permission information 51 from a medical professional in response to prescription request information 21 from the user terminal 200. Details of the validation will be described later.

[0026] The distribution server 300 is a server device that has a function of distributing various initial state therapeutic applications to the user terminal 200.

[0027] The user terminal 200 is an information processing terminal held by a patient, and is realized by a so-called smartphone, tablet terminal, mobile phone, PC, or the like.

[0028] The medical staff terminal 500 is an information processing device used by a medical staff member, and like the user terminal 200, is realized by a so-called smartphone, tablet terminal, mobile phone, PC, or the like.

[0029] The operation server 600 is a server device that provides treatment information related to the treatment of a patient to the user terminal 200 of the patient when a treatment application is executed.

[0030] Here, the therapeutic application is application software that manages the patient's daily condition and provides guidance based on medical knowledge personalized for each patient. For example, the therapeutic application may be a smoking cessation application for smoking cessation therapy performed according to the instructions of the application software, a diabetes application that suggests dietary therapy for type 2 diabetes, or an insomnia treatment application for improving insomnia, but is not limited to these. The therapeutic application is an application whose purpose is to treat or improve the illness of the patient of the user terminal 200, and has functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription (permission) from a doctor (functional units that can be executed with a doctor's prescription). The therapeutic application may include processing that can be executed without a doctor's prescription. The therapeutic application may be prepared for each type of illness, or may be for multiple illnesses.

[0031] Furthermore, a medical professional may be anyone involved in medical care, such as a doctor, nurse, psychologist, pharmacist, physiotherapist, or registered dietitian, but is preferably someone who is qualified to prescribe.

[0032] In the therapeutic application distribution system 1 according to this embodiment, a patient accesses the distribution server 300 from a user terminal 200 to obtain a therapeutic application 31. This therapeutic application 31 cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional, and has a functional unit that functions only with a prescription from a medical professional. At this stage, it is assumed that there is no prescription from a doctor.

[0033] Therefore, the patient transmits prescription request information 21 for requesting a prescription from the user terminal 200 to the management server that manages the therapeutic application. In response to this, the management server 100 transmits prescription request information 11 to the medical worker terminal 500 of the medical worker 20, indicating that the patient of the user terminal 200 has requested a prescription for the therapeutic application 31.

[0034] If the medical professional 20 determines, in response to the prescription request information 11 from the management server 100, that it is permissible to prescribe the therapeutic application 31 to the patient at the user terminal 200, the medical professional 20 transmits prescription permission information 51 from the medical professional terminal 500 to the management server 100.

[0035] Upon receiving the prescription permission information 51 from the medical professional terminal 500, the management server 100 transmits activation information 12 that activates the treatment application 31 of the user terminal 200. This allows the treatment application 31 of the user terminal 200 to execute a function that can only be executed with a prescription from a medical professional, even if the patient does not receive medical treatment from a medical professional.

[0036] The network 400 is described in detail below. The network 400 is a network for interconnecting various devices, such as a wireless network or a wired network. Specifically, the network may be a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), integrated service digital networks (ISDNs), wireless LANs, long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation, code division multiple access (CDMA), WCDMA (registered trademark), Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like. The network is not limited to these examples, and may be any network, such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy, an optical fiber line, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), or a satellite communication network. When the network is installed in a user's residence, it may also be referred to as a home network. The network may also be, for example, NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT) or eMTC (enhanced Machine Type Communication). NB-IoT and eMTC are wireless communication methods for IoT, and are networks that enable long-distance communication at low cost and low power consumption. The network may also be a combination of these. The network may also include multiple different networks that combine these examples. For example, the network may include a wireless network using LTE and a wired network such as an intranet, which is a closed network.

[0037] <Configuration example of management server 100> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0038] 2, the management server 100 includes a communication unit 110, an input unit 120, a control unit 130, a storage unit 140, and an output unit 150. The communication unit 110, the input unit 120, the control unit 130, the storage unit 140, and the output unit 150 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 160.

[0039] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface having a function for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 110 may communicate using any communication protocol, either wired or wireless, as long as it is capable of communicating with other devices. The communication unit 110 communicates with the user terminal 200, the distribution server 300, the medical professional terminal 500, or the operation server 600 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 130. The communication unit 110, for example, receives prescription request information transmitted from the user terminal 200 and transmits it to the control unit 130. The communication unit 110 also transmits the prescription request information to the medical professional terminal 500 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 130. Alternatively, the communication unit 110 receives prescription permission information transmitted from the medical professional terminal 500 and transmits it to the control unit 130. The communication unit 110 also transmits an enable signal to enable a treatment application on the user terminal 200 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 130.

[0040] The input unit 120 is an input interface that has a function of receiving input from an operator of the management server 100 or the like and transmitting the input to the control unit 130. The input unit 120 may be realized by soft keys such as a touch panel, or may be realized by hard keys. Alternatively, the input unit 120 may be a microphone for receiving voice input. The input unit 120 receives input from, for example, a medical professional or an operator of the management server 100, and transmits the input content to the control unit 130.

[0041] The storage unit 140 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the management server 100. The storage unit 140 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 140 stores management information 141. The management information 141 is information for managing each therapeutic application of each user. Details of the management information 141 will be described later.

[0042] The output unit 150 has a function of outputting specified information in accordance with instructions from the control unit 130. The output by the output unit 150 may be either an image signal or an audio signal. In the case of outputting an image signal, the output may be to a monitor connected to (or provided in) the management server 100. In addition, in the case of outputting an audio signal, the output may be to a speaker connected to (or provided in) the management server 100.

[0043] The control unit 130 is a processor having the function of controlling each unit of the management server 100. The control unit 130 may be realized by a single core or by multiple cores.

[0044] The control unit 130 includes a receiving unit 131, a receiving unit 132, a validating unit 133, and a transmitting unit 134 as functions realized by the control unit 130.

[0045] The receiving unit 131 receives prescription request information requesting a prescription for a therapeutic application transmitted from the patient's user terminal 200. The prescription request information may include patient identification information for identifying the patient. The prescription request information may also include patient information related to the disease or the like that is the target of treatment by the therapeutic application, and may further include designation information that designates the medical institution that will issue the prescription.

[0046] When the receiving unit 131 receives prescription request information, it transmits the prescription request information together with patient information indicating the patient who made the prescription request to the medical staff terminal 500 via the communication unit 110. At this time, if the receiving unit 131 has received designation information, it transmits the information to the medical staff terminal 500 of the medical institution designated by the designation information, and if it has not received designation information, it transmits the information to the medical staff terminal 500 of the medical institution that can handle the prescription of the therapeutic application.

[0047] The reception unit 132 receives prescription permission information transmitted from the medical staff terminal 500 in response to the prescription request information transmitted by the receiving unit 131. The reception unit 132 may also receive prescription denial information that denies permission to prescribe. When the reception unit 132 receives prescription permission information, it transmits patient identification information indicating the patient for whom the prescription permission information permits the prescription to the validation unit 133. When the reception unit 132 receives prescription denial information, it transmits prescription denial information indicating that the prescription cannot be made to the user terminal 200 that transmitted the prescription request information, via the communication unit 110.

[0048] When the patient identification information is transmitted from the reception unit 132, the activation unit 133 activates the therapeutic application on the user terminal 200 of the patient identified by the patient identification information. Here, there are several possible methods for activating the therapeutic application, and the activation unit 133 only needs to be able to execute at least one of the following methods, and may be configured to be able to execute multiple methods.

[0049] The first activation method is to send a specific signal (hereinafter referred to as the activation signal) to the user terminal 200 when a therapeutic application is already installed in the user terminal 200, and the therapeutic application interprets the received activation signal to automatically enable the use of functions that were previously unavailable.

[0050] The second activation method is a method in which, when a therapeutic application is already installed on the user terminal 200, an activation code is sent to the user terminal 200, the user enters the received activation code into the therapeutic application, the therapeutic application authenticates the entered activation code (sends it to the management server 100 for authentication), and once authentication is successful, functions that were previously unavailable can be used.

[0051] A third activation method is to instruct the distribution server 300 to send an installer for an activated therapeutic application if the therapeutic application is not yet installed on the user terminal 200, thereby enabling the therapeutic application to be executed on the user terminal 200 when it has been prescribed (is not restricted) by a medical professional.

[0052] The transmitting unit 134 may transmit an activation signal to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 in accordance with an instruction from the enabling unit 133. The transmitting unit 134 may also transmit an activation code to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 in accordance with an instruction from the enabling unit 133. The transmitting unit 134 may also transmit a transmission instruction to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 in accordance with an instruction from the enabling unit 133 to transmit an installer for a therapeutic application that has a prescription from a healthcare professional (is not restricted) to the corresponding user terminal 200. The transmitting unit 134 transmits a signal required to execute the activated therapeutic application in the user terminal 200 in accordance with an activation method executable by the enabling unit 133.

[0053] The above is a description of an example of the configuration of the management server 100.

[0054] <Configuration Example of User Terminal 200> Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the user terminal 200. As shown in Fig. 3, the user terminal 200 includes a communication unit 210, an input unit 220, a control unit 230, a storage unit 240, and an output unit 250. The communication unit 210, the input unit 220, the control unit 230, the storage unit 240, and the output unit 250 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 260.

[0055] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface having a function for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 210 may communicate with other devices using any communication protocol, and may communicate either wired or wirelessly, as long as it is capable of communicating with other devices. The communication unit 210 communicates with the management server 100 and the distribution server 300 according to instructions from the control unit 230.

[0056] The input unit 220 is an input interface having a function of accepting input from the patient at the user terminal 200 and transmitting the input to the control unit 230. The input unit 220 may be realized by soft keys such as a touch panel, or may be realized by hard keys. Alternatively, the input unit 220 may be a microphone for accepting voice input. The input unit 220 transmits the input content entered by the patient to the control unit 230. The input unit 220 may, for example, accept an instruction from the patient to send a prescription request for receiving a prescription for using the therapeutic application, and transmit the instruction to the control unit 230. The input unit 220 may also, for example, accept an input of a response to a medical interview conducted by the therapeutic application, and transmit the response to the control unit 230.

[0057] The control unit 230 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the user terminal 200. The control unit 230 may be realized by a single core or a multi-core. In accordance with input from the patient, the control unit 230 transmits prescription request information for using the therapeutic application to the distribution server 300 via the communication unit 210.

[0058] The control unit 230 also includes an application execution unit 231 as a function that the control unit 230 realizes.

[0059] The application execution unit 231 executes the therapeutic application downloaded from the distribution server 300. The application execution unit 231 executes the therapeutic application, registers various information in the therapeutic application according to input from the patient, and acquires and displays information related to the therapeutic application from the management server 100 or the operation server 600 that stores the therapeutic information. When there is a prescription from a medical professional, the application execution unit 231 executes the therapeutic application 241 in a state in which functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional are executable. Furthermore, when there is no prescription from a medical professional, the application execution unit 231 executes the therapeutic application 241 in a state in which functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional are not executable.

[0060] Furthermore, when the application execution unit 231 receives an activation signal from the management server 100, it activates a functional unit that cannot be executed without a prescription from a healthcare professional, making it possible to provide the function of that functional unit to the patient. Furthermore, when the application execution unit 231 receives input of an activation code from the patient, it transmits the input activation code to the management server 100 for authentication, and if the authentication is successful, it activates a functional unit that cannot be executed without a prescription from a healthcare professional, making it possible to provide the function of that functional unit to the patient.

[0061] The storage unit 240 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the user terminal 200. The storage unit 140 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. Fig. 3 shows an example in which the storage unit 240 stores a therapeutic application 241. If a patient suffers from multiple different diseases, different therapeutic applications corresponding to the respective diseases may be stored in the storage unit 240.

[0062] The output unit 250 has a function of outputting specified information in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 230. The output by the output unit 250 may be either an image signal or an audio signal. In the case of outputting an image signal, the output may be to a monitor included in (or connected to) the user terminal 200. In the case of outputting an audio signal, the output may be to a speaker included in (or connected to) the user terminal 200. For example, the output unit 250 displays information provided by the therapeutic application 241 on the monitor of the user terminal 200 in conjunction with the execution of the therapeutic application by the application execution unit 231.

[0063] This concludes the description of the configuration example of the user terminal 200.

[0064] <Configuration example of distribution server 300> 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the distribution server 300. The distribution server 300 is a download server that stores therapeutic applications specified by the management server 100 and distributes the therapeutic applications in response to requests from the user terminal 200.

[0065] 4, distribution server 300 includes a communication unit 310, an input unit 320, a control unit 330, a storage unit 340, and an output unit 350. Communication unit 310, input unit 320, control unit 330, storage unit 340, and output unit 350 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 360.

[0066] The communication unit 310 is a communication interface having a function for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 310 may communicate with other devices using any communication protocol, and may communicate via either wired or wireless means, as long as the communication unit 310 is capable of communicating with other devices. The communication unit 310 communicates with the management server 100 and the user terminal 200 according to instructions from the control unit 130.

[0067] Input unit 320 is an input interface that has a function of receiving input from an operator of distribution server 300 or the like and transmitting the input to control unit 330. Input unit 320 may be realized by soft keys such as a touch panel, or may be realized by hard keys. Alternatively, input unit 320 may be a microphone for receiving voice input.

[0068] The control unit 330 is a processor having the function of controlling each unit of the user terminal 200. The control unit 330 may be realized by a single core or by multiple cores.

[0069] The control unit 330 includes a distribution unit 331 as a function realized by the control unit 330 .

[0070] The distribution unit 331 identifies the installer for the therapeutic application indicated in the request information transmitted from the communication unit 310 and reads it from the storage unit 340. The distribution unit 331 then transmits the read installer for the therapeutic application to the user terminal 200 that transmitted the request information via the communication unit 310. The installer for the therapeutic application to be distributed in this case is an installer for a therapeutic application that is activated without a prescription from a medical professional and with the execution of its functional units restricted.

[0071] Furthermore, when the distribution unit 331 receives an instruction from the management server 100 via the communication unit 310 to distribute an installer for a therapeutic application prescribed by a medical professional, the distribution unit 331 transmits the installer for the therapeutic application prescribed by a medical professional to the specified user terminal 200. That is, the installer for the therapeutic application distributed in this case is an installer for a therapeutic application that is started up in a state where there is a prescription from a medical professional and the execution of the functional units is not restricted.

[0072] The storage unit 340 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the distribution server 300. The storage unit 340 can be realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like. The storage unit 340 stores all therapeutic applications (installers thereof) requested by the management server 100. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a first therapeutic application installer 341 and a second therapeutic application installer 342 are stored. Here, the first therapeutic application installer 341 and the second therapeutic application installer 342 are therapeutic applications for different diseases, and may be, for example, a smoking cessation application, an alcohol abstinence application, a diabetes application, or the like. Note that, although an example in which two installers are stored is shown here, the number of installers is not limited to two, and installers for applications for various diseases may be stored.

[0073] The output unit 350 has a function of outputting designated information in accordance with instructions from the control unit 330. The output by the output unit 350 may be an output of either an image signal or an audio signal. In the case of outputting an image signal, the output may be to a monitor connected to (or provided in) the distribution server 300. In addition, in the case of outputting an audio signal, the output may be to a speaker provided in (or connected to) the distribution server 300.

[0074] The above is a description of an example of the configuration of distribution server 300.

[0075] <Configuration example of medical staff terminal 500> Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a medical staff terminal 500. The medical staff terminal 500 is an information processing terminal used by a medical staff member. As shown in Fig. 5, the medical staff terminal 500 includes a communication unit 510, an input unit 520, a control unit 530, a storage unit 540, and an output unit 550. The communication unit 510, the input unit 520, the control unit 530, the storage unit 540, and the output unit 550 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 560.

[0076] The communication unit 510 is a communication interface having a function for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 510 may communicate with other devices using any communication protocol, and may communicate either wired or wirelessly, as long as it is capable of communicating with other devices. The communication unit 510 communicates with the management server 100, the distribution server 300, and the operation server 600 according to instructions from the control unit 530.

[0077] The input unit 520 is an input interface that has a function of receiving input from the patient at the user terminal 200 and transmitting the input to the control unit 530. The input unit 520 may be realized by soft keys such as a touch panel, or may be realized by hard keys. Alternatively, the input unit 520 may be a microphone for receiving voice input. The input unit 520 transmits the input content input by the patient to the control unit 230.

[0078] When a medical professional requests the prescription of a therapeutic application from a patient who uses the therapeutic application, the input unit 520 accepts input as to whether or not to prescribe the therapeutic application for the patient and transmits the input to the control unit 530.

[0079] The control unit 530 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the medical staff terminal 500. The control unit 530 may be realized by a single core or by multiple cores.

[0080] The control unit 530 includes a prescription permission / rejection information transmission unit 531 as a function realized by the control unit 530 .

[0081] The prescription permission / denial information sending unit 531 receives input from a medical professional via the input unit 520 indicating whether or not to prescribe to a patient who has made a prescription request, and sends prescription permission information to the management server 100 via the communication unit 510 if it receives input indicating that the prescription will be given, or sends prescription denial information if it receives input indicating that the prescription will not be given.

[0082] The storage unit 540 has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the medical staff terminal 500. The storage unit 540 can be realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like.

[0083] The output unit 550 has a function of outputting specified information in accordance with instructions from the control unit 530. The output by the output unit 550 may be either an image signal or an audio signal. In the case of outputting an image signal, the output may be to a monitor connected to (or provided in) the medical staff terminal 500. In the case of outputting an audio signal, the output may be to a speaker provided in (or connected to) the medical staff terminal 500. The output unit 550 may display, for example, prescription request information transmitted from the management server 100 or patient information related to the patient who made the prescription request as image data.

[0084] This concludes the description of the configuration example of the medical staff terminal 500.

[0085] <Configuration example of operation server 600> FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the operation server 600. The operation server 600 is an information processing device (server) that manages and operates information related to the treatment of patients who use treatment applications. The operation server 600 may be provided for each patient's illness or for each treatment facility (such as a hospital or clinic) that provides medical care to patients, or may be provided for each operation company that provides the treatment application, or may be managed collectively on a single server, as the information related to the patient's treatment managed by the operation server 600. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation server 600 includes a communication unit 610, an input unit 620, a control unit 630, a storage unit 640, and an output unit 650. The communication unit 610, the input unit 620, the control unit 630, the storage unit 640, and the output unit 650 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 560.

[0086] The communication unit 610 is a communication interface having a function for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 610 may communicate with other devices using any communication protocol, and may communicate via either wired or wireless means, as long as the communication unit 610 is capable of communicating with other devices. The communication unit 610 communicates with the management server 100 and the user terminal 200 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 630.

[0087] The input unit 620 is an input interface that has the function of accepting input from the patient at the user terminal 200 and transmitting it to the control unit 630. The input unit 620 may be realized by soft keys such as a touch panel, or may be realized by hard keys. Alternatively, the input unit 620 may be a microphone for accepting voice input. The input unit 620 transmits the input content entered by the patient to the control unit 230.

[0088] The input unit 620 accepts input of information about a patient to be examined from a medical professional (mainly a doctor) and transmits it to the control unit 630. The information about the patient to be examined may be any information about the patient, and may also be information about the patient's medical condition as determined by the medical professional, medication prescribed for the patient, treatment progress, medical history, etc. Specifically, the input unit 620 accepts input of a patient ID indicating the patient for whom information is to be input and information about the patient indicated by that patient ID, and transmits it to the control unit 630.

[0089] The control unit 630 is a processor having the function of controlling each unit of the operation server 600. The control unit 630 may be realized by a single core or a multi-core. When the control unit 630 receives a patient ID and information about the patient from the input unit 620, the control unit 630 records the information about the patient as treatment information 641 in the storage unit 640 in association with the received patient ID.

[0090] The control unit 630 includes a treatment information providing unit 631 as a function realized by the control unit 630.

[0091] When the treatment information providing unit 631 receives a request to send treatment information from the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 610, the treatment information providing unit 631 identifies information about the patient associated with the patient ID indicated in the request to send treatment information from the treatment information 641. The treatment information providing unit 631 transmits the identified treatment information (information about the patient) to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 610.

[0092] The storage unit 640 has the function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the operation server 600. The storage unit 640 can be realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 640 stores treatment information 641 related to the treatment of patients. The treatment information is associated with the patient ID of each patient and information related to the patient. The treatment information may be a so-called electronic medical record. The treatment information may also include information entered by the patient about the patient's own treatment-related behavior. The treatment information may also be associated with the application ID of the treatment application used by the patient.

[0093] The output unit 650 has a function of outputting specified information in accordance with instructions from the control unit 630. The output by the output unit 650 may be either an image signal or an audio signal. In the case of outputting an image signal, the output may be to a monitor connected to (or provided in) the operation server 600. In addition, in the case of outputting an audio signal, the output may be to a speaker provided in (or connected to) the operation server 600. The output unit 650 may output patient treatment information in response to a request from a treatment application running on the user terminal 200, for example.

[0094] The above is a description of an example of the configuration of the operation server 600.

[0095] <Data> Next, the management information 141 will be described. As described above, this is information that the management server 100 uses to manage each therapeutic application used by each patient. The management information 141 may also be shared with the operation server 600.

[0096] Fig. 7 is a conceptual data diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the management information 141. As shown in Fig. 7, the management information 141 is information in which a management ID 701, a patient name 702, an application ID 703, a date of birth 704, a gender 705, an activation 706, and treatment information 707 are associated with each other.

[0097] The management ID 701 is management identification information that is assigned by the management server 100 for the sake of convenience in order to manage each therapeutic application used by each patient included in the management information 141.

[0098] The patient name 702 is information indicating the name of the patient using the therapy application. The patient name 702 may be an identifier that can uniquely identify the patient instead of the patient's name.

[0099] The application ID 703 is identification information that can uniquely identify a therapeutic application used by a patient indicated by the corresponding patient name 702 .

[0100] The date of birth 704 is information indicating the date of birth of the patient indicated by the corresponding patient name 702. The date of birth 704 can be used as information that can identify the age of the patient.

[0101] The gender 705 is information indicating the gender of the patient indicated by the corresponding patient name 702 .

[0102] Activation 706 is information indicating whether the therapeutic application indicated by the corresponding application ID 703 is activated in the user terminal 200. Activation here means that a prescription has been issued by a medical professional, and that functions of functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional can be executed. In FIG. 7, an activated state is indicated by a "○" and an inactivated state is indicated by an "×", but this is merely one way of expressing it and is not limited to this.

[0103] The treatment information 707 is actual data of information related to treatment that can be viewed as a treatment application indicated by the application ID 703 and used by a patient indicated by the corresponding patient name 702, or information indicating the address of a device at which the actual data can be viewed. The device at which the actual data can be viewed here refers to a server device that stores information such as examination information from a medical institution or the like where the patient is actually receiving treatment, and is a server device of a medical institution or the like that is affiliated with the management server 100. Note that if all of the treatment information 707 is operated and managed by the operation server 600, it does not need to be registered in the management information 141. Furthermore, the treatment information 707 and the treatment information 641 stored by the operation server 600 may be the same or different. As an example of different treatment information, for example, the management server 100 may store information on treatment related to smoking cessation for a patient, and the operation server 600 may store information on treatment for diabetes.

[0104] If the same patient uses different treatment applications, each application is individually registered in the management information 141. In addition to the above information, the management information 141 may also record information such as the address of the user terminal 200 of each patient, information related to the patient's personality, and a contact telephone number.

[0105] <Operation> Next, the operation of the therapeutic application distribution system 1 and each device included in the system will be described. (Prescription Example 1)

[0106] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of communication between the devices in the therapeutic application distribution system 1. As shown in FIG.

[0107] 8, the user terminal 200 transmits request information requesting a therapeutic application together with user information to the distribution server 300 in accordance with input from the patient of the user terminal 200 (step S801). Here, the user information may be information that can identify the patient of the user terminal 200, and may be information that can identify the patient.

[0108] The distribution server 300 receives the request information from the user terminal 200 and transmits the therapeutic application (the therapeutic application installer) specified in the request information to the user terminal 200 (step S802). The therapeutic application transmitted here is a therapeutic application without a medical professional's prescription, and is a therapeutic application in a state in which the execution of functional units that cannot be executed without a medical professional's prescription is restricted. Upon receiving the therapeutic application, the user terminal 200 may execute it, but because there is no medical professional's prescription, the execution of functional units is restricted.

[0109] In response to the input from the patient, the user terminal 200 transmits patient identification information and prescription request information for using the therapeutic application to the management server 100 (step S803). The patient identification information may be the patient's name or identification information that can uniquely identify the patient in the therapeutic application distribution system 1.

[0110] When the management server 100 receives the prescription request information from the user terminal 200, it transmits the patient information of the patient identified by the patient identification information and the prescription request information to the medical staff terminal 500 (step S804). Note that if the patient information of the patient is available at the medical staff terminal 500, the patient identification information may be transmitted instead. The patient information referred to here is any information that can identify whether or not the patient of the user terminal 200 is suffering from the disease related to the treatment application for which the prescription is being requested, and may be answers to medical interviews, medical checkup information and electronic medical records of the patient indicated by the patient identification information stored in a server of a medical institution or the like (for example, the operation server 600), etc.

[0111] If the medical professional who has checked the patient information determines that the therapeutic application can be prescribed to the patient, the medical professional inputs prescription permission into the medical professional terminal 500 (step S805). Then, the medical professional terminal 500 transmits prescription permission information to the management server 100 (step S806).

[0112] When the prescription permission information is received from the medical professional terminal 500, the management server 100 generates and transmits to the user terminal 200 of the patient who made the prescription request activation information (activation signal) for activating functional parts of the treatment application that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional (step S807).

[0113] When the activation information is received from the management server 100, the application execution unit 231 of the user terminal 200 activates the treatment application. That is, it makes the functional units that function when there is a prescription from a medical professional executable (step S808).

[0114] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management server 100 for realizing the exchange shown in FIG.

[0115] When the communication unit 110 of the management server 100 receives a signal, it checks whether the signal contains patient identification information and prescription request information. If the communication unit 110 receives the patient identification information and prescription request information (YES in step S901), it transmits the patient identification information and prescription request information to the control unit 130. The control unit 130 then transmits the patient information, which is information about the patient corresponding to the patient identification information, and the prescription request information to the medical staff terminal (step S902). Here, the patient information may be obtained from the management information 141 based on the patient identification information, or may be obtained from information transmitted from the user terminal 200 together with the patient identification information and prescription request information, or may be obtained from the treatment information 642 of the operation server 600, or may be obtained from an information processing device or other server of another medical institution that stores patient information. If the received signal is not patient identification information and prescription request information (NO in step S901), the process proceeds to step S903.

[0116] When the communication unit 110 receives a signal, it checks whether the signal is prescription permission information from the medical professional terminal 500. When the communication unit 110 receives prescription permission information (YES in step S903), it transmits the received signal to the control unit 130. When the prescription permission information is transmitted, the control unit 130 transmits activation information for activating the therapeutic application to the user terminal 200 of the patient corresponding to the prescription permission information, thereby activating the therapeutic application in the patient's user terminal 200. As described above, activation of the therapeutic application means bringing the application into a state where a prescription from a medical professional has been issued, and enabling functional units that function only with a prescription from a medical professional to function (be able to execute), and may involve lifting restrictions on the execution of the functional units.

[0117] If prescription denial information is received instead of prescription approval information (NO in step S903), the control unit 130 transmits denial information indicating that the prescription cannot be made to the user terminal 200 of the patient identified by the patient identification information via the communication unit 110 (step S905), and returns to processing in step S901.

[0118] The processes of steps S901 and S902 and the processes of steps S903 to S905 may be executed in parallel. The above is an example of the operation of the management server 100.

[0119] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the user terminal 200 for realizing the exchange shown in FIG.

[0120] The input unit 220 of the user terminal 200 receives an input from the patient instructing download of a therapeutic application (step S1001). The input unit 220 transmits the received input to the control unit 230. In accordance with the transmitted input, the control unit 230 transmits request information requesting the specified therapeutic application via the communication unit 210 to the distribution server 300 that stores the therapeutic application (step S1002). The application request information includes an application ID for identifying which therapeutic application is being requested and patient identification information for identifying the user (patient) requesting the therapeutic application. In response to the request information, the distribution server 300 transmits an installer (which may be an executable program) for the specified therapeutic application.

[0121] The communication unit 210 receives the installer for the therapeutic application transmitted from the distribution server 300 (step S1003). The communication unit 210 transmits the received installer for the therapeutic application to the control unit 230. The control unit 230 may execute the transmitted therapeutic application. However, at this stage, the therapeutic application has not been prescribed by a medical professional and some functions (functional units) cannot be executed.

[0122] The input unit 220 receives an input of a prescription request from a patient to request a prescription from a medical professional for the therapeutic application (step S1004), and transmits the input to the control unit 230. The control unit 230 transmits prescription request information to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210 (step S1005). At this time, the control unit 230 transmits patient identification information capable of identifying the patient of the user terminal 200, in addition to the prescription request information, to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 230 may also transmit patient information indicating patient information related to the disease corresponding to the therapeutic application to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210.

[0123] The communication unit 210 receives a signal from the management server 100. The communication unit 210 determines whether the received signal is activation information (step S1006). If the received signal is activation information (YES in step S1006), the communication unit 210 transmits the activation information to the control unit 230. Upon receiving the activation information, the application execution unit 231 of the control unit 230 activates the function units that can be executed only with a prescription from a medical professional (step S1007), and ends the processing.

[0124] On the other hand, if the received signal is not validation information (NO in step S1006), communication unit 210 determines whether the received signal is non-permission information (step S1008). If the received signal is not non-permission information (NO in step S1008), the process returns to step S1006.

[0125] If the received signal is denial information (YES in step S1008), the communication unit 210 transmits the denial information to the control unit 230, and the control unit 230 causes the output unit 250 to output (display) information indicating that a prescription from a medical professional to enable the therapeutic application has not been obtained (step S1009), and the processing ends.

[0126] The above is a description of an example of the operation of the user terminal 200 corresponding to the sequence diagram shown in Figure 8, and is a description of an example of the operation of the user terminal 200 when receiving a prescription from a medical professional for using a treatment application.

[0127] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distribution server 300 for realizing the exchange shown in FIG.

[0128] 11, the communication unit 310 of the distribution server 300 receives a request signal requesting a therapy application from the user terminal 200 (step S1101). The communication unit 310 transmits the received request signal to the control unit 330.

[0129] When the request signal is transmitted, the distribution unit 331 of the control unit 330 extracts an application ID indicating the therapeutic application desired by the patient and included in the transmitted request signal. Then, the distribution unit 331 obtains an installer for the therapeutic application indicating the extracted application ID from the storage unit 340. The distribution unit 331 distributes the obtained installer for the therapeutic application to the user terminal 200 that transmitted the request signal via the communication unit 310 (step S1102). This allows the patient to obtain the therapeutic application, but the therapeutic application at this stage is an application that has not yet been prescribed by a medical professional and is an application in which the execution of functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional is restricted.

[0130] The above is an example of the operation of distribution server 300.

[0131] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the medical staff terminal 500 for realizing the exchange shown in FIG.

[0132] 12, the communication unit 510 of the medical staff terminal 500 receives the prescription request information and the patient information transmitted from the management server 100 (step S1201). The communication unit 510 transmits the received prescription request information and the patient information to the control unit 530.

[0133] When the prescription request information and patient information are transmitted, the control unit 530 causes the output unit 550 to output the patient information, i.e., to display it on a monitor or the like connected to the medical staff terminal 500 (step S1202). The medical staff looks at the displayed patient information and determines whether or not it is okay to prescribe a therapeutic application.

[0134] If prescription permission is received from the medical professional via the input unit 520 (YES in step S1203), the control unit 530 transmits prescription permission information to the management server 100 via the communication unit 510 (step S1204), and the process ends.

[0135] On the other hand, if the control unit 530 receives input from the medical professional to the input unit 520 indicating that the prescription is not permitted (NO in step S1203), the control unit 530 sends prescription denial information to the management server 100 via the communication unit 510 (step S1205) and terminates the processing.

[0136] The above is an example of the operation of the medical staff terminal 500.

[0137] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the operation server 600. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication unit 610 of the operation server 600 receives a request to send treatment information sent from the user terminal 200 (step S1301). The treatment information here refers to information about treatment that the treatment application presents to the patient, and may include various information such as the content and success or failure of past treatments, the medication used, and information about the patient's behavior. This transmission request includes at least a user ID (patient ID) that can identify the user, and may also include a password for viewing the treatment information. When the communication unit 610 receives the request to send treatment information, it transmits it to the control unit 630.

[0138] The treatment information providing unit 631 of the control unit 630 identifies the patient ID from the transmitted request to send treatment information. Then, the treatment information providing unit 631 identifies treatment information 641 corresponding to the identified patient ID from the storage unit 640 (step S1302). Then, the treatment information providing unit 631 transmits the identified treatment information to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 610 (step S1303). The treatment information 641 here may be the same as the management information 141 managed by the management server 100, or may be different. If it is different, it is sufficient that the patient can be uniquely identified, for example, by sharing the same patient ID as the management information 141.

[0139] This allows the operation server 600 to provide information about the user's treatment to the user terminal 200. If a password is included in the request to send treatment information from the user terminal 200, the password is authenticated first in step S1302, and if the password is correct, the treatment information is identified. This allows the treatment application to allow medical professionals to view the medical information, as an example of a functional unit that can only be executed with a prescription from a medical professional.

[0140] <Display example> 14(a) to 14(c) are diagrams showing examples of displays by a therapeutic application. FIGS. 14(a) to 14(c) are merely examples, and other display modes may be used. While FIGS. 14(a) to 14(c) show examples of displays of a smoking cessation app as a therapeutic application, the therapeutic application is not limited to smoking cessation apps and may be applications for other diseases or symptoms. In any case, the therapeutic application may include at least a functional unit that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional, and may include processing that can be executed without a prescription from a medical professional. Processing that can be executed without a prescription from a medical professional may be a non-therapeutic function. Non-therapeutic functions here may be functions that do not directly encourage individual behavioral change in patients, such as functions that explain general diseases and treatments or provide interviews.

[0141] Fig. 14(a) is a diagram showing an example of a display by a therapeutic application, which is an example of a screen for selecting functions provided by the therapeutic application. Note that the functions shown in Fig. 14(a) are merely examples, and other functions may be included, or the functions shown in Fig. 14(a) may not be included.

[0142] FIG. 14(a) shows an example screen 251 displaying buttons for selecting basic information 252, medical interview information 253, and medical information 254 as an example of a function provided by the therapeutic application. The basic information 252 is basic information about the patient using the therapeutic application. By selecting the basic information 252, a screen for inputting basic information about the patient or a screen showing the basic information is displayed. The basic information 252 may be a function that can be executed (information that can be provided) without a prescription from a medical professional, and may be information about the patient that is less related to the disease related to the therapeutic application, such as the patient's name, age, weight, height, etc.

[0143] The medical interview information 253 is a function for conducting a medical interview with the patient about the disease related to the treatment application, and when the medical interview information 253 is selected, a medical interview as shown in Fig. 14(b) and a UI (User Interface) screen for inputting the patient's response to the interview may be displayed, for example. The medical interview information 253 may be a function that can be executed without a prescription from a medical professional (information that can be provided, information that the patient can use as an application).

[0144] As shown in Fig. 14(b), the example screen 255 displaying the medical interview information 253 may be a therapeutic application that asks about the state of the corresponding disease or symptom, or the patient's feelings and attitude toward it. In the example shown in Fig. 14(b), the therapeutic application is an application for quitting smoking, and examples of medical interviews are shown, including whether or not the patient has a smoking habit, their motivation to quit smoking, and the amount of smoking, along with example answers to those questions. These medical interview information include questions and answers that serve as criteria for a medical professional to determine whether or not to prescribe the therapeutic application to a patient.

[0145] FIG. 14(c) shows an example screen 256 that is displayed when medical information 254 is selected. Medical information 254 is an example of a function that cannot be executed without a medical professional's prescription. Conversely, it is an example of a function that can be executed when there is a medical professional's prescription and it is enabled by the management server 100. Functional units that can be executed with a medical professional's prescription may be functions related to the core of treatment, such as a function for viewing detailed information about treatment, a function for viewing treatment progress information, or a function for advising on actions that the patient should take for treatment, but are not limited to these. The content of functional units that can be executed with a medical professional's prescription may be determined between the medical professional and the creator of the treatment application, etc.

[0146] (Prescription example 2) In Prescription Example 1, an example was described in which the management server 100 activates a treatment application on the user terminal 200 based on a prescription from a medical professional. In Prescription Example 2, an example of activation using a prescription code (which may also be called an activation code) is described.

[0147] Here, the prescription code (activation code) is not limited to the name prescription code, and may be any information that activates a therapeutic application, i.e., enables the use of a functional unit in the therapeutic application that cannot be executed without a prescription from a healthcare professional. For example, the prescription code may be referred to as a passcode, passphrase, serial code, or the like.

[0148] Fig. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of interactions between devices in a therapeutic application distribution system according to Prescription Example 2, and is a diagram showing a method for realizing activation of a functional unit using a prescription code. In the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 15, the processing up to step S806 is the same as in Fig. 8, so the explanation up to that point will be omitted and the processing from step S1507 onwards will be explained.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 15, when the management server 100 receives prescription permission information from the medical staff terminal 500, it generates a prescription code for validating the functional part and transmits it to the user terminal 200 (step S1507).

[0150] Upon receiving the prescription code transmitted from the management server 100, the user terminal 200 displays the received prescription code. After viewing the displayed prescription code, the patient at the user terminal 200 inputs the prescription code into the treatment application (step S1508). Upon receiving the input of the prescription code, the user terminal 200 transmits the input prescription code to the management server 100 (step S1509).

[0151] When the management server 100 receives a prescription code from the user terminal 200, the management server 100 authenticates the received prescription code. As an example, the management server 100 performs authentication based on whether the received prescription code matches a prescription code generated by the management server 100. If the authentication is successful, the management server 100 transmits information indicating successful authentication to the user terminal 200 (step S1510).

[0152] When the information indicating successful authentication is received, the treatment application of the user terminal 200 and the functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional are enabled (step S1511).

[0153] Here, the management server 100 authenticates the prescription code input by the patient to the user terminal 200, but this is not limited to this. For example, the treatment application may previously store authentication information corresponding to the prescription code, the management server 100 may transmit the prescription code corresponding to the authentication information to the user terminal 200 as the prescription code, and the treatment application may activate the functional unit when the user terminal 200 authenticates that the input prescription code corresponds to the authentication information previously stored in the treatment application.

[0154] An example of the operation of the management server 100 to realize the exchange shown in Fig. 15 is shown in the flowchart in Fig. 16. The flowchart in Fig. 16 differs from the flowchart in Fig. 9 in the processing after receiving prescription permission information from the medical staff terminal 500, i.e., the processing after discard step S1604, but the other processing is the same, so only the processing after step S1604 will be explained here.

[0155] As shown in FIG. 16, when the control unit 130 of the management server 100 receives prescription permission information from the medical staff terminal 500 that allows the prescription of a treatment application for the user terminal 200 (YES in step S903), it generates a prescription code for enabling the functional parts of the treatment application for the user terminal 200 of the patient indicated by the patient identification information and transmits it to the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 (step S1604).

[0156] The communication unit 10 determines whether or not a prescription code has been received from the user terminal 200 (step S1605). If the prescription code has not been received (NO in step S1605), the communication unit 10 waits.

[0157] When a prescription code is received from user terminal 200 (YES in step S1605), communication unit 110 transmits the received prescription code to control unit 130. When the prescription code is transmitted, control unit 130 verifies whether the transmitted prescription code is a legitimate prescription code (step S1606).

[0158] If the control unit 130 determines that the prescription code is a legitimate prescription code, i.e., if the prescription code is successfully authenticated (YES in step S1606), it sends information indicating successful authentication to the user terminal 200 (step S1607); if the prescription code is not successfully authenticated (NO in step S1606), it sends information indicating unsuccessful authentication to the user terminal 200 (step S1608), and returns to processing in step S901.

[0159] An example of the operation of user terminal 200 to realize the exchange shown in Fig. 15 is shown in the flowchart of Fig. 17. The flowchart of Fig. 17 is common to the flowchart of Fig. 10 up to step S1005, but the processing from step S1706 onwards is different, so here we will explain the processing from step S1706 onwards.

[0160] As shown in FIG. 17, after transmitting prescription request information to the management server 100 (step S1005), the user terminal 200 waits for information from the management server 100.

[0161] The communication unit 210 of the user terminal 200 determines whether or not a prescription code has been received from the management server 100 (step S1706). If a prescription code has been received (YES in step S1706), the communication unit 210 transmits the received prescription code to the control unit 230. The control unit 230 instructs the output unit 250 to output the transmitted prescription code. That is, the output unit 250 displays the prescription code on the monitor (step S1707).

[0162] The patient at the user terminal 200, upon viewing the displayed prescription code, inputs the displayed prescription code into the treatment application via the input unit 220. Then, the control unit 230 transmits the input prescription code to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210 (step S1708).

[0163] The control unit 230 of the user terminal 200 determines whether or not the authentication of the prescription code has been successful based on whether or not information indicating that the authentication has been successful has been received from the management server 100 (step S17089).

[0164] If the authentication of the prescription code is successful (YES in step S1709), the treatment application enables the functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional (step S1710) and ends the process. If the authentication of the prescription code is unsuccessful (NO in step S1709), a message is displayed indicating that the functional units cannot be enabled (step S1712). After this, the patient may re-enter the prescription code into the user terminal 200.

[0165] On the other hand, if the prescription code has not been received (NO in step S1706), the control unit 230 determines whether or not denial information indicating that the therapeutic application cannot be prescribed has been received (step S1711). If denial information has not been received (NO in step S1711), the control unit 230 waits.

[0166] If the non-permission information is received (YES in step S1711), the control unit 230 causes the output unit 250 to display information indicating that the functional unit cannot be enabled (step S1712), and ends the process.

[0167] In this manner, functionality of a therapeutic application that requires a medical professional's prescription may be enabled by a prescription code.

[0168] (Prescription Example 3) In Prescription Examples 1 and 2, examples of activating a therapeutic application are described when a therapeutic application is installed on the user terminal 200 without a prescription from a medical professional. In Prescription Example 3, an example of efficiently executing a therapeutic application is described when a therapeutic application has not yet been installed on the user terminal 200.

[0169] Fig. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an example of interactions between devices in a therapeutic application distribution system according to Prescription Example 3. As shown in Fig. 18, the sequence diagram differs from that shown in Fig. 8 in that the user terminal 200 makes a prescription request when no therapeutic application is installed. The processing content itself from step S803 to step S806 is the same as that explained using Fig. 8, so explanations will be omitted and only the processing from step S1807 onwards will be explained.

[0170] 18, the management server 100 receives the prescription permission information from the medical staff terminal 500 and transmits the patient identification information and the prescription permission information to the distribution server 300 (step S1807). The patient identification information transmitted here includes the destination address of the user terminal 200 on the network.

[0171] The distribution server 300, which has received the patient identification information and prescription permission information from the management server 100, determines that it is permissible to prescribe a therapeutic application to the patient identified by the patient identification information, and transmits the therapeutic application, with functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional, enabled to be executed, to the user terminal 200 identified by the patient identification information (step S1808).

[0172] As a result, the user terminal 200 can execute the therapy application with the functional units enabled (step S1809). That is, the therapy application can be started in a state in which the functional units can be executed from the beginning.

[0173] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the user terminal 200 for realizing the exchange shown in FIG.

[0174] 19, the input unit 220 receives an input of a prescription request from a patient to request a prescription from a medical professional for the therapeutic application (step S1901) and transmits it to the control unit 230. The control unit 230 transmits prescription request information to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210 (step S1902). At this time, the control unit 230 transmits patient identification information capable of identifying the patient of the user terminal 200, in addition to the prescription request information, to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210. The control unit 230 may also transmit patient information indicating patient information related to the disease corresponding to the therapeutic application to the management server 100 via the communication unit 210.

[0175] The communication unit 210 receives a signal from the management server 100. The communication unit 210 determines whether the received signal is a therapeutic application in which a functional unit that cannot be executed without a prescription from a healthcare professional is enabled (step S1903). If the received signal is a therapeutic application in which a functional unit is enabled (YES in step S1903), the communication unit 210 transmits the therapeutic application to the control unit 230. Upon receiving the therapeutic application, the application execution unit 231 of the control unit 230 executes the therapeutic application in which a functional unit that can only be executed with a prescription from a healthcare professional is enabled (step S1904), and ends the process.

[0176] On the other hand, if the received signal is not a therapeutic application that has enabled the functional unit (NO in step S1903), the communication unit 210 determines whether the received signal is non-permission information (step S1904). If the received signal is not non-permission information (NO in step S1904), the process returns to step S1903.

[0177] If the received signal is denial information (YES in step S1904), the communication unit 210 transmits the denial information to the control unit 230, and the control unit 230 causes the output unit 250 to output (display) information indicating that a prescription from a medical professional to activate the therapeutic application has not been obtained (step S1906), and ends the process. This allows the user terminal 200 to use the therapeutic application from the beginning in a state where a prescription has been obtained from a medical professional (a state where the functional unit is activated).

[0178] Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management server 100 for realizing the exchange shown in Fig. 18. The flowchart shown in Fig. 20 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 9 only in the processing of step S2004 when prescription permission information is received from the medical staff terminal 500 (YES in step S903). Therefore, the processing content of step S2004 will be explained here.

[0179] When prescription permission information is received from the medical staff terminal 500 (YES in step S903), the control unit 130 of the management server 100 transmits patient identification information including the address of the user terminal 200 of the patient for whom prescription permission has been granted, and the prescription permission information received from the medical staff terminal 500, to the distribution server 300 via the communication unit 110 (step S2004). This allows the distribution server 300 to transmit the therapeutic application with its functional unit enabled to the user terminal 200.

[0180] Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distribution server 300 for realizing the exchange shown in Fig. 18. As shown in Fig. 21, the communication unit 310 of the distribution server 300 receives the patient identification information and prescription permission information transmitted from the management server 100 (step S2101). The communication unit 310 transmits the received information to the control unit 330.

[0181] When the control unit 330 receives the patient identification information and the prescription permission information, it determines that the therapeutic application has been prescribed by a medical professional for the patient identified by the patient identification information. Then, the control unit 330 transmits the therapeutic application, in which the functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a medical professional are enabled, via the communication unit 310 to the user terminal 200 of the patient identified by the patient identification information (step S2102), and ends the process.

[0182] This allows the user terminal 200 to use the therapy application with the functional unit enabled from the beginning.

[0183] As shown in Prescription Example 3, if a therapeutic application has not yet been installed on the user terminal 200 and a medical professional gives permission for the prescription, the therapeutic application in a state in which the prescription is permitted (a state in which the restrictions on the functional parts have been lifted and enabled) may be configured to be transmitted from the distribution server 300 to the user terminal 200.

[0184] <Summary> As described in the above embodiment, in the therapeutic application distribution system according to this embodiment, a patient makes a prescription request via the user terminal 200, and a healthcare professional confirms the patient's information and prescribes the therapeutic application with one touch (enabling functional units in the therapeutic application that cannot be executed without a healthcare professional's prescription). In other words, healthcare professionals can prescribe the therapeutic application with just one effort, without actually examining the patient, thereby reducing the burden on healthcare professionals. At the same time, patients can also use the therapeutic application without the need for a medical consultation with a healthcare professional, enabling them to utilize the therapeutic application to improve illnesses related to the therapeutic application. This facilitates the introduction of remote medical care as an alternative to traditional in-person medical care. This system is particularly effective for providing medical support to patients who have difficulty visiting a hospital or who are isolated. Furthermore, the above embodiment reduces the effort required for healthcare professionals to explain the therapeutic application to patients via the user terminal 200.

[0185] <Supplementary information> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a therapeutic application is prescribed to a patient at the user terminal 200 based on a prescription from a medical professional, but the example of the therapeutic application distribution system is not limited to the above. Various modified examples will be described below.

[0186] (1) In the above embodiment, the management server 100 transmits patient information when transmitting prescription request information to the medical professional terminal 500. As explained above, this patient information may be, for example, medical interview information. However, this medical interview information may be a function of a treatment application and may be part of a function that can be executed even without a prescription from a medical professional. The treatment application may display medical interview information as shown in FIG. 14(b), accept and store answers to the questions in the medical interview information input from the patient at the user terminal 200, and, when accepting input of a prescription request from the patient, transmit the stored medical interview information and the answers as patient information to the management server 100 together with the prescription request information. This eliminates the need for the management server 100 to search for patient information for the disease corresponding to the patient treatment application at the user terminal 200, thereby reducing the processing load on the management server 100.

[0187] (2) In the above embodiment, the management server 100 transmits prescription request information to the medical staff terminal 500. However, since there are many medical institutions that have medical staff who can prescribe therapeutic applications, the management server 100 may be configured to allow the user to select any medical staff terminal 500 from among the medical staff terminals 500 that can handle the prescription request information.

[0188] As an example, the management server 100 may store information indicating compatible medical institutions in the storage unit 140 and medical institution information that can identify the medical staff terminal 500 installed in that medical institution. When prescription request information is received from the user terminal 200, the management server 100 may arbitrarily select one of the medical staff terminals 500 included in the medical institution information and transmit the prescription request information to the selected medical staff terminal 500. At this time, if the address, location, area, etc. of the patient of the user terminal 200 is known as information on the user terminal 200 that transmitted the prescription request information, a nearby medical institution may be selected.

[0189] Furthermore, at the stage of making a prescription request, the patient at the user terminal 200 may be allowed to select a medical institution. That is, a list of medical institutions that can prescribe the therapeutic application may be provided on the screen of the therapeutic application on which the prescription request is made or on a web screen provided by the management server 100, and the patient may select a medical institution from the provided list, and the information of the selected medical institution may be transmitted to the management server 100 together with prescription request information. Then, the management server 100 may transmit the prescription request information to the medical staff terminal 500 corresponding to the received information of the medical institution.

[0190] In this way, the medical institution to make the prescription request may be configured so that the patient of the user terminal 200 or the management server 100 can appropriately select it.

[0191] (3) In the above embodiment, the therapeutic application is enabled by the user terminal 200 by having the processor of each device, including the user terminal 200, execute a therapeutic application or a program for enabling the therapeutic application, thereby enabling functional units that cannot be executed without a prescription from a healthcare professional. However, this may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or the like in the device. Furthermore, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the functions of the functional units described in the above embodiment may be realized by a single integrated circuit. LSIs are sometimes referred to as VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc., depending on their degree of integration.

[0192] The program may be recorded on a processor-readable recording medium, which may be a "non-transitory tangible medium," such as a tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, or programmable logic circuit. The management program may be supplied to the processor via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). For example, the management program may be downloaded from a network and executed using an information processing device such as a smartphone. The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the management program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0193] The above program can be implemented using, for example, a scripting language such as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademark), or an object-oriented programming language such as Objective-C, Java (registered trademark), C++, Python, or R, but is not limited to these. [Explanation of symbols]

[0194] 100 Management Server 110, 210, 310, 510 Receiver 120, 220, 320, 520 Input section 130, 230, 330, 530 Control unit 131 Receiving unit 132 Reception Department 133 Enabling Department 134 Transmitter 140, 240, 340, 540 storage section 141 Management information 150, 250, 350, 550 output section 200 user terminals 231 Application execution unit 300 Distribution Server 331 Distribution Department 341 First Therapeutic Application Installer 342 Second Therapeutic Application Installer 400 Network 500 Medical Staff Terminals 531 Prescription approval / disapproval information transmission unit

Claims

1. A delivery system for delivering a therapeutic application having a functional unit that functions upon receiving a prescription from a medical professional, a receiving unit for receiving a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of a patient; a receiving unit configured to receive, in response to the prescription request, prescription permission information from a medical professional that permits the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient of the first terminal; an enabling unit that enables the function unit when the prescription permission information is received, The receiving unit receives the patient identification information of the first terminal together with the prescription request, the delivery system includes a storage unit that stores patient identification information indicating a patient and patient information related to the patient in association with each other; a distribution unit that distributes a therapeutic application in a state in which the functional unit is not enabled when the patient identification information received by the receiving unit is not stored in the storage unit; A distribution system characterized by:

2. The enabling unit transmits an enabling signal to enable the functional unit of the therapeutic application stored in the first terminal.

2. The distribution system according to claim 1.

3. The activation unit transmits a prescription code for activating the function unit to the first terminal, The prescription code is input to the treatment application at the first terminal, thereby enabling the functional unit.

3. The distribution system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the receiving unit receives the patient identification information of the first terminal together with the prescription request, When the patient information includes prior information about a disease related to the therapeutic application, a transmitting unit that transmits the prescription request and the patient information to a second terminal of the medical worker; The reception unit receives the prescription permission information from the second terminal that has received input by the medical professional after the transmission unit transmits the prescription request and the patient information to the second terminal.

4. The distribution system according to claim 3.

5. The storage unit further stores medical institution information indicating a medical institution that can accept the prescription request, The transmission unit transmits the prescription request and the patient information to the second terminal of a medical professional included in the medical institution information.

5. The distribution system according to claim 4.

6. the receiving unit receives designation information that designates a medical institution included in the medical institution information, The transmission unit transmits the prescription request and the patient information to the second terminal of the medical institution designated by the designation information.

6. The distribution system according to claim 5.

7. the treatment application includes a medical interview section as a function that functions without a prescription from the medical professional; the medical interview unit of the medical treatment application executed on the first terminal conducts a medical interview with the patient of the first terminal about a disease related to the medical treatment application and transmits a response from the patient to the medical interview; The delivery system receives the response together with patient identification information of the patient of the first terminal, and stores the response as the patient information in the storage unit in association with the patient identification information.

7. The distribution system according to claim 4, wherein:

8. A distribution system described in any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the functions that can be used by the functional unit include viewing of patient information of the patient stored in the memory unit.

9. The advance information is medical interview information that indicates the results of a medical interview with the patient regarding the disease related to the treatment application.

9. The distribution system according to claim 4, wherein:

10. The advance information is medical examination / checkup information on the patient's disease related to the treatment application.

10. The distribution system according to claim 4, wherein:

11. The functions that can be used by the functional unit include viewing patient information of the patient of the first terminal.

11. The distribution system according to claim 1.

12. The functions that can be used by the functional unit include proposing a treatment method for the patient in accordance with the treatment status of the patient at the first terminal.

12. The distribution system according to claim 1.

13. A computer of a distribution system for distributing a therapeutic application has a functional unit that functions in response to a prescription from a medical professional and a storage unit that stores patient identification information indicating a patient and patient information related to the patient in association with each other, receiving a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of a patient and patient identification information of the first terminal; a receiving step of receiving, from a medical professional in response to the prescription request, prescription permission information permitting the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient of the first terminal; an enabling step of enabling the functional unit when the prescription permission information is received; Run The method for enabling a therapeutic application further comprises the step of: if the received patient identification information is not stored in the memory unit, delivering the therapeutic application in a state in which the functional unit is not enabled.

14. a computer of a distribution system for distributing a therapeutic application, the computer having a functional unit that functions in response to a prescription from a medical professional and a storage unit that stores patient identification information indicating a patient and patient information relating to the patient in association with each other; a receiving function for receiving a prescription request for the therapeutic application from a first terminal of a patient and patient identification information of the first terminal; a reception function for receiving prescription permission information from a medical professional in response to the prescription request, the prescription permission information permitting the prescription of the therapeutic application to the patient of the first terminal; an enabling function that enables the functional unit when the prescription permission information is received; A distribution function that distributes a therapeutic application in a state in which the functional unit is not enabled if the patient identification information received by the receiving function is not stored in the memory unit, and an activation program for the therapeutic application that realizes this.

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