Pharmacy search device, pharmacy search method, and pharmacy search program

Abstract

This invention provides a pharmacy search device, method, and program that reduce the input burden for searching for pharmacies. [Solution] In the communication system, the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server includes a user identification information acquisition unit that acquires user identification information for identifying the user of the terminal device, a dispensing information acquisition unit that acquires dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from a storage unit that stores dispensing information including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug is provided, a search unit that searches for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on inventory-related information stored in the inventory DB of the storage unit that stores inventory-related information related to the inventory of the drug in the pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug, and a selection screen information transmission unit that transmits search result information showing the search result to the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for searching for pharmacies.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a method for searching for a pharmacy that is a destination for a request for dispensing a prescribed drug has been known. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses searching for nearby pharmacies that are likely to have stock by inputting the name of the prescribed drug item and the prescribed quantity.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003] [[ID=​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Application Example 1 is a pharmacy search device characterized by comprising: user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information as the recipient of the drug, from dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on inventory-related information stored in inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device.

[0007] According to this application example, dispensing information is stored in a dispensing information storage means. Dispensing information is information about dispensing performed in the past. Dispensing information includes dispensing drug identification information. Dispensing drug identification information is information for identifying the drug dispensed in that past dispensing operation. Dispensing information is associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided. User identification information is also acquired. User identification information is information for identifying the user of the terminal device requesting a pharmacy search. Dispensing information associated with the user identified by the user identification information as a patient is also acquired. The dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information indicates the drug that was dispensed in the past and provided to the user of the terminal device. Furthermore, based on inventory-related information, pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information are searched for. Then, search result information showing the search result is transmitted to the terminal device. Since the search results present pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the same drug as the drug previously dispensed for the user, the user may not need to input information about the drug to search for a pharmacy that is a candidate for dispensing. Therefore, it can reduce the burden of inputting information when searching for pharmacies.

[0008] Application Example 2 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the dispensing information includes dispensing drug identification information for each of the one or more dispensed drugs, the dispensing information acquisition means acquires one or more dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means, and transmits selection screen information to the terminal device, which displays a selection screen that accepts the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired one or more dispensing information, and select drug identification information receiving means receives selected drug identification information from the terminal device for identifying the drug selected on the selection screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted selection screen information, and the search means searches for a pharmacy that satisfies the predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of drugs identified by the received select drug identification information among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information.

[0009] In this application example, one or more prescription records associated with the user as a patient are acquired from the terminal device. A selection screen is then displayed on the terminal device. The selection screen allows the user to select any drug from among those identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired prescription records. Then, a search is performed for pharmacies that meet the predetermined criteria regarding the inventory of the selected drug. Therefore, the user can search for a pharmacy by selecting a drug from among those they have received in the past that meets the predetermined criteria.

[0010] Application Example 3 is a pharmacy search device further comprising: an input screen information transmission means that transmits input screen information to a terminal device, which displays an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug; and an input drug information receiving means that receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, wherein the search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the stock of the drug of the received name, and the input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information to display the input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information has been pre-entered when a drug is selected on the selection screen.

[0011] In this application example, an input screen is displayed on the terminal device. The input screen accepts the input of the drug name. The system searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for stocking the drug identified by the name entered on the input screen. If a drug is selected on the selection screen, the name of the selected drug is pre-entered on the input screen. In this case, if the user does not change the drug name, the system searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for stocking the drug identified by the pre-entered name. Therefore, the user can search for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for stocking a drug by entering its name, and if the user searches for a pharmacy using a drug selected from drugs they have received in the past, they can omit the operation of entering the drug name.

[0012] Application Example 4 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug to be dispensed, the inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drug in stock, the input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information that displays an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug and the amount of the drug, when a drug is selected on the selection screen, transmits input screen information that displays an input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information and an amount corresponding to the dispensing quantity of the drug have been pre-entered, the input drug information receiving means receives the name of the drug and quantity information indicating the amount entered on the input screen, and the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug of the received name in an amount equal to or greater than the amount indicated by the received quantity information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug of the received name in an amount equal to or less than the amount indicated by the received quantity information.

[0013] According to this application example, dispensing information includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of medication dispensed. Inventory-related information indicates the amount of medication in stock. The input screen accepts input of the medication name as well as the quantity of that medication. The system searches for a first pharmacy and a second pharmacy that have stock of the medication identified by the entered name. The first pharmacy is a pharmacy that has stock equal to or greater than the entered quantity. The second pharmacy is a pharmacy that has stock less than the entered quantity. If a medication is selected on the selection screen, the name of the selected medication is pre-entered on the input screen. Furthermore, an amount equivalent to the amount dispensed when the selected medication was dispensed in the past is pre-entered on the input screen. In this case, if the user does not change the name and quantity of the medication, the system searches for a pharmacy that has stock of the medication identified by the pre-entered name. Specifically, at least one of the first pharmacy, which has stock equal to or greater than the pre-entered quantity, and the second pharmacy, which has stock less than the pre-entered quantity, is searched. Therefore, users can input the quantity of medication as a condition for the inventory level at the pharmacy they are searching for, and if they search for a pharmacy with the same quantity of medication they have previously received and selected, they can omit the input of the medication quantity.

[0014] Application Example 5 is a pharmacy search device further comprising: an input screen information transmission means that transmits input screen information to a terminal device, which displays an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug; and a drug information receiving means that receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, wherein the search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the stock of the drug of the received name, and the input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information to display the input screen in which the name of at least one drug has been pre-entered when the dispensing information is acquired by the dispensing information acquisition means.

[0015] In this application example, an input screen is displayed on the terminal device. The input screen accepts the input of the drug name. The system searches for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the name entered on the input screen. When dispensing information associated with the terminal device user is obtained, the name of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information contained in that dispensing information is pre-entered on the input screen. In this case, if the user does not change the drug name, the system searches for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the pre-entered name. Therefore, the user can search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of a drug by entering the drug name, and when the user searches for a pharmacy using a drug they have received in the past, they can omit the operation of entering the drug name.

[0016] Application Example 6 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug dispensed, the inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drug in stock, and the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug equal to or greater than the dispensing quantity information included in the acquired dispensing information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug less than the dispensing quantity information included in the acquired dispensing information.

[0017] According to this application example, the dispensing information includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of medication dispensed. Inventory-related information indicates the amount of medication in stock. At least one of the first and second pharmacies is searched for as a pharmacy that has stock of the medication identified by the dispensing medication identification information included in the dispensing information associated with the user of the terminal device. The first pharmacy is a pharmacy that has stock equal to or greater than the dispensing quantity information included in the dispensing information. The second pharmacy is a pharmacy that has stock less than the dispensing quantity information included in the dispensing information. Therefore, the user can omit entering the amount of medication to search for a pharmacy.

[0018] Application example 7 is that the search means searches the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy, and the search results information Transmission method The pharmacy search device is characterized by transmitting the search result information that allows for the distinction between the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy, based on the pharmacies found by the search means.

[0019] According to this aspect, both the first and second pharmacies are included in the search. The search results are then presented in a way that allows for distinction between the first and second pharmacies. Therefore, users can distinguish between pharmacies with inventory above a certain amount and those with inventory below a certain amount.

[0020] Application Example 8 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the dispensing information further includes dispensing time information indicating the dispensing time of the drug, the dispensing information acquisition means acquires one or more dispensing pieces of information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means, and the selection screen information transmission means displays at least one drug on the selection screen in order of the most recent dispensing time indicated by the dispensing time information included in the dispensing information, and transmits the selection screen information for accepting the selection of the displayed drug on the selection screen.

[0021] According to this application example, dispensing information includes dispensing date information. Dispensing date information indicates when the medication was dispensed. On the selection screen, medications previously dispensed for the terminal device user are displayed in order of most recent dispensing date and are available for selection. The more recent the dispensing date of a medication, the higher the probability that the medication will be prescribed to that user again. Therefore, the user can quickly select a medication that is likely to be prescribed this time.

[0022] Application Example 9 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the dispensing information further includes pharmacy identification information for identifying the pharmacy that dispensed the drug, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that allows the pharmacy to be identified by the pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information if there is a pharmacy among the pharmacies searched by the search means that is identified by the pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, thereby distinguishing the pharmacy searched by the search means from other pharmacies searched by the search means.

[0023] According to this application example, dispensing information includes pharmacy identification information. Pharmacy identification information indicates the pharmacy that dispensed the medication. If any of the searched pharmacies have previously dispensed medication for the terminal device user, those pharmacies are presented in a way that allows for distinction between them and other pharmacies. Pharmacies that have previously dispensed medication for the user are considered more likely to be selected by the user as a dispensing destination than other pharmacies. Therefore, the user can distinguish and recognize the pharmacies they are more likely to choose from other pharmacies.

[0024] Application Example 10 is such that the dispensing information further includes dispensing pharmacy identification information for identifying the dispensing pharmacy where the drug was dispensed, and further includes position information acquisition means for acquiring position information indicating the positions of the dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information and the pharmacies searched by the search means. When it is determined based on the acquired position information that there is a pharmacy within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy among the pharmacies searched by the search means, the search result information transmitting means transmits the search result information that can distinguish the pharmacies searched by the search means into pharmacies located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy and other pharmacies searched by the search means. A pharmacy search device characterized by this.

[0025] According to this application example, the dispensing information includes dispensing pharmacy identification information. The dispensing pharmacy identification information indicates the dispensing pharmacy where the dispensing was performed. Also, the position information of the dispensing pharmacy and the searched pharmacies is acquired. If there is a pharmacy within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy where the user had a prescription filled in the past among the searched pharmacies, those pharmacies are presented so that they can be distinguished from other pharmacies located within the predetermined distance. It is considered that pharmacies near the pharmacy where the user had a prescription filled in the past are more likely to be selected by the user as the destination for a prescription request than other pharmacies. Therefore, the user can distinguish and recognize pharmacies with a high probability of being selected from other pharmacies.

[0026] Application Example 11 is such that the dispensing information storage means stores, as the dispensing information, the drug information registered in the user's medicine diary in association with the user, and the dispensing information acquisition means acquires the drug information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information. A pharmacy search device characterized by this.

[0027] According to this application example, information regarding drugs for searching pharmacies can be acquired from the information in the medicine diary.

[0028] Application Example 12 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the inventory-related information includes inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs, and the search means searches for pharmacies that have at least one drug in stock.

[0029] According to this application example, a pharmacy that meets the specified conditions regarding drug inventory is considered to be a pharmacy that has that drug in stock. Therefore, it is possible to search for a pharmacy that has stock of the same drug that was previously dispensed for the user of the terminal device.

[0030] Application Example 13 is characterized in that the inventory-related information includes inventory change information indicating that there has been a change in the inventory of a drug, and the search means searches for a pharmacy where the inventory of at least one drug has changed.

[0031] According to this application example, a pharmacy that meets the specified conditions regarding drug inventory is a pharmacy whose drug inventory has fluctuated. A pharmacy whose inventory has fluctuated is considered to be a pharmacy that has handled that drug before. Such a pharmacy may still be able to dispense that drug. Therefore, it is possible to search for pharmacies that may be able to dispense the same drug as the drug previously dispensed for the terminal device user.

[0032] Application Example 14 is a pharmacy search device characterized in that the inventory-related information includes inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs and inventory change information indicating that there has been a change in the inventory of drugs, the search means searches for pharmacies that have stock of at least one drug based on the inventory status information and searches for pharmacies that have experienced a change in the inventory of at least one drug based on the inventory change information, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that allows for the distinction between pharmacies that have stock of the drug and pharmacies that are not found to have stock of the drug but have experienced a change in the drug.

[0033] According to this application example, pharmacies that meet the specified conditions regarding drug inventory include pharmacies that have the drug in stock and pharmacies that are not determined to have the drug in stock but have experienced changes in the drug's inventory. These pharmacies are presented in a way that allows them to be distinguished from each other. Therefore, users can recognize both pharmacies that have the drug in stock and pharmacies that may be able to dispense the drug.

[0034] Application Example 15 describes a computer-based pharmacy search method, The user identification information acquisition means provided by the computer, A user identification information acquisition step to obtain user identification information for identifying the user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search, The dispensing information acquisition means provided by the aforementioned computer, A dispensing information acquisition step involves acquiring dispensing information associated with the recipient of a drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided, and the user identified by the acquired user identification information is associated with the recipient of the drug. The search means provided by the aforementioned computer, A search step that searches for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on the inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information related to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy in association with the pharmacy and the drug, The search result information transmission means provided by the computer, The pharmacy search method is characterized by including a search result information transmission step, which transmits search result information indicating the results of the search performed in the search step to the terminal device.

[0035] Application Example 16 is a pharmacy search program characterized in that a computer functions as: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; a dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring dispensing information associated with the recipient of a drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; a search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and a search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0036] According to the present invention, the input burden for searching for pharmacies can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0037] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the general configuration of a communication system S according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] This block diagram shows an example of the outline configuration of a pharmacy reservation server 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the information stored in the database of pharmacy reservation server 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of an overview of the pharmacy search function. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example of screen transitions in a pharmacy reservation app. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a functional block of the system control unit 11 in a pharmacy reservation server 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] This diagram shows an example of a screen for selecting a pharmacy search method. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the information stored in the medication record database. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a drug selection screen. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the drug selection screen after selecting a drug. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of a drug name input screen. [Figure 12] This figure shows another example of a drug name input screen. [Figure 13] (a) shows an example of information stored in the inventory database. (b) is a diagram showing an example of pharmacy classification. [Figure 14] This is a diagram showing an example of a search results map screen. [Figure 15] This figure shows another example of the search results map screen. [Figure 16] This figure shows an example of a search results list screen. [Figure 17] This flowchart shows an example of the drug selection screen information transmission process executed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Figure 18] This flowchart shows an example of the drug name input screen information transmission process executed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Figure 19] This flowchart shows an example of a pharmacy search process performed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Figure 20] (a) is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the medication record database. (b) is a diagram showing an example of the medication selection screen. [Figure 21] (a) and (b) are diagrams showing examples of the search pharmacy information display area included in the search results map screen. [Figure 22] This flowchart shows an example of a pharmacy search process performed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Figure 23] This figure shows an example of a functional block of the system control unit 11 in a pharmacy reservation server 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 24]This figure shows an example of the display area for search pharmacy information included in the search results map screen. [Figure 25] This flowchart shows an example of a pharmacy search process performed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Figure 26] This block diagram shows an example of the outline configuration of a pharmacy reservation server 1 according to one embodiment. [Figure 27] This figure shows an example of the information stored in the incoming database DB14f. [Figure 28] This figure shows an example of a drug name input screen. [Figure 29] This figure shows an example of the information stored in the medication record database. [Figure 30] This figure shows an example of the information stored in the incoming goods database. [Figure 31] This diagram shows examples of pharmacy classifications. [Figure 32] (a) and (b) are diagrams showing examples of the search pharmacy information display area that appears on the search results map screen. [Figure 33] This flowchart shows an example of a pharmacy search process performed by the system control unit of the pharmacy reservation server. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0038] [1. First Embodiment] [1-1. Communication System Configuration] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration and functional overview of the communication system S according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overview configuration of the communication system S according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system S is composed of a pharmacy reservation server 1, one or more inventory systems 2, multiple pharmacy terminals 3, and multiple user terminals 4. These devices are connected to a network NW. The network NW is constructed by, for example, the Internet, a dedicated communication line (for example, a CATV (Community Antenna Television) line), a mobile communication network (including base stations, etc.), and a gateway, etc.

[0039] Pharmacy reservation server 1 may be, for example, a server device that performs processing related to the pharmacy reservation service, or a system composed of multiple server devices. The pharmacy reservation service may be a service for users to reserve a pharmacy to pick up their medication. For example, it may be possible for users to reserve a pharmacy to pick up their medication. Alternatively, it may be possible for users to reserve a pharmacy to deliver medication to their address. Furthermore, pharmacy reservation server 1 may be a server device that searches for pharmacies. For example, a user needs to have medication prescribed at a medical institution such as a hospital dispensed at a pharmacy. Pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for pharmacies that are candidates for dispensing or reservation. Pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for pharmacies that meet specified search conditions. Examples of search conditions include the medication to be dispensed, the quantity of the medication, and the region where the pharmacy is located. Pharmacy reservation server 1 may maintain inventory information for multiple pharmacies. Inventory information is information about the inventory of medications at a pharmacy. The medication inventory may be medications stored at the pharmacy's store or medications stored in the pharmacy's warehouse. Pharmacy reservation server 1 may, for example, obtain and store inventory information from inventory system 2. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for a pharmacy that has the specified drug in stock based on inventory information. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may provide the results of the pharmacy search to the user terminal 4. Furthermore, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may store dispensing information. Dispensing information may be information about past dispensing at a pharmacy. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may store dispensing information for multiple users and multiple pharmacies. Dispensing information may be stored, for example, on a dispensing basis, on a dispensing request basis, or on a prescription basis. This dispensing information may be, for example, drug information registered in an electronic medication record book. The medication record book may be a notebook that records information about the medications used by the user of the medication record book. In particular, the medication record book may record information about medications dispensed at a pharmacy. The functions of the electronic medication record book may be realized by processing by the pharmacy reservation server 1 and an application installed on the user terminal 4. In response to a request from the user terminal 4, the pharmacy reservation server 1 sends information to the user terminal 4.For example, the pharmacy reservation server 1 transmits screen information. The screen information may be information that causes a specific screen to be displayed on the user terminal 4. The screen information may be, for example, an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document. In this case, the screen can be rephrased as a web page or page. Alternatively, the screen information may be information about the content or each element displayed on the user terminal 4. Alternatively, the screen information may be information that instructs the user terminal 4 to display a specific screen. The user terminal 4 may, in accordance with this instruction, obtain and display each piece of information to be displayed on the screen from the pharmacy reservation server 1 or another server device. By transmitting screen information, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may cause the user terminal 4 to display pharmacy search results or information registered in the medication record book.

[0040] Each of the one or more inventory systems 2 is a system that manages drug inventory information in a pharmacy. These inventory systems 2 are linked to the pharmacy reservation server 1. Each inventory system 2 may, for example, manage the drug inventory status in one or more pharmacies that use the inventory system 2. For example, inventory system 2 may store inventory information for each combination of pharmacy and drug. The inventory information may include the quantity of drug in stock. Inventory system 2 may update the quantity of drug in stock in real time. For example, a pharmacy receives a shipment of drugs. Then, an employee of the pharmacy enters the shipment information into the pharmacy terminal 3. The shipment information may include, for example, information to identify the pharmacy, information to identify the received drug, and the quantity received. The pharmacy terminal 3 sends the shipment information to inventory system 2. Based on the shipment information, inventory system 2 increases the quantity of the received drug in stock. Also, for example, when dispensing a drug, a drug employee enters the dispensing information into the pharmacy terminal 3. The employee then hands over the dispensed drug to the patient. At this time, the pharmacy employee enters the sales information. Sales information may include, for example, information to identify the pharmacy, information to identify the sold medication, and the sales volume. The pharmacy terminal 3 transmits dispensing information or sales information to the inventory system 2. The inventory system 2 reduces the inventory quantity of the sold medication based on the dispensing information or sales information. The inventory system 2 may transmit the inventory information to the pharmacy reservation server 1 in real time each time the inventory information is updated. Alternatively, the inventory system 2 may transmit the updated inventory information to the pharmacy reservation server 1 in batches at predetermined intervals. Examples of inventory information transmission intervals include 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc. It should be noted that there may be pharmacies among those searchable by the pharmacy reservation server 1 that do not use any of the inventory systems 2. Such pharmacies may be using an inventory system not shown that is not linked to the pharmacy reservation server 1.

[0041] Each pharmacy terminal 3 is a terminal device used by pharmacy employees. Examples of pharmacy terminals 3 include personal computers, tablet computers, and POS (Point of Sale) registers. Pharmacy terminals 3 may be used for purposes such as entering incoming inventory information, dispensing information, sales information, prescription information, and printing medication information.

[0042] Each user terminal 4 is a portable terminal device used by users of the pharmacy reservation service provided by the pharmacy reservation server 1. Examples of user terminals 4 include mobile phones such as smartphones, tablet computers, wearable computers, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Each user terminal 4 may be equipped with an imaging unit. The user terminal 4 may be capable of capturing still images and videos using the imaging unit. Furthermore, the user terminal 4 may be capable of reading information encoded in a code by capturing the code with the imaging unit. Examples of codes include two-dimensional codes and barcodes. In addition, each user terminal 4 may have a function to acquire its own location information. Location information is information indicating the current location of the user terminal 4. For example, location information may be acquired using a satellite positioning system. Alternatively, the user terminal 4 may acquire location information using wireless LAN (Local Area Network), short-range wireless notification, or communication with a base station. Furthermore, each user terminal 4 may store a pharmacy reservation application. The pharmacy reservation application is an application for users to use the pharmacy reservation service. User terminal 4 communicates with pharmacy reservation server 1 according to the control of the pharmacy reservation application. As a result, user terminal 4 receives information such as screen information sent from pharmacy reservation server 1. Based on the received information, user terminal 4 displays information on the screen. For example, user terminal 4 may also have a web browser installed. The user may also be able to use the pharmacy reservation service via the web browser.

[0043] [1-2. Configuration of the pharmacy reservation server] Next, the configuration of the pharmacy reservation server 1 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the pharmacy reservation server 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the pharmacy reservation server 1 includes a system control unit 11, a system bus 12, an input / output interface 13, a storage unit 14, and a communication unit 15. The system control unit 11 and the input / output interface 13 are connected via the system bus 12.

[0044] The system control unit 11 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11c, and the like.

[0045] The input / output interface 13 performs interface processing between the storage unit 14 and the communication unit 15 and the system control unit 11.

[0046] The storage unit 14 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive. Databases such as a user DB 14a, a pharmacy DB 14b, a medication record DB 14c, an inventory DB 14d, and a reservation DB 14e may be stored in this storage unit 14. "DB" is an abbreviation for database. At least one of the databases described as being stored in the storage unit 14 may be stored on a server device different from the pharmacy reservation server 1. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may be able to access the databases through its server device.

[0047] Figure 3 shows an example of information stored in the database of the pharmacy reservation server 1. User DB 14a may store user information for each user who can use the pharmacy reservation service. For example, user DB 14a may store user information such as user ID, name, gender, date of birth, address, telephone number, and email address, all associated with each other. The user ID is identification information used to identify a user.

[0048] Pharmacy DB14b may store pharmacy information for each pharmacy that can be searched using the pharmacy reservation service. For example, as shown in Figure 3, pharmacy DB14b may store pharmacy information such as pharmacy ID, medical institution code, pharmacy name, address, telephone number, fax number, and business information, all of which are associated with each other. The pharmacy ID is identification information for identifying a pharmacy and is assigned by the pharmacy reservation server 1. The medical institution code is identification information for identifying a pharmacy and is assigned by a public institution. The pharmacy name indicates the name of the pharmacy. The business information indicates the days of the week the pharmacy is open and the business hours for each day.

[0049] Medication information may be stored in the Medication Record DB14c. As mentioned above, medication information is an example of dispensing information. The Medication Record DB14c stores dispensing information that is related to past dispensings and is registered in the medication record. The Medication Record DB14c may store medication information in association with the patient to whom the dispensed medication was provided. The Medication Record DB14c may also store medication information in association with the dispensed medication and the dispensing pharmacy. Furthermore, the Medication Record DB14c may store medication information on a prescription basis or on a dispensing basis. Medication information may include dispensing drug identification information. Dispensing drug identification information is identification information for identifying the dispensed medication. Examples of dispensing drug identification information include drug name, drug code, and drug ID as identification information uniquely assigned by the pharmacy reservation system. Examples of drug codes include the claims processing code, YJ code, and drug price standard listed drug code. Medication information may also include dispensing pharmacy identification information. Pharmacy identification information is identification information used to identify the pharmacy that dispensed the medication. Examples of pharmacy identification information include the pharmacy name, pharmacy ID, and medical institution code. Medication information may include the individual medication identification information for one or more dispensed medications. For example, as shown in Figure 3, the medication record DB14c may store medication information such as medication information ID, user ID, patient name, pharmacy name, dispensing date, and one or more dispensing medication information entries, all associated with each other. Medication information ID is identification information used to identify medication information. User ID indicates the user who registered the medication information in the medication record. Patient name indicates the name of the patient to whom the dispensed medication was provided. Typically, the patient to whom the dispensed medication was provided matches the user identified by the user ID. Pharmacy name indicates the name of the pharmacy that dispensed the medication. Dispensing date indicates the date on which the medication was dispensed. Each dispensing medication information entry is information about the dispensed medication. Dispensing information may include the drug name, prescription duration, usage instructions, and dosage information. The drug name indicates the name of the dispensed drug. The drug name may be either the brand name or the generic name. The prescription duration indicates how many days' worth of medication was dispensed. Usage instructions may indicate how to take the medication. Usage instructions may include, for example, information on the timing of administration and the number of doses.The timing of administration information indicates when to take the medication. For example, this could be "after each meal" or "before breakfast." The number of doses indicates how many times the medication is taken per day. The dosage information indicates the amount of medication to be taken. The dosage information may include at least one of the single dose and the daily dose. The single dose indicates the quantity of medication taken per dose. The daily dose indicates the quantity of medication taken per day. The daily dose can be calculated by multiplying the single dose by the number of doses. For convenience, the term "administered medication" is used, but medication information can also be provided for medications that are not taken orally. There are also medications whose usage cannot be expressed in terms of units. Examples of such medications include topical medications and eye drops. For these types of medications, the dispensing information may include the dispensing amount. The dispensing amount indicates the total amount of medication dispensed. For medications that are taken orally, the dispensing amount can be calculated by multiplying the daily dose by the number of days prescribed.

[0050] When a user receives medication at a pharmacy, they receive a piece of paper with medication information printed on it. This paper has a code printed on it that indicates the medication information. The user scans this code with user terminal 4. User terminal 4 decodes the scanned code and restores the medication information. User terminal 4 sends the restored medication information to pharmacy reservation server 1. Alternatively, pharmacy reservation server 1 may restore the medication information from the scanned code. Pharmacy reservation server 1 may add the user ID of the user terminal 4 that sent the medication information, as well as the medication information ID, to the restored medication information. Then, pharmacy reservation server 1 stores the medication information in medication record DB 14c.

[0051] Inventory DB14d may store inventory information for each combination of pharmacy and drug. Inventory information is information about the drug inventory at a pharmacy. Inventory information may also include inventory status information. Inventory status information indicates the status of drug inventory. For example, inventory status information may indicate whether a drug is present or not, or it may indicate the quantity of the drug in stock. Also, for a pharmacy where the inventory status of a certain drug is unknown, the inventory status information may indicate that the inventory status is unknown. Alternatively, inventory information for cases where the inventory status is unknown does not have to be stored in inventory DB14d. The inventory status of drugs at pharmacies that do not use any of the inventory systems 2 is usually unknown. Inventory DB14d may store inventory information such as pharmacy ID, drug name, and inventory quantity, associated with each other, as shown in Figure 3, for example. The inventory quantity indicates the amount of the drug identified by the drug name held by the pharmacy identified by the pharmacy ID. The inventory quantity is an example of inventory status information. The inventory quantity may be updated in real time. For example, one of the inventory systems 2 sends updated inventory information to the pharmacy reservation server 1. This inventory information may include, for example, at least one of the medical institution code and the pharmacy name, the drug name, and the updated inventory quantity. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may convert the medical institution code or pharmacy name included in the received inventory information into a pharmacy ID based on the pharmacy DB 14b. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may search the inventory DB 14d for inventory information that includes the same combination as the combination of the pharmacy ID and the drug name included in the received inventory information. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may update the inventory quantity included in the retrieved inventory information with the inventory quantity included in the received inventory information.

[0052] The reservation DB14e may store reservation information for each pharmacy reservation. For example, as shown in Figure 3, the reservation DB14e may include reservation information such as reservation number, user ID, pharmacy ID, pickup date and time, and prescription information. The reservation number is a number used to identify the reservation. The user ID indicates the user who made the reservation. The pharmacy ID indicates the pharmacy to which the reservation was made. The pickup date and time indicates the date and time reserved for receiving the medication. The prescription information is information about the prescription used to dispense the medication. For example, the prescription information may include image data obtained by scanning a paper prescription and information read from that image data by character recognition. Alternatively, the prescription information may be an electronic prescription.

[0053] The storage unit 14 further stores various programs, including an operating system, a DBMS (Database Management System), and a server program. The server program is a program that causes the system control unit 11 to execute processing related to the pharmacy reservation service. The server program may be acquired from another device via a network NW, or it may be recorded on a recording medium such as magnetic tape, optical disk, or memory card and read via a drive device.

[0054] The communication unit 15 is composed of, for example, a network interface card. The communication unit 15 connects to other devices via a network NW and controls the communication status with the connected devices.

[0055] [1-3. Overview of System Control Unit Functions] Next, with reference to Figures 4 to 16, the functional overview of the system control unit 11 in the pharmacy reservation server 1 will be described. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the pharmacy search function. The pharmacy reservation server 1 searches for candidate pharmacies to which a user can request dispensing based on the medication record stored in the medication record DB 14c. For example, as shown in Figure 4, user 5 tries to search for a pharmacy. User 5's name is "XX Taro". The medication record DB 14c stores medication information that includes user 5's name as the patient name. As shown in Figure 4, the medication information indicates that xxxxx tablets were dispensed. In other words, user 5 has had xxxxx tablets dispensed at a pharmacy in the past. Also, user 5 registered the medication information related to that dispensing in user 5's medication record. The pharmacy reservation server 1 searches the inventory DB 14d using information to identify the xxxxx tablets shown in user 5's medication information, for example, the drug name. This allows the pharmacy reservation server 1 to identify the inventory status of each pharmacy. For example, as shown in Figure 4, Pharmacy AAA has xxxxx tablets in stock. BBB Pharmacy does not have xxxxx tablets in stock. CCC Pharmacy has xxxxx tablets in stock. DDD Pharmacy does not have xxxxx tablets in stock. Pharmacy reservation server 1 searches for pharmacies that have the tablets in stock and displays the search results screen 10 on user terminal 4 of user 5. Search results screen 10 is a screen that shows the search results for pharmacies. Search results screen 10 displays AAA Pharmacy and CCC Pharmacy, which have xxxxx tablets in stock.

[0056] As a user, you want to find a pharmacy that has the prescribed medication in stock in order to pick it up. This requires you to enter information about the medication, such as its name. Entering this information can be a burden for users. Medications that a user has previously received prescriptions for are more likely to be prescribed again than medications they haven't. For example, if a user regularly visits a medical institution, they are likely to be prescribed the same medication each time. Even if a user doesn't regularly visit a medical institution, they may visit again for symptoms similar to past symptoms. In this case, too, they are likely to be prescribed the same medication as before. According to the functionality of pharmacy reservation server 1 shown in Figure 3, if a user has previously received the same medication as the one prescribed this time, and that medication information is registered in their medication record, the user does not need to enter information about the medication. This reduces the input burden for searching for a pharmacy.

[0057] Figure 5 shows an example of screen transitions in a pharmacy reservation app. Each screen shown in Figure 5 may be a screen displayed by the user terminal 4 based on screen information transmitted from the pharmacy reservation server 1. When a user launches the pharmacy reservation app, the home screen is displayed as shown in Figure 5 (step S1). The home screen may include operable elements for selecting various functions. When the user selects "Medication Record" on the home screen, the medication record screen is displayed (step S2). The medication record screen displays the medication information registered in the medication record. When the user selects "Register in Medication Record" on the medication record screen, the code reading screen is displayed (step S3). The code reading screen is for scanning the code printed on the medication information paper. When the medication information is restored from the scanned code and registered in the medication record, the medication record screen is displayed. The restored medication information may be displayed on the medication record screen at this time.

[0058] When the user selects "Search for pharmacy" on the home screen, the pharmacy search method selection screen is displayed (Step S4). The pharmacy search method selection screen is a screen that accepts the user's input to select a pharmacy search method. When the user selects "Search by drug name" on the pharmacy search method selection screen, the drug name input screen is displayed (Step S5). The drug name input screen is a screen that accepts the user's input of the name of the drug they wish to have dispensed as one of the search conditions. The user enters the drug name on the drug name input screen. On the other hand, when the user selects "Search from medication record" on the pharmacy search method selection screen, the drug selection screen is displayed (Step S6). The drug selection screen is a screen that accepts the user's selection of a drug they wish to have dispensed from among the drugs registered in the user's medication record as drugs that have been dispensed in the past. When the user selects a drug on the drug selection screen, the drug name input screen is displayed (Step S5). At this time, the drug selection screen has the name of the drug selected by the user pre-filled. Therefore, the user does not need to enter the drug name. When the user selects "Search" on the drug name input screen, the search results screen 10 is displayed (Step S7). This search results screen 10 displays pharmacies that have the drug name entered on the drug name input screen in stock. When the user selects a pharmacy on the search results screen 10, a reservation acceptance screen is displayed (step S8). The reservation acceptance screen is a screen for accepting reservations for the selected pharmacy. The reservation acceptance screen may consist of multiple screens that are displayed sequentially. On the reservation acceptance screen, the user enters information about the prescription, the date and time of drug pickup, payment method, etc. Then, based on the user's actions, the pharmacy reservation is confirmed.

[0059] Figure 6 shows an example of a functional block of the system control unit 11 in the pharmacy reservation server 1 according to this embodiment. The system control unit 11 may function as a user identification information acquisition unit 1101, a dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, a selection screen information transmission unit 1103, a selected drug identification information receiving unit 1104, an input screen information transmission unit 1105, a dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106, a search unit 1107, a search result information transmission unit 1108, and a reservation unit 1109, as shown in Figure 6, by the CPU 11a reading and executing various program codes included in the server program.

[0060] The user identification information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire user identification information to identify the user requesting a pharmacy search. Examples of user identification information include a user ID and a name. For example, the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire user identification information from the user terminal 4 of the user requesting a pharmacy search. For example, each request sent from the user terminal 4 to the pharmacy reservation server 1 may include a user ID.

[0061] The dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may acquire medication information from the medication record DB 14c for patients to whom medication is provided, where the user identified by the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 is associated. The medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may include at least dispensing drug identification information. Assume that the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 is a user ID. In this case, the medication information acquisition unit may acquire medication information including that user ID. Assume that the acquired user identification information is a name. In this case, the medication information acquisition unit may acquire medication information including a patient name that matches that name. The medication information acquisition unit may acquire one or more pieces of medication information. For example, if medication information including user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 is stored in the medication record DB 14c, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may acquire that medication information.

[0062] For example, as shown in Figure 5, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may acquire dispensing information after the search from the medication record book is selected on the pharmacy search method selection screen (step S4). For example, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may acquire dispensing information before the pharmacy search method selection screen (step S6) is displayed. If another search method is selected on the medication selection screen, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 does not need to acquire dispensing information.

[0063] In another embodiment, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may acquire dispensing information from a dispensing history DB (not shown). The dispensing history DB may be a database that stores information showing the dispensing history of one or more pharmacies. The dispensing history DB may store dispensing information of a pharmacy as information showing the dispensing history of that pharmacy. For example, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may store the dispensing history DB, or another server device may store the dispensing history DB. The dispensing information as medication information stored in the medication record DB 14c is dispensing information that is registered in the medication record based on the patient's wishes. On the other hand, the dispensing information stored in the dispensing history DB may be dispensing information that is registered by the pharmacy regardless of the patient's wishes. For example, there may be one or more dispensing history management systems (not shown) that manage dispensing history. The dispensing history management system may be, for example, a claims processing system, an inventory system 2, or another system. Pharmacy employees using the dispensing history management system may input dispensing information into the pharmacy terminal 3 to create a medical fee statement including dispensing information. Pharmacy terminal 3 may transmit the entered dispensing information or medical fee statement information to the dispensing history management system. The dispensing history management system may store the received information. The dispensing history management system may transmit the dispensing information received from pharmacy terminal 3 in real time or periodically to a server device equipped with a dispensing history database. This server device may store the dispensing information in the dispensing history database.

[0064] The selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may transmit drug selection screen information to the terminal device. The drug selection screen information is screen information that displays a drug selection screen that accepts the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in one or more drug information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. The drug selection screen may include at least information indicating the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the drug information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. The drug selection screen may also include operable elements that can be operated to select each of these drugs. For example, the selection screen information may be configured so that the drug name and the operable elements for selecting the drug identified by that drug name are associated and displayed on the drug selection screen.

[0065] The selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may transmit selection screen information that displays drugs identified by dispensing drug identification information included in one or more drug information records acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 on the drug selection screen in an order according to predetermined conditions. In this case, the selection screen information may also be information for accepting the selection of drugs displayed on the drug selection screen. For example, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may transmit selection screen information that displays drugs identified by dispensing drug identification information included in one or more drug information records on the drug selection screen in order of the newest dispensing date included in that drug information. In this case, the selection screen information may also be information for accepting the selection of drugs displayed on the drug selection screen on the drug selection screen. If a user has received medication from a pharmacy multiple times in the past, drugs that have been prescribed or dispensed more recently are more likely to be prescribed again. By displaying drugs in order of the newest dispensing date and allowing selection, the user can quickly select a drug. The selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may transmit drug selection screen information that displays one or more dispensed drugs together on the drug selection screen, based on drug information units, prescription units, dispensing units, or dispensing request units. Alternatively, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may enable drug selection on a drug-by-drug basis. Or, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may enable drug selection based on drug information units, prescription units, dispensing units, or dispensing request units. For example, by selecting any drug information on the drug selection screen, one or more drugs indicated by that drug information may be selected.

[0066] The selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may transmit drug selection screen information that includes drug identification information for identifying dispensed drugs. Examples of drug identification information include drug name, drug code, and drug ID. The selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may also transmit drug selection screen information for the user terminal 4 to send to the pharmacy reservation server 1 as selected drug identification information, for identifying the drug selected on the drug selection screen from among the dispensed drugs.

[0067] Figure 7 shows an example of a pharmacy search method selection screen. As shown in Figure 7, the pharmacy search method selection screen 100 may include a pharmacy name input field 110, a location search selection area 120, a prefecture search selection area 130, a drug name search selection area 140, and a medication record search selection area 150, etc. The pharmacy name input field 110 is an area that accepts the input of a pharmacy name as a search condition. The location search 110 is an area that can be operated to search for a pharmacy close to the current location of the user terminal 4. The prefecture search selection area 130 is an area that can be operated to search for a pharmacy in a prefecture and city / ward / town / village specified by the user. The drug name search selection area 140 is an area that can be operated to search for a pharmacy by drug name. The medication record search selection area 150 is an area that can be operated to search for a pharmacy using a drug selected from the medication record. Let's assume that the user has selected the medication record search selection area 150 on the pharmacy search method selection screen 100. In this case, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may display the drug selection screen on the user terminal 4.

[0068] Figure 8 shows an example of information stored in the medication record DB14c. As shown in Figure 8, the medication record DB14c stores medication information indicating that medication was dispensed for user 5, whose name is "XX Taro," on December 2nd and December 31st, 2024. On December 2nd, ddddd granules were dispensed. On December 31st, aaaaa tablets 200mg, bbbbb 2mg, and ccccc tablets 15mg were dispensed.

[0069] Figure 9 shows an example of a medication selection screen. The medication selection screen 200 shown in Figure 9 is an example of a screen displayed on user terminal 4 of user 5, based on the medication information shown in Figure 8. As shown in Figure 9, the medication selection screen 200 may include a patient name 210, a sort method selection button group 220, a medication information list display area 230, and a confirmation button 240. The patient name 210 indicates the user of the medication record displayed on the medication selection screen 200. The sort method selection button group 220 includes one or more operable buttons for selecting the sort method for medications or medication information displayed in the medication information list display area 230. For example, it may be possible to select sorting by newest dispensing date, sorting by oldest dispensing date, sorting by type of medication, etc. The default sort method may be sorting by newest dispensing date. The medication information list display area 230 displays the medication information registered in the medication record. For example, the medication information list display area 230 may include one or more medication information display areas 300. Each medication information display area 300 may display medication information. For example, the medication information display area 300 may include a basic information display area 310 and one or more dispensed medication information display areas 320. The basic information display area 310 may display the dispensing date 311 and the pharmacy name 312. Each dispensed medication information display area 320 displays information about the dispensed medication. The dispensed medication information display area 320 may display the medication name 321, medication image 322, administration timing 323, and selection checkbox 324. The medication name 321 indicates the name and effect of the dispensed medication. The medication image 322 is an image of the medication. The administration timing 323 indicates the timing of administration for the medication. The selection checkbox 324 is an operable element for selecting the medication. In Figure 9, the medication information display area 300 consists of medication information display areas 300-1 and 300-2, which are displayed side by side from top to bottom. Medication information display area 300-1 displays information regarding dispensing on December 31st. Specifically, it displays dispensing medication information display areas 320 corresponding to aaaaa tablets 200mg, bbbbb 2mg, and ccccc tablets 15mg. Medication information display area 300-2 displays information regarding dispensing on December 2nd.Specifically, the dispensing drug information display area 320 corresponding to ddddd granules is displayed. The confirmation button 240 is an operable element used to confirm the selection of the drug. Note that operable elements are not limited to checkboxes and buttons.

[0070] Figure 10 shows an example of the drug selection screen 200 after drug selection. On the drug selection screen 200, the user can select one or more drugs by operating the selection checkboxes 324. For example, the drug selection screen 200 shown in Figure 10 shows that aaaaa tablets 200 and ccccc tablets 15mg, dispensed on December 31, have been selected. It may also be possible to select multiple drugs with different dispensing dates.

[0071] The selected drug identification information receiving unit 1104 may receive selected drug identification information from the user terminal 4 to identify the drug selected on the drug selection screen 200 displayed on the user terminal 4, based on the drug selection screen information transmitted by the selection screen information transmitting unit 1103. For example, the user operates the confirmation button 240 on the drug selection screen 200. In response to this operation, the user terminal 4 may transmit the selected drug identification information to the pharmacy reservation server 1 according to the drug selection screen information.

[0072] The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may transmit drug name input screen information to the user terminal 4. Drug name input screen information is screen information that displays the drug name input screen. The drug name input screen is a screen that accepts input of the name of the drug to be dispensed. In addition, the drug name input screen may also accept input of the quantity of the drug identified by that drug name. This quantity is called the specified quantity. The specified quantity indicates the quantity of the drug to be dispensed.

[0073] The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may transmit drug name input screen information to display a drug name input screen without a pre-filled drug name if dispensing information is not acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. In this case, the user must enter the drug name from scratch on the drug name input screen. For example, on the search method selection screen shown in Figure 7, the user selects to search for a pharmacy by drug name by operating the drug name search selection area 140. In this case, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 does not acquire dispensing information. Therefore, if searching by drug name is selected, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may display a drug name input screen without a pre-filled drug name. The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may also transmit drug name input screen information to display a drug name input screen without a pre-filled drug name if no drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200. If searching by drug name is selected on the search method selection screen, the drug selection screen 200 is not displayed, and therefore no drug is selected. In this case, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may display a drug name input screen in which no drug name has been entered.

[0074] Figure 11 shows an example of a drug name input screen. As shown in Figure 11, the drug name input screen 400 may include a patient name 410, a drug information input area 420, an add button 430, and a search button 440. The drug information input area 420 is an area that accepts input of information about the drug related to the dispensing request. The drug information input area 420 is displayed in an empty state. The drug information input area 420 may include a drug name input field 421, a daily dose selection menu 422, and a prescription duration selection menu 423. The drug name input field 421 is an area that accepts input of the drug name of the drug related to the dispensing request. The daily dose selection menu 422 is an element that accepts the selection of the daily dose of that drug. The prescription duration selection menu 423 is an element that accepts the selection of the prescription duration of that drug. By selecting the daily dose and prescription duration, the specified amount is selected. That is, the specified amount is calculated by multiplying the daily dose by the prescription duration. The search button 440 is an operable element used to add a drug information input area 420 to the drug name input screen 400. This allows the user to specify multiple drugs. The search button 440 is an operable element used to request a pharmacy search using the information entered in one or more drug information input areas 420.

[0075] The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may, when dispensing information is acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, transmit drug name input screen information to display a drug name input screen 400 in which the name of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information has been pre-entered. On the search method selection screen, the user selects to search from the medication record book. In this case, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 acquires dispensing information. When searching from the medication record book is selected, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may display a drug name input screen 400 in which the drug name has been pre-entered. Here, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may, when a drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200, transmit drug name input screen information to display a drug name input screen 400 in which the drug name has been pre-entered. The drug selected on the drug selection screen 200 is one of one or more drugs indicated by the dispensing drug identification information included in one or more dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. Therefore, in this case as well, the name of the drug identified by the drug identification information included in the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 is pre-entered.

[0076] The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may, when a drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200, transmit drug name input screen information that displays a drug name input screen 400 in which the name of the selected drug and a specified amount equivalent to the amount of that drug dispensed are pre-entered, based on the selected drug identification information received by the selected drug identification information reception unit 1104. For example, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may generate drug name input screen information based on the dispensing information of the drug indicated by the selected drug identification information, from the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. The input screen information transmission unit 1105 may also acquire the amount dispensed from the dispensing information of the drug indicated by the selected drug identification information and use this amount as the specified amount.

[0077] Figure 12 shows another example of the drug name input screen 400. In Figure 12, elements identical to those in Figure 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals. For example, as shown in Figure 10, suppose the user selects aaaaa tablets 200 and ccccc tablets 15mg on the drug selection screen 200. Then the user operates the confirm button 240. In response to this operation, the drug name input screen 400 shown in Figure 12 may be displayed. As shown in Figure 12, the drug name input screen 400 may include a patient name 410, drug information input areas 420-1 and 420-2, an add button 430, and a search button 440. Drug information input areas 420-1 and 420-2 each correspond to drug information input area 420. The drug name input field 421 of drug information input area 420-1 is pre-filled with "aaaaa tablets 200". The daily dose selection menu 422 and prescription duration selection menu 423 in drug information input area 420-1 each indicate that 3 tablets as the daily dose and 7 days as the prescription duration are pre-selected. The drug name input field 421 in drug information input area 420-2 is pre-entered with "ccccc tablets 15m". The daily dose selection menu 422 and prescription duration selection menu 423 in drug information input area 420-2 each indicate that 2 tablets as the daily dose and 7 days as the prescription duration are pre-selected. The user can change the desired information from the drug name and specified dose by operating at least one of drug information input areas 420-1 and 420-2. The desired information from the daily dose and prescription duration can be changed as the specified dose. The user can also delete drug information input area 420-2 and add a new drug information input area 420. However, the user has already selected the drug on the pharmacy selection screen. Therefore, it is unlikely that a user would change the name of a medication they request to be dispensed or delete the medication altogether.

[0078] Furthermore, even if the search method selection screen shows "Search from medication record," the system control unit 11 may be configured so that the medication selection screen 200 is not displayed, and instead the medication name input screen 400 is displayed. In this case, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may cause the user terminal 4 to display the medication name input screen 400, which has the names of one or more medications identified by the medication identification information included in one or more dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, pre-entered.

[0079] The dispensing drug information acquisition unit 1106 may acquire dispensing drug identification information to identify the drug to be dispensed when the user terminal 4 requests a search for a pharmacy that is a candidate for dispensing. The dispensing drug identification information may correspond to at least one of the search conditions for searching for a pharmacy. Examples of dispensing drug identification information include the drug name, drug code, and drug ID. The dispensing drug information acquisition unit 1106 may also acquire quantity information indicating the amount of the drug to be dispensed. This quantity information may also correspond to one of the search conditions for searching for a pharmacy. For example, the dispensing drug information acquisition unit 1106 may receive from the user terminal 4 the drug name entered in the drug name input screen 400 displayed on the user terminal 4 based on the drug name input screen information transmitted by the input screen information transmission unit 1105, as dispensing drug identification information. The dispensing drug information acquisition unit 1106 may also receive specified quantity information indicating the specified amount entered in the drug name input screen 400.

[0080] In another embodiment, if the search method selection screen selects "search from medication record," the system control unit 11 may be configured to perform a pharmacy search and display the search results screen 10 without displaying either or both of the medication selection screen 200 and the medication name input screen 400. For example, suppose neither the medication selection screen 200 nor the medication name input screen 400 is displayed. In this case, the dispensing target medication information acquisition unit 1106 may, as a dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, acquire medication information associated with the user identified by the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 from the medication record DB 14c. The dispensing target medication information acquisition unit 1106 may acquire the dispensing drug identification information included in this medication information as dispensing target identification information. The dispensing target medication information acquisition unit 1106 may also acquire the dispensing quantity information included in the medication information. Suppose the medication selection screen 200 is displayed, and the medication name input screen 400 is not displayed. In this case, the dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106 may, as the selected drug identification information receiving unit 1104, receive selected drug identification information from the user terminal 4 as dispensing target drug identification information to identify the drug selected on the drug selection screen 200. Assume that the drug selection screen 200 is not displayed, the drug name input screen 400 is displayed, and the drug name is not changed on the drug name input screen 400. In this case, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may transmit screen information to the user terminal 4 to display a drug input screen in which the drug name of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 is pre-entered. Alternatively, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 may display a drug input screen in which the dispensing amount included in the acquired dispensing information is pre-entered as a specified amount. In this case as well, the search unit 1107 acquires the entered drug name and specified amount from the user terminal 4. If the drug name and specified quantity are not changed on the drug name input screen 400, the search unit 1107 will effectively obtain the dispensed drug identification information and dispensed quantity information contained in the dispensing information stored in the medication record DB 14c.

[0081] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies based on inventory-related information stored in a predetermined inventory-related information storage means. The inventory-related information may be information relating to the inventory of drugs at a pharmacy. The inventory-related information storage means may store inventory-related information in association with pharmacies and drugs. In this case, the inventory-related information may be information relating to the inventory of drugs associated with that information at the pharmacy associated with that information. The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of drugs identified by the drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug identification unit 1106. Here, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of at least one drug among the drugs identified by the acquired drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug identification means.

[0082] Inventory-related information may include inventory status information stored in inventory DB14d. In this case, inventory DB14d or storage 14 may correspond to an example of inventory-related information storage means. Inventory status information indicates the inventory status of drugs. Therefore, inventory status information is related to drug inventory. In this case, a pharmacy that satisfies the predetermined conditions may be, for example, a pharmacy that has drug inventory. Therefore, the search unit 1107 may search for a pharmacy that has inventory of at least one drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing acquired by the drug information acquisition unit 1106, based on the inventory status information stored in inventory DB14d. For example, suppose the drug identification information for dispensing is the drug name entered in the drug name input screen 400. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for a pharmacy that has inventory of the drug identified by this drug name. Suppose the inventory status information indicates whether or not there is inventory. In this case, a pharmacy associated with inventory status information indicating that there is inventory is a pharmacy that has inventory. Suppose the inventory status information indicates the quantity of inventory. In this case, a pharmacy associated with inventory status information where the quantity of inventory is 1 or more may be a pharmacy that has inventory.

[0083] When a specified quantity of a drug is entered on the drug name input screen 400, the drug information acquisition unit 1106 receives specified quantity information indicating the specified quantity. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for either a pharmacy with all the drugs in stock or a pharmacy with some drugs in stock, or both. A pharmacy with all the drugs in stock is a pharmacy that has stock equal to or greater than the specified quantity. That is, a pharmacy with all the drugs in stock has stock equal to or greater than the quantity specified by the user. Therefore, a pharmacy with all the drugs in stock has a high probability of being able to fulfill the user's dispensing request. A pharmacy with some drugs in stock is a pharmacy that has stock equal to or greater than 1 but less than the specified quantity. A pharmacy with some drugs in stock has stock of the drugs themselves, so there is a possibility that it can fulfill the user's dispensing request. If there is a shortage of drugs, a pharmacy with some drugs in stock may be able to fulfill the user's request by procuring the drugs from other pharmacies, etc. For example, as shown in Figure 12, multiple drugs may be specified. In this case, a pharmacy with all the drugs in stock may be a pharmacy that has stock equal to or greater than the specified quantity of all of those drugs. A pharmacy with some stock may have at least one unit of each of the drugs in stock, excluding pharmacies with all drugs in stock. Alternatively, a pharmacy with some stock may have at least one unit of each of the drugs in stock.

[0084] As mentioned above, the drug name input screen 400 may have the drug name and specified quantity pre-filled. If the user does not change the drug name on the drug name input screen 400, that drug name will indicate the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. In this case, the search unit 1107 will effectively search for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. If the user does not change the specified quantity on the drug name input screen 400, that specified quantity will match the dispensing quantity included in the dispensing drug identification information included in the dispensing information. In this case, the search unit 1107 will effectively search for at least one of the following: pharmacies with full stock (stocking at least the dispensing quantity included in the dispensing information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102) and pharmacies with partial stock (stocking less than the dispensing quantity). In practice, the drug name and the amount of the drug to be dispensed for the drug selected by the user on the drug selection screen 200 are pre-entered on the drug name input screen 400. In this case, the search unit 1107 searches for pharmacies that have the drug selected by the user in stock, among the drugs identified by the drug identification information included in one or more dispensing records obtained by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. The search unit 1107 also searches for pharmacies that have all of the drug selected by the user in stock, which are equal to or greater than the past dispensing amount of that drug, and pharmacies that have some of the drug selected by the user in stock, which are less than the past dispensing amount of that drug, among the drugs identified by the drug identification information included in one or more dispensing records obtained by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102.

[0085] Figure 13(a) shows an example of information stored in the inventory DB 14d. As shown in Figure 13(a), the inventory DB 14d stores inventory information for aaaaa tablets 200mg and ccccc tablets 15mg for DDD Pharmacy, EEE Pharmacy, and FFF Pharmacy. Although GGG Pharmacy is a pharmacy that can be searched using the pharmacy reservation service, its inventory information is not stored. Based on the medication record information shown in Figure 8, the drug name input screen 400 shown in Figure 9 is displayed, and as shown in Figure 10, aaaaa tablets 200mg and ccccc tablets 15mg are selected. Therefore, as shown in Figure 12, the drug name input screen 400 is displayed with the drug names aaaaa tablets 200mg and ccccc tablets 15mg pre-entered. As shown in Figure 8, the daily dose and prescription duration for aaaaa tablets 200mg are 6 tablets and 7 days, respectively. Also, the daily dose and prescription duration for ccccc tablets 15mg are 3 tablets and 7 days, respectively. Therefore, on the drug name input screen 400, the daily dose and prescription duration for aaaaa tablets 200 are pre-selected as 6 tablets and 7 days, respectively. Also, the daily dose and prescription duration for ccccc tablets 15mg are pre-entered as 3 tablets and 7 days, respectively. On the drug name input screen 400, the user requests a search without changing any of the drug name, daily dose, or prescription duration. In response to this operation, the search unit 1107 searches the inventory DB 14d shown in Figure 13(a). The specified quantity for aaaaa tablets 200 is 42 tablets. The specified quantity for ccccc tablets 15mg is 21 tablets. These specified quantities match the dispensing quantities on December 31st. Figure 13(b) shows an example of pharmacy classification. As shown in Figure 13(a), the inventory quantity of aaaaa tablets 200 at DDD Pharmacy is 100 tablets. Also, the inventory quantity of ccccc tablets 15mg at DDD Pharmacy is 50 tablets. All inventory levels are above the specified amount. Therefore, DDD Pharmacy is classified as a pharmacy with all items in stock. EEE Pharmacy has 20 tablets of aaaaa 200mg in stock. Also, EEE Pharmacy has 10 tablets of ccccc 15mg in stock. Both inventory levels are below the specified amount. Therefore, EEE Pharmacy is classified as a pharmacy with some items in stock. EEE Pharmacy has 0 tablets of both aaaaa 200mg and ccccc 15mg in stock. Therefore, FFF Pharmacy is classified as a pharmacy with no items in stock.GGG Pharmacy is classified as a pharmacy with unknown inventory. The search unit 1107 identifies DDD Pharmacy and EEE Pharmacy as pharmacies that have inventory.

[0086] In another embodiment, if the search method selection screen selects "search from medication record," the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies without displaying either or both of the medication selection screen 200 and the medication name input screen 400. If neither the medication selection screen 200 nor the medication name input screen 400 is displayed, the dispensing drug identification information included in the medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 corresponds to the dispensing target drug identification information, which identifies the drug to be dispensed for the dispensing request. In this case, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 may also serve as the dispensing target drug identification information. The search unit 1107 searches for pharmacies that have the drug identified by this dispensing drug identification information in stock. If the medication selection screen 200 is displayed and the medication name input screen 400 is not displayed, the selected medication identification information received from the user terminal 4 by the selected medication identification information receiving unit 1104 corresponds to the dispensing target drug identification information. In this case, the selected medication identification information receiving unit 1104 may also serve as the dispensing target drug identification information. The search unit 1107 searches for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the selected drug identification information, among the drugs identified by the drug identification information obtained by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. Assume that the drug selection screen 200 is not displayed, the drug name input screen 400 is displayed, and the drug name is not changed on the drug name input screen 400. In this case, the drug name input screen 400 has the drug name of the drug identified by the drug identification information obtained by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 already entered. Since the drug name is not changed, the search unit 1107 will, as a result, search for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the drug identification information obtained by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102.

[0087] The search result information transmission unit 1108 may transmit the search result information to the user terminal 4. The search result information is information that shows the results of the pharmacy search performed by the search unit 1107. For example, the search result information may show pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding drug inventory, as searched by the search unit 1107.

[0088] The search results information may also be, for example, search results screen information. The search results screen information is screen information that displays the search results screen on the user terminal 4. The search results screen is a screen that shows the results of a pharmacy search. The search results screen may also be, for example, a screen that shows a list of the searched pharmacies. The search results information transmission unit 1108 may display a search results screen that shows the searched pharmacies in a predetermined order. For example, the search results information transmission unit 1108 may display pharmacies in order of shortest distance from the user terminal 4 that requested the search. Alternatively, for example, the search results screen may display a map and show the searched pharmacies on the map. The search results information transmission unit 1108 may display a map on the user terminal 4 using, for example, an API (Application Programming Interface) or SDK (Software Development Kit) provided from a map platform (not shown).

[0089] When the search unit 1107 searches for both pharmacies with all items in stock and pharmacies with some items in stock, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may transmit search result information that allows for the distinction between pharmacies with all items in stock and pharmacies with some items in stock. For example, on the search results screen, the information for pharmacies with all items in stock may include information indicating that the pharmacy has all items in stock. Similarly, the information for pharmacies with some items in stock may include information indicating that the pharmacy has some items in stock. Furthermore, for example, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may make the display format of the information for pharmacies with all items in stock and the display format of the information for pharmacies with some items in stock different from each other. Examples of the display format of the information include the display size, color, and shape of the information, and the size, color, and font style of the characters included in the information.

[0090] Figure 14 shows an example of a search results map screen. The search results map screen is a search results screen that displays pharmacy search results on a map. As shown in Figure 14, the search results map screen 500 may include a pharmacy name input field 510, a group of search condition selection buttons 520, and a search results display area 530. The pharmacy name input field 510 is an area that accepts the input of a pharmacy name as a search condition. The group of search condition selection buttons 520 includes multiple elements that can be operated to select search conditions. Examples of search conditions include whether online reservations are possible, whether the specified drug is in stock, and whether online payment is possible. If the user selects either a search by drug name or a search from a medication record book, the search condition "the drug is in stock" is pre-selected. The search results display area displays the search results. For example, the search results display area displays a map 531. One or more pharmacy icons 532 are displayed on the map 531. The pharmacy icons 532 are icons that indicate the location of the searched pharmacy at the location of the pharmacy icon 532. In Figure 14, pharmacy icons 532-1, 532-2, 532-3, 532-4, 532-5, 532-6, 532-7, and 532-8 are displayed as pharmacy icons 532. The search results display area may also display a portion of the list of search pharmacy information display areas 550. This list includes one or more search pharmacy information display areas 550. The search pharmacy information display area 550 displays information about the searched pharmacy. For example, the search pharmacy information display area 550 may include the pharmacy name 551, business hours 552, and a reservation button 553. The pharmacy name 551 indicates the name of the pharmacy. The reservation button 553 is a button that can be operated to reserve a pharmacy as a place to request dispensing. When the reservation button 553 is operated, the reservation acceptance screen described above is displayed. In addition, if the pharmacy corresponding to the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy with all items in stock, the search pharmacy information display area 550 may also display information that all items are in stock 561. For example, information 561 indicating that all items are in stock could display "In Stock". Information 561 indicating that all items are in stock at that pharmacy.In Figure 14, two search pharmacy information display areas 550-1 and 550-2 are displayed as the search pharmacy information display area 550. Search pharmacy information display area 550-1 corresponds to the first pharmacy in the display order. Search pharmacy information display area 550-2 corresponds to the second pharmacy in the display order. While the entirety of search pharmacy information display area 550-1 is displayed, only a portion of search pharmacy information display area 550-2 is displayed on the screen. Multiple search pharmacy information display areas are arranged, for example, from left to right. However, only one search pharmacy information display area may be displayed in its entirety on the screen. Each search pharmacy information display area 550 may correspond to any of the pharmacy icons 532. Furthermore, the pharmacy icon 532 corresponding to the search pharmacy information display area 550 that is displayed in its entirety may be displayed in a manner that is distinguishable from other pharmacy icons 532. For example, search pharmacy information display area 550-1 corresponds to pharmacy icon 532-1. Pharmacy icon 532-1 is displayed directly above the search pharmacy information display area 550-1. Pharmacy icon 532-1 is displayed in a larger size than other pharmacy icons 532.

[0091] Figure 15 shows another example of the search results map screen. In Figure 15, elements identical to those in Figure 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the search results map screen shown in Figure 13, the user moves the search pharmacy information display area 550 to the left. In response to this operation, the search results map screen shown in Figure 15 is displayed. As shown in Figure 15, the search results map screen displays the search pharmacy information display area 550 as search pharmacy information display area 550-1, 550-2, and 550-3. The entire search pharmacy information display area 550-2 is displayed on the screen. Only a portion of the search pharmacy information display areas 550-1 and 550-3 is displayed on the screen. If the pharmacy corresponding to the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy with some stock, the search pharmacy information display area 550 may also display some stock information 562. Some stock information 562 indicates that the pharmacy has some stock. For example, "Some stock available" may be displayed as some stock information 562. The search pharmacy information display area 550-2 corresponds to the pharmacy icon 532-2. Therefore, the map 531 and each pharmacy icon 532 slide so that the pharmacy icon 532-2 is displayed directly above the search pharmacy information display area 550-2. When the user performs an operation to select any of the pharmacy icons 532, the list of search pharmacy information display areas 550 may slide so that the entire search pharmacy information display area 550 corresponding to the selected pharmacy icon 532 is displayed.

[0092] Figure 16 shows an example of a search results list screen. In Figure 16, elements identical to those in Figure 14 or Figure 15 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The search results list screen displays a list of pharmacy search results. As shown in Figures 14 and 15, a list button 540 may also be displayed on the search results map screen. The list button 540 is an operable element that can be used to display the search results list screen. As shown in Figure 16, the search results list screen 600 may include a pharmacy name input field 510, a group of search condition selection buttons 520, and a search results display area 530. One or more search pharmacy information display areas 610 are displayed in the search results display area 520. The search pharmacy information display area 610 displays information about the searched pharmacy. For example, the search pharmacy information display area 610 may include the pharmacy name 551, business hours 552, and a reservation button 553, etc. Furthermore, the search pharmacy information display area 610 may also display either fully stocked information 561 or partially stocked information 562, depending on whether the pharmacy has fully stocked items or partially stocked items. In Figure 16, the search pharmacy information display area 610 consists of search pharmacy information display areas 610-1, 610-2, and 610-3, arranged from top to bottom. The user can scroll through the list of search results. The search results list screen 600 may also display a map button 630. The map button 630 is an operable element that allows the user to display the search results map screen 500.

[0093] The reservation unit 1109 may make a reservation for a pharmacy selected by the user from among the searched pharmacies, from the user terminal 4 that has received the search result information transmitted by the search result information transmission unit 1108. For example, the user selects a pharmacy by operating the reservation button 553 on the search result map screen 500 or the search result list screen 600. In response to this operation, the reservation unit 1109 may transmit the screen information of the reservation acceptance screen to the user terminal 4 and display the reservation acceptance screen on the user terminal 4. The reservation unit 1109 may generate reservation information including the pharmacy ID of the selected pharmacy, the user ID of the user making the reservation, and the information entered on the reservation screen. The reservation unit 1109 stores the generated reservation information in the reservation DB 14e. The reservation unit 1109 may also send a notification to the reserved pharmacy indicating that a reservation has been made, using email or other means. This notification may include the name of the user who made the reservation, the date and time of pickup, etc. This notification may also include, or may not include, the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration entered on the drug name input screen 400. Upon receiving the notification, the pharmacy employee may operate the pharmacy terminal 3 to retrieve prescription information stored in the reservation DB 14e from the pharmacy reservation server 1.

[0094] [1-4. Operation of the communication system] Next, the operation of the communication system S will be described with reference to Figures 17 to 19. The system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1 executes the processes shown in these figures according to the program code included in the server program. The processes shown in these figures are illustrative, and any processes may be executed as long as the objective is achieved. The order of the processes is not limited to the order shown in these figures. Also, at least one of the steps shown in these figures may be omitted.

[0095] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the drug selection screen information transmission process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. For example, on the search method selection screen, the user selects to search from their medication record book. The user terminal 4, upon detecting this operation, sends a drug selection screen request to the pharmacy reservation server 1. The drug selection screen request is information indicating a request for drug selection screen information. The drug selection screen information may include, for example, the user ID of the user who selected to search from their medication record book. The system control unit 11 may execute the drug selection screen information transmission process in response to receiving the drug selection screen request from the user terminal 4.

[0096] As shown in Figure 17, the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 acquires the user ID from the drug selection screen request (step S101). Note that the timing of acquiring the user ID is just an example, and the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire the user ID before receiving the drug selection screen request from the user terminal 4. For example, the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 may acquire the user ID from a request sent from the user terminal 4 to the pharmacy reservation server 1 when displaying the home screen of the pharmacy reservation app or when displaying the pharmacy search method selection screen. Next, the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102 acquires the drug information, including the acquired user ID, from the medication record DB 14c (step S102). Next, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 acquires the HTML document template for the drug selection screen 200 from the storage unit 14 (step S103). This HTML document is an example of drug selection screen information. Next, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 selects the most recent medication information from the medication record DB 14c based on the dispensing date included in the medication information (step S104). Then, based on the selected medication information, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 adds information to the HTML document of the medication selection screen 200 to display the medication information display area 300 on the medication selection screen 200 (step S105). The added information may be, for example, information written in HTML. For example, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may add the pharmacy name and dispensing date information included in the medication information to the HTML document of the medication selection screen 200. Alternatively, for each dispensing medication information included in the medication information, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may add the medication name, prescription duration, daily dose, and timing of administration information included in that dispensing medication information to the HTML document of the medication selection screen 200. If the dispensing drug information includes the single dose and the number of doses, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 may calculate the daily dose by multiplying the single dose by the number of doses. Alternatively, information for displaying the selection checkbox 324 for each dispensing information may be added to the HTML document of the drug selection screen 200. Next, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 determines whether all drug information obtained from the medication record DB 14c has been selected (step S106).If there is still unselected medication information (step S106: NO), the process proceeds to step S104. In step S104, the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 selects the medication information with the most recent dispensing date from the unselected medication information obtained from the medication record DB 14c. Through the processing in steps S104 to S106, the medications are displayed in order of most recent dispensing date. Once all medication information has been selected (step S106: YES), the selection screen information transmission unit 1103 sends the HTML document of the medication selection screen 200 to the user terminal 4 (step S107), and the medication selection screen information transmission process ends. The user terminal 4 displays the medication selection screen 200 based on this HTML document.

[0097] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the drug name input screen information transmission process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. For example, on the search method selection screen, the user selects to search by drug name. The user terminal 4, which detects this operation, sends a drug name input screen request to the pharmacy reservation server 1. The drug name input screen request is information indicating a request for drug name input screen information. Alternatively, for example, after selecting to search from a medication record on the search method selection screen, the user selects a drug on the drug selection screen 200. The user terminal 4, which detects this operation, sends a drug name input screen request to the pharmacy reservation server 1. In this case, the drug name input screen request may include the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration for each selected drug. This information is included in the HTML document of the drug selection screen 200. The system control unit 11 may execute the drug name input screen information transmission process in response to receiving a drug name input screen request from the user terminal 4.

[0098] As shown in Figure 18, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 obtains a template for the HTML document of the drug name input screen 400 from the storage unit 14 (step S201). This HTML document is an example of drug name input screen information. Next, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 determines whether the drug name input screen request includes a drug name (step S202). If the drug name input screen request does not include a drug name (step S202: NO), the input screen information transmission unit 1105 adds information to the HTML document of the drug name input screen 400 to display the drug information input area 420, where the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration have not been pre-entered. Next, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 sends the HTML document of the drug name input screen 400 to the user terminal 4 (step S204), and the drug name input screen information transmission process ends. Based on this HTML document, the user terminal 4 displays the drug name input screen 400 as shown in Figure 11.

[0099] If the drug name input screen request includes a drug name (step S202: YES), the input screen information transmission unit 1105 selects one drug name included in the drug name input screen request (step S205). At this time, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 obtains the daily dose and prescription days associated with the selected drug name from the drug name input screen request. Next, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 adds information to the HTML document of the drug name input screen 400 to display the drug information input area 420, which has the selected drug name and the obtained daily dose and prescription days pre-entered, on the drug name input screen 400 (step S206). Next, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 determines whether all drug names included in the drug name input screen request have been selected (step S207). If there are any unselected drug names (step S207: NO), the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, the input screen information transmission unit 1105 selects one drug name from among the drug names included in the drug name input screen request that have not yet been selected. If all drug names have been selected (step S207: YES), the input screen information transmission unit 1105 sends the HTML document of the drug name input screen 400 to the user terminal 4 (step S204), and the drug name input screen information transmission process ends. Based on this HTML document, the user terminal 4 displays the drug name input screen 400, for example, as shown in Figure 12.

[0100] Figure 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a pharmacy search process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. For example, on the drug name input screen 400, the user performs an operation to request a search. The user terminal 4, upon detecting this operation, may obtain the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration entered in the drug information input area 420 at that time. The user terminal 4 may send a search request, including the obtained drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration, to the pharmacy reservation server 1. The search request is information indicating a request to search for a pharmacy. The system control unit 11 may execute the pharmacy search process in response to receiving the search request from the user terminal 4.

[0101] As shown in Figure 19, the search unit 1107 obtains the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration from the search request (step S301). Next, the search unit 1107 calculates the specified drug dose by multiplying the obtained daily dose and prescription duration (step S302). Then, the search result information transmission unit 1108 obtains a template for the HTML document of the search result map screen from the storage unit 14 (step S303). This HTML document is an example of search result screen information.

[0102] Next, the search unit 1107 searches for inventory information that includes combinations of the acquired drug name and the calculated inventory quantity equal to or greater than the specified amount (step S304). This allows the search unit 1107 to search for pharmacies with all items in stock. Then, the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550 for each of the searched pharmacies with all items in stock to the HTML document of the search result map screen (step S305). For example, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may acquire a pharmacy ID from the retrieved inventory information. The search result information transmission unit 1108 may acquire pharmacy information including the acquired pharmacy ID from the pharmacy DB 14b. The search result information transmission unit 1108 may also include the pharmacy name, address, business information, etc., from the pharmacy information. The search result information transmission unit 1108 may generate information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550 based on the acquired information. The search result information transmission unit 1108 also adds information for displaying the all-items-in-stock information 561 to the information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550. Furthermore, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may convert the pharmacy's address into latitude and longitude and add location information indicating that latitude and longitude to the HTML document of the search result map screen. This location information is used to determine the display position of the pharmacy icon 532. In addition, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may add information to the HTML document of the search result map screen for displaying the searched pharmacy information display area 610 on the search result list screen 600. The HTML document template for the search result map screen 500 may be pre-configured so that the user terminal switches the display between the search result map screen 500 and the search result list screen 600 in response to the user's operation of the list button 540 and the map button 630.

[0103] Next, the search unit 1107 searches for inventory information that includes combinations of the acquired drug name and the inventory quantity which is 1 or more and less than the calculated specified amount (step S306). This allows the search unit 1107 to find pharmacies with partial inventory. Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550 for each of the found pharmacies with partial inventory to the HTML document of the search results map screen (step S307). At this time, the search unit 1107 adds information for displaying the partial inventory information 562 to the information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550. Except for this point, the processing in step S307 may be the same as the processing in step S305. Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 transmits the HTML document of the search results map screen 500 to the user terminal 4 (step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends. The user terminal 4 displays the search results map screen 500 based on this HTML document.

[0104] As described above, according to this embodiment, the user is presented with search results for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the availability of the same medication previously dispensed for them. Therefore, the user may not need to input information about the medication in order to search for a pharmacy to request dispensing from. Consequently, the input burden for searching for a pharmacy can be reduced.

[0105] Here, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may acquire one or more dispensing information items associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also display a drug selection screen 200 on the user terminal 4 that accepts the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the drug identification information included in the dispensing information. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also receive selected drug identification information from the user terminal 4 to identify the drug selected on the drug selection screen 200. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the selected drug identification information among the drugs identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information. In this case, pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug selected on the drug selection screen 200 are searched. Therefore, the user can select a drug from among the drugs they have received in the past to search for a pharmacy that meets the predetermined conditions.

[0106] At this time, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may display the drug name input screen 400 on the user terminal 4. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also receive the name of the drug entered on the drug name input screen 400 from the user terminal 4. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug with the received name. Furthermore, if a drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may display the drug name input screen 400 with the name of the selected drug already entered. In this case, the name of the selected drug is pre-entered on the drug name input screen 400. At this time, if the user does not change the name of the drug, pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of the drug identified by the pre-entered name will be searched.Therefore, the user can search for pharmacies that meet predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of that drug by entering the name of the drug, and when the user searches for a pharmacy using a drug selected by the user from among the drugs the user has received in the past, the operation of entering the name of the drug can be omitted.

[0107] Here, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may display a drug name input screen 400 on the user terminal 4, which accepts input of the drug name and the quantity of the drug. Alternatively, if a drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may display a drug name input screen 400 with the name of the selected drug and the quantity equivalent to the amount dispensed already entered. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may also receive quantity information indicating the drug name and the quantity entered on the drug name input screen 400. Furthermore, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for at least one of the following: pharmacies with full stock of the drug name, having stock equal to or greater than the quantity indicated by the received quantity information, or pharmacies with partial stock, having stock less than the quantity indicated by the received quantity information. In this case, if a drug is selected on the drug selection screen 200, the name of the selected drug is pre-entered on the drug name input screen 400. In addition, the quantity equivalent to the amount dispensed when the selected drug was dispensed in the past is pre-entered on the drug name input screen 400. In this case, if the user does not change the name and quantity of the drug, the system will search for pharmacies that have the drug identified by the pre-entered name in stock. Therefore, the user can enter the quantity of the drug as a condition for the quantity of stock at the pharmacies to be searched, and if the user searches for a pharmacy with the same quantity of drug as the drug they have received in the past and selected by the user, they can omit the input of the drug quantity.

[0108] Furthermore, if the pharmacy reservation server 1 obtains dispensing information associated with a user of a user device, it may display a drug name input screen 400 in which the name of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in that dispensing information is pre-entered. In this case, when a user searches for a pharmacy using a drug they have received in the past, they can omit the operation of entering the drug name.

[0109] Furthermore, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for at least one of the following: pharmacies with full stock of the drug identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, where the stock of the drug is equal to or greater than the dispensing quantity information included in the dispensing information; and pharmacies with partial stock of the drug identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, where the stock of the drug is less than the dispensing quantity information included in the acquired dispensing information. In this case, the user can omit entering the drug quantity to search for a pharmacy.

[0110] Here, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may search for pharmacies with all items in stock and pharmacies with some items in stock. Alternatively, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may transmit search result information that allows for the distinction between pharmacies with all items in stock and pharmacies with some items in stock. In this case, the user can distinguish between pharmacies with more than a predetermined amount of stock and pharmacies with less than a predetermined amount of stock.

[0111] Alternatively, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may display the medications identified by the medication identification information included in the acquired dispensing information on the medication selection screen 200 in order of most recent dispensing date, and transmit medication selection screen information to accept the selection of the displayed medications on the medication selection screen 200. In this case, the user can quickly select the medication that is most likely to have been prescribed this time.

[0112] Furthermore, the pharmacy reservation server 1 may obtain medication information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information. In this case, information about medications for searching for a pharmacy can be obtained from the medication record information.

[0113] [2. Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 20 to 22. Except for the points described below, the second embodiment may be identical to at least one of the embodiments described so far. In this embodiment, if a pharmacy that meets predetermined conditions regarding drug inventory has a pharmacy where the user has previously received medication, that pharmacy can be distinguished from other pharmacies.

[0114] The search result information transmission unit 1108 may transmit to the user terminal 4 the search result information that distinguishes the pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the medication information among the pharmacies searched by the search unit 1107 from other searched pharmacies. For example, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may include information indicating that the pharmacy is one to which the user has previously requested dispensing services on the search result screen. Furthermore, the display format of the information of pharmacies to which the user has previously requested dispensing services may differ from the display format of other pharmacies. The user may request dispensing services again from a pharmacy to which they have previously requested dispensing services. Since the pharmacy is displayed in a distinguishable manner, the user can quickly recognize the pharmacy to which they have previously requested dispensing services.

[0115] As mentioned above, the user can select the medication to be dispensed on the medication selection screen 200. The user may have previously requested dispensing from multiple pharmacies. In this case, the medications dispensed at each of those pharmacies will be displayed as selectable options on the medication selection screen 200. The search result information transmission unit 1108 may distinguish each pharmacy to which the user has previously requested dispensing from other pharmacies, regardless of which pharmacy dispensed the medication selected on the medication selection screen 200. Alternatively, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may distinguish only the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected on the medication selection screen 200 from other pharmacies to which the user has previously requested dispensing from other pharmacies.

[0116] Figure 20(a) shows an example of information stored in the medication record DB14c. As shown in Figure 20(a), the medication record DB14c stores medication information indicating that medication was dispensed for user 5, whose name is "XX Taro". On December 11th, aaaaa tablets 200mg were dispensed at GGG Pharmacy. On December 22nd, hhhhh granules were dispensed at HHH Pharmacy.

[0117] Figure 20(b) shows an example of the drug selection screen 200. In Figure 20(b), the same elements as in Figure 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in Figure 20(b), the drug selection screen 200 displays drug information display areas 300-3 and 300-4 as drug information display areas 300. Drug information display area 300-3 displays information about HHH Pharmacy and hhhhh granules dispensed at HHH Pharmacy. Drug information display area 300-4 displays information about aaaaa tablets 200 dispensed at GGG Pharmacy and GGGH Pharmacy. On the drug selection screen 200, user 5 selected hhhhh granules but did not select aaaaa tablets 200. Therefore, if the user does not change the drug name on the drug name input screen 400 that is displayed next, the search unit 1107 will search for pharmacies that have hhhhh granules in stock.

[0118] For example, suppose both GGG Pharmacy and HHH Pharmacy have more than the specified amount of hhhhh granules in stock. Therefore, both of these pharmacies are pharmacies with all items in stock. Figures 21(a) and 21(b) show examples of search pharmacy information display areas included in the search results map screen, respectively. The search pharmacy information display area 550-4 shown in Figure 21(a) is the search results map screen 500 corresponding to GGG Pharmacy. The search pharmacy information display area 550-5 shown in Figure 21(b) is the search pharmacy information display area 550 corresponding to HHH Pharmacy. Dispensing information 571 may also be displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550-5. Dispensing information 571 may indicate that the pharmacy whose information is displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy that has dispensed medication to the user viewing the search results screen in the past. For example, the dispensing information 571 may display, "This is a pharmacy where you have received medication before." On the other hand, the dispensing information 571 does not need to be displayed on the search results map screen 550-4. However, as mentioned above, the dispensing information 571 may also be displayed on the search results map screen 550-4.

[0119] When a user requests dispensing from all pharmacies in the past, the search result information transmission unit 1108 can identify the pharmacies based on the pharmacy identification information included in the medication information, which includes the user's user identification information. When identifying the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected by the user on the medication selection screen 200, the identification may be performed at the time of the pharmacy search. For example, the user terminal 4 may send a pharmacy name input screen request to the pharmacy reservation server 1 that includes pharmacy identification information to identify the pharmacy that dispensed the selected medication. Examples of pharmacy identification information include the pharmacy name, medical institution code, and pharmacy ID. When the input screen information transmission unit 1105 generates medication name input screen information, it may include the pharmacy identification information included in the pharmacy name input screen request in the medication name input screen information. A search request sent from the user terminal 4 to the pharmacy reservation server 1 in response to user operation on the medication name input screen 400 may include the pharmacy identification information included in the medication name input screen information. The search unit 1107 may identify the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected by the user based on the pharmacy identification information included in the search request.

[0120] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing an example of a pharmacy search process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. In Figure 22, the same reference numerals are used for processes that are the same as those in Figure 19. As shown in Figure 22, first step S301 is executed. Next, the search unit 1107 obtains the pharmacy ID of the pharmacy that dispensed the drug selected by the user on the drug selection screen 200, as an example of dispensing pharmacy identification information, from the search request (step S321). Next, steps S302 to S307 are executed. After step S307, the search result information transmission unit 1108 determines whether or not there is a pharmacy that dispensed the drug selected by the user among the searched pharmacies, based on the pharmacy ID obtained from the search request and the pharmacy ID included in the pharmacy information of each pharmacy searched as a pharmacy with all stock and a pharmacy with some stock (step S322). If no pharmacy dispenses the medication selected by the user (Step S322: NO), the search result information transmission unit 1108 sends the HTML document of the search results map screen to the user terminal 4 (Step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends. If a pharmacy dispenses the medication selected by the user (Step S322: YES), the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds dispensing implementation display information 571 to the information used to display the search pharmacy information display area 550 of that pharmacy in the HTML document (Step S323). Then, the search result information transmission unit 1108 sends the HTML document of the search results map screen 500 to the user terminal 4 (Step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends.

[0121] As described above, according to this embodiment, the user can distinguish and recognize a pharmacy that is highly likely to be selected from other pharmacies.

[0122] [3. Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 23 to 25. Except for the points described below, the second embodiment may be identical to at least one of the embodiments described so far. In this embodiment, if there is a pharmacy that has a stock of drugs and is located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy where the user previously received drugs, that pharmacy is made distinguishable from other pharmacies.

[0123] Figure 23 shows an example of the functional blocks of the system control unit 11 in the pharmacy reservation server 1 according to this embodiment. In Figure 23, the same reference numerals are used for elements that are the same as those in Figure 6. As shown in Figure 23, the system control unit 11 may function as a location information acquisition unit 1110 in addition to the user identification information acquisition unit 1101 to the reservation unit 1109.

[0124] The location information acquisition unit 1110 may acquire location information of a pharmacy identified by the pharmacy identification information included in the medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. Alternatively, the location information acquisition unit 1110 may acquire location information indicating the location of a drug found by the search unit 1107 as a pharmacy that meets predetermined conditions for the inventory of a drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. Examples of location information include address and latitude / longitude. For example, the location information acquisition unit 1110 may acquire location information for each target pharmacy from the pharmacy database 14b.

[0125] The search result information transmission unit 1108 may, based on the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 1110, determine which pharmacies among those searched by the search unit 1107 are located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102. If the search result information transmission unit 1108 determines that among the pharmacies searched by the search unit 1107, there is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the medication information acquired by the dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, it may transmit search result information to the user terminal 4 that distinguishes the pharmacy located within the predetermined distance from other pharmacies searched by the search unit 1107. Users may request dispensing from a pharmacy relatively close to a pharmacy where they have previously requested dispensing. Since that pharmacy is distinguishably indicated, users can quickly recognize pharmacies close to pharmacies where they have previously requested dispensing.

[0126] The search result information transmission unit 1108 may, on the search results screen, include information indicating that a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy where the user previously requested dispensing services is located within a predetermined distance from that pharmacy. Furthermore, the display method for information on pharmacies located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy where the user previously requested dispensing services may differ from the display method for other pharmacies. A pharmacy where the user previously requested dispensing services may be included among the searched pharmacies. The search result information transmission unit 1108 may or may not make it possible to distinguish between a pharmacy where the user previously requested dispensing services and pharmacies located within a predetermined distance from that pharmacy.

[0127] Similar to the second embodiment, the search result information transmission unit 1108 may distinguish between pharmacies located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy that has dispensed the medication selected on the medication selection screen 200, among the pharmacies to which the user has previously requested dispensing services, and other pharmacies.

[0128] Figure 24 shows an example of a search pharmacy information display area included in the search results map screen. The search pharmacy information display area 550-6 shown in Figure 24 is the search pharmacy information display area 550 corresponding to JJJ Pharmacy. JJJ Pharmacy is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from HHH Pharmacy, as mentioned in the second embodiment, and is a pharmacy that has hhhhh granules in stock. Therefore, when a pharmacy with hhhhh granules in stock is searched, JJJ Pharmacy is included among those pharmacies. As shown in Figure 24, nearby information 572 may be displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550-6. Nearby information 572 may be information indicating that the pharmacy whose information is displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from a pharmacy that has dispensed medication to the user viewing the search results screen in the past. For example, nearby information 572 may display "This pharmacy is close to a pharmacy where you have previously received medication."

[0129] Figure 25 is a flowchart showing an example of a pharmacy search process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. In Figure 25, the same reference numerals are used for processes that are the same as those in Figure 22. As shown in Figure 25, steps S301, S321, S302-S307, S322, and S323 are executed first. If there is no pharmacy that dispenses the medication selected by the user (step S322: NO), or after step S323, the search result information transmission unit 1108 obtains the location information of a pharmacy that dispenses the medication selected by the user from the pharmacy DB 14b (step S341). Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 obtains the location information of each searched pharmacy from the pharmacy DB 14b (step S342). Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 calculates the distance of each searched pharmacy from the pharmacy that dispenses the medication selected by the user (step S343). Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 determines whether there is a pharmacy among the searched pharmacies located within a predetermined distance from the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected by the user (step S344). If there is no pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected by the user (step S344: NO), the search result information transmission unit 1108 sends the HTML document of the search results map screen to the user terminal 4 (step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends. If there is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the pharmacy that dispensed the medication selected by the user (step S344: YES), the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds nearby display information 572 to the information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area of ​​those pharmacies in the HTML document (step S345). Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 sends the HTML document of the search results map screen to the user terminal 4 (step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends.

[0130] As described above, according to this embodiment, the user can distinguish and recognize a pharmacy that is highly likely to be selected from other pharmacies.

[0131] [4. Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. Except for the points described below, the fourth embodiment may be identical to at least one of the embodiments described so far. In this embodiment, pharmacies are searched using information different from inventory status information as inventory-related information.

[0132] [4-1. Configuration of the pharmacy reservation server] First, the configuration of the pharmacy reservation server 1 will be described with reference to Figures 26 and 27. Figure 26 is a block diagram showing an example of the overview configuration of the pharmacy reservation server 1 according to this embodiment. In Figure 26, the same reference numerals are used for elements that are the same as in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 26, in addition to user DBs 14a to reservation DBs 14e, the storage unit 14 may also store an incoming goods DB 14f.

[0133] Figure 27 shows an example of information stored in the Inbound DB14f. Inbound DB14f may store inbound information. Inbound information is information indicating that a drug has been received. This inbound information may indicate the received drug and the pharmacy that received the drug. For example, inbound information may include received drug identification information and received pharmacy identification information. Received drug identification information is identification information for identifying the received drug. Receiving pharmacy identification information is identification information for identifying the pharmacy that received the drug. As shown in Figure 27, inbound DB14f may store inbound information such as pharmacy ID, arrival date, drug name, and arrival quantity, associated with each other. Pharmacy ID is an example of receiving pharmacy identification information. Arrival date indicates the date the drug was received. Drug name is an example of receiving drug identification information. Arrival quantity indicates the amount of drug received.

[0134] The Inbound DB14f may store inbound information for pharmacies that do not use any of the inventory systems 2. For example, when medication arrives at a pharmacy, an employee of that pharmacy may enter the inbound information into the pharmacy terminal 3. The pharmacy terminal 3 may send the entered inbound information to the pharmacy reservation server 1. The pharmacy reservation server 1 may store the received inbound information in the Inbound DB14f.

[0135] [4-2. Overview of System Control Unit Functions] Next, with reference to Figures 28 to 31, the functional overview of the system control unit 11 in the pharmacy reservation server 1 will be described.

[0136] The dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106 may acquire dispensing target drug identification information to identify the drug to be dispensed when the user terminal 4 requests a search for a pharmacy that is a candidate for dispensing. As described in the first embodiment, the dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106 may acquire the drug name entered on the drug name input screen 400 or that has been entered in advance from the user terminal 4. Alternatively, the dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106 may, as a dispensing information acquisition unit 1102, acquire drug information from the medication record DB 14c and acquire the dispensing drug identification information contained in that drug information as dispensing target drug identification information. Or, the dispensing target drug information acquisition unit 1106 may, as a selected drug identification information receiving unit 1104, acquire selected drug identification information to identify the drug selected on the drug selection screen 200 from the user terminal 4 as dispensing target drug identification information.

[0137] In another embodiment, the dispensing drug information acquisition unit may acquire dispensing drug identification information from information showing a prescription. The information showing a prescription includes prescription drug identification information. Prescription drug identification information is identification information for identifying a prescription drug. The dispensing drug information acquisition unit may acquire prescription drug identification information as dispensing drug identification information. For example, a user may take an image of the prescription with a user terminal. The user terminal may transmit the image data of the prescription to the pharmacy reservation server. The dispensing drug information acquisition unit may acquire dispensing drug identification information from the image data using character recognition. Alternatively, the dispensing drug information acquisition unit may acquire an electronic prescription from a user terminal or a medical institution system (not shown). The dispensing drug information acquisition unit may acquire dispensing drug identification information from the electronic prescription.

[0138] In this embodiment, inventory-related information may include inventory change information. Inventory change information is information indicating that there has been a change in the inventory of a drug at a pharmacy. Therefore, inventory change information is related to the inventory of a drug. Inventory status information indicates the current status of the inventory. On the other hand, inventory change information indicates past events regarding the inventory. When inventory change information is used, a pharmacy that meets predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of a drug may be a pharmacy that has experienced a change in the inventory of a drug. Therefore, the search unit may search for a pharmacy that has experienced a change in the inventory of at least one drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing obtained by the drug information acquisition unit, based on the inventory change information. A pharmacy that has experienced a change in the inventory of a drug is a pharmacy that had the drug in stock at at least one point in time, either before or after the change in inventory. Therefore, that pharmacy may still have the drug in stock at the present time. Also, a pharmacy that has experienced a change in the inventory of a drug is considered to be a pharmacy that handles that drug. Therefore, in response to a dispensing request from a user, that pharmacy may be able to dispense that drug.

[0139] Inventory fluctuation information may include dispensing information. Dispensing information indicates that a drug has been dispensed. As a result of dispensing a drug and providing it to a patient, the inventory of that drug decreases. Therefore, dispensing information is related to drug inventory. A pharmacy that meets the specified conditions in this case may be, for example, a pharmacy with a history of dispensing the drug. Therefore, the search unit 1107 may search for a pharmacy with a history of dispensing the drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing targets obtained by the drug information acquisition unit 1106, based on the dispensing information. The dispensing information used for the search may be drug information stored in the medication record DB 14c. Alternatively, the dispensing information may be dispensing information included in the dispensing history stored in the dispensing history DB. Hereafter, drug information will be used as an example. A pharmacy with a history of dispensing the drug is a pharmacy that has dispensed that drug before. Drug information including the drug identification information for the drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing targets will indicate the dispensing history of that drug. Therefore, the pharmacy identified by the pharmacy identification information included in the medication information is a pharmacy that has a history of dispensing that medication. A pharmacy with a history of dispensing that medication has handled that medication before. Furthermore, a pharmacy with a history of dispensing that medication has held that medication in stock at some point. Such pharmacies may still have that medication in stock. Because they have handled that medication before, even if they are out of stock of that medication, they may be able to procure it from other pharmacies and dispense it. Therefore, a pharmacy with a history of dispensing that medication may be able to fulfill a request for dispensing the specified medication. By searching for such pharmacies, useful information can be provided regarding the possibility of obtaining the medication from a pharmacy.

[0140] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing medications, regardless of who the patient is who receives the medication from the pharmacy that has a history of dispensing the medication identified by the acquired medication identification information. For example, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing medications, regardless of whether the patient receiving the medication from the pharmacy is the same person as the user of the user terminal 4 requesting the pharmacy search. The search unit 1107 does not need to determine whether the patient identified by the information contained in the medication information is the same person as the user identified by the user identification information acquired by the user identification information acquisition unit 1101. By using medication information from users other than the user searching for a pharmacy, useful information can be provided to the user searching for a pharmacy. The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing medications using medication information from both the user of the user terminal 4 requesting the pharmacy search and other users, or it may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing medications using medication information from either one of the users.

[0141] Figure 28 shows an example of the drug name input screen 400. In Figure 28, elements identical to those in Figure 11 are denoted by the same symbols. As shown in Figure 28, User 5, whose name is "XX Taro", entered kkkkk tablets, 3 tablets, and 7 days as the drug name, daily dose, and prescription duration, respectively, on the drug name input screen 400. Then, User 5 performed an operation to request a search.

[0142] Figure 29 shows an example of information stored in the medication record DB14c. As shown in Figure 29, the medication record DB14c stores medication information indicating that KKK Pharmacy dispensed kkkkk tablets for a user named "YY Hanako". Therefore, KKK Pharmacy has a record of dispensing kkkkk tablets. For this reason, KKK Pharmacy is included in the searchable pharmacies. Furthermore, if user 5 has previously received kkkkk tablets from any pharmacy and registered that medication information in their medication record, that pharmacy may also be included in the searchable pharmacies as a pharmacy with a dispensing record.

[0143] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing medication within a predetermined period up to the time of the pharmacy search, based on information indicating the dispensing date included in the medication information stored in the medication record DB 14c. The more recent the dispensing date, the higher the probability that the pharmacy currently has that medication in stock. Examples of predetermined periods include today, yesterday or later, three days ago or later, one week ago or later, etc.

[0144] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing obtained by the drug information acquisition unit 1106, based on inventory status information, and may also search for pharmacies where the stock of that drug has changed, based on inventory change information. For example, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have stock and also search for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing the drug.

[0145] Here, the search unit 1107 may first determine which pharmacies have inventory. Then, as a result of this determination, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing from among the pharmacies that were not found to have inventory. Pharmacies with inventory are considered suitable as places to request dispensing. Therefore, it is not necessary to determine whether or not a pharmacy with inventory has a history of dispensing. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing only from among pharmacies for which inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs identified by the drug identification information is not stored. Pharmacies for which inventory status information is not stored are pharmacies for which it is unknown whether or not they have inventory of that drug. Whether or not a pharmacy has inventory of a drug can be determined based on the inventory DB 14d. Such pharmacies are considered not to be using the inventory system 2, at least for managing the inventory of that drug. By presenting pharmacies with a history of dispensing that drug among pharmacies for which it is unknown whether or not they have inventory of that drug, the user can consider those pharmacies when deciding where to request dispensing. Furthermore, when medication information is used to determine whether or not a pharmacy has a dispensing record, this medication information is registered in the medication record book or pharmacy reservation service based on the user's wishes. Therefore, even if inventory management at any pharmacy is not performed by inventory system 2, pharmacy reservation server 1 can obtain medication information. Using medication information has these advantages. On the other hand, for pharmacies where inventory status information is stored, it is possible to determine whether or not they have inventory based on the inventory status information. Pharmacies that are shown as not having inventory based on the inventory status information do not need to be included in the pharmacies presented to the user, even if they have a dispensing record.

[0146] The inventory change information may include the arrival information stored in the arrival DB14f. The arrival information is information indicating that a drug has been received. When a drug is received, the drug inventory at the pharmacy increases. Therefore, the arrival information is related to the drug inventory. In this case, a pharmacy that meets the specified conditions may be a pharmacy that has received a drug. Therefore, the search unit 1107 may search for a pharmacy that has received a drug identified by the drug identification information for dispensing obtained by the drug information acquisition unit 1106, based on the arrival information stored in the arrival DB14f. A pharmacy that has received a drug is a pharmacy that had the drug in stock at least at the time of the drug's arrival. Therefore, a pharmacy that has received a drug may still have the drug in stock. The search unit 1107 may search for a pharmacy that has received a drug within a specified period up to the time of the pharmacy search request or the time of the pharmacy search, based on the information indicating the arrival time included in the arrival information. Examples of a specified period include today, yesterday or later, three days ago or later, one week ago or later, etc. The more recent the arrival time, the higher the probability that the pharmacy currently has the drug in stock. In addition, the dispensing drug information acquisition unit 1106 may acquire the specified quantity (or dispensing quantity) of the drug to be dispensed. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have received a quantity of the drug equal to or greater than the specified quantity, based on the quantity received in the arrival information.

[0147] Figure 30 shows an example of information stored in the incoming goods database 14f. As shown in Figure 30, the incoming goods database 14f stores incoming goods information indicating that LLL Pharmacy received kkkkk tablets. Therefore, LLL Pharmacy received kkkkk tablets. As shown in Figure 28, when user 5 enters the drug name of KKK Pharmacy on the drug name input screen 400 and requests a search, LLL Pharmacy is included in the pharmacies to be searched.

[0148] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing drugs identified by the drug identification information for dispensing obtained by the drug information acquisition unit 1106, and may also search for pharmacies that have received the drug based on the arrival information stored in the arrival DB 14f.

[0149] Here, the search unit 1107 may first determine which pharmacies have received a shipment. Then, as a result of this determination, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing from among the pharmacies that were not found to have received a shipment. A shipment of drugs indicates an increase in drug inventory. On the other hand, dispensing of drugs indicates a decrease in drug inventory. Pharmacies whose inventory is increasing are more likely to still have stock of that drug than pharmacies whose inventory is decreasing. As mentioned above, when searching for pharmacies that have received a shipment within a predetermined period, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing from among pharmacies that have not received a shipment within that period. The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have inventory, as well as pharmacies that have received a shipment but were not found to have inventory.

[0150] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing, pharmacies with inventory, and pharmacies that have received deliveries. In this case, the search unit 1107 may first search for pharmacies with inventory. Next, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have received deliveries from among the pharmacies that were not found to have inventory. For pharmacies with inventory, it is not necessary to determine whether or not they have received deliveries. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have received deliveries only from among pharmacies for which inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs identified by the dispensing target drug identification information is not stored. As described above, by presenting pharmacies that have received deliveries of drugs among pharmacies for which it is unknown whether or not they have inventory of the drug, the user can consider those pharmacies when deciding where to request deliveries. On the other hand, pharmacies that are shown not to have inventory by the inventory status information do not need to be included in the pharmacies presented to the user, even if they have a history of receiving deliveries. In some cases, it is predetermined that the delivery DB 14f will only store delivery information for pharmacies that do not use any of the inventory systems 2. In this case, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have received a shipment without determining whether or not there is inventory information for those pharmacies. Subsequently, the search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies with a history of dispensing from among the pharmacies that were not found to have inventory or to have received a shipment.

[0151] Figure 31 shows an example of pharmacy classification. As shown in Figure 31, a pharmacy that has inventory of a drug to be dispensed, as indicated by inventory status information, is classified as a pharmacy with inventory. This pharmacy may be classified as either a pharmacy with full inventory or a pharmacy with partial inventory. A pharmacy that does not have inventory status information for a drug to be dispensed, but has information on its arrival, is classified as a pharmacy that has received an arrival. A pharmacy that has neither inventory status information nor arrival information for a drug to be dispensed, but has drug information for that drug, is classified as a pharmacy with a history of dispensing.

[0152] The order in which pharmacies are searched is not limited to the order described above. The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies in any order. It is sufficient that the search results from the search unit 1107 can identify pharmacies that have inventory, pharmacies that are not found to have inventory but have received a shipment, and pharmacies that are not found to have inventory or have received a shipment but have a history of dispensing.

[0153] The search result information transmission unit 1108 may transmit search result information, which indicates the results of the search performed by the search unit 1107, to the user terminal 4. The transmitted search result information may indicate pharmacies that were found to have a dispensing record. The search result information may also indicate pharmacies that have inventory and pharmacies that have a dispensing record. Here, the search result information may distinguish between pharmacies that have inventory and pharmacies that were not found to have inventory but whose inventory has changed. Here, the search result information may distinguish between pharmacies that have inventory and pharmacies that were not found to have inventory but have a dispensing record. The search result information may also indicate pharmacies that have received shipments and pharmacies that have a dispensing record. In this case, the search result information may distinguish between pharmacies that have received shipments and pharmacies that were not found to have received shipments but have a dispensing record. The search result information may also indicate pharmacies that have a dispensing record, pharmacies that have inventory, and pharmacies that have received shipments. The search result information may also be search result screen information for displaying the search result screen.

[0154] Figures 32(a) and 32(b) show examples of the search pharmacy information display area displayed on the search results map screen. For example, as shown in Figure 28, suppose kkkkk tablets are specified as the drug to be dispensed, and as shown in Figure 29, drug information indicating that KKK Pharmacy dispensed kkkkk tablets is stored in the drug record DB14c. In this case, KKK Pharmacy may be searched as a pharmacy with a dispensing record. At this time, as shown in Figure 32(a), the search pharmacy information display area 550-7 may be displayed on the search results map screen. The search pharmacy information display area 550-7 is the search pharmacy information display area 550 corresponding to KKK Pharmacy. Information indicating dispensing record 563 may be displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550-7. Information indicating dispensing record 563 is information indicating that the pharmacy whose information is displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy with a dispensing record. For example, "Dispensing record" may be displayed as information indicating dispensing record 563.

[0155] As shown in Figure 28, suppose kkkkk tablets are specified as the drug to be dispensed, and as shown in Figure 29, assume that arrival information indicating that LLL Pharmacy has received kkkkk tablets is stored in the arrival database. In this case, LLL Pharmacy may be searched as a pharmacy that has received an arrival. At this time, as shown in Figure 32(b), the search results map screen may display the search pharmacy information display area 550-8. The search pharmacy information display area 550-8 is the search pharmacy information display area 550 corresponding to LLL Pharmacy. The search pharmacy information display area 550-8 may also display arrival information 564. Arrival information 564 is information indicating that the pharmacy whose information is displayed in the search pharmacy information display area 550 is a pharmacy that has received an arrival. For example, "Arrival" may be displayed as arrival information 564.

[0156] The search unit 1107 may search for pharmacies that have the drug in stock, as well as pharmacies that have recently received a shipment of the drug.

[0157] There are no particular limitations on the display order of pharmacies on the search results screen. For example, pharmacies may be displayed in order of proximity to the user terminal 4 that requested the pharmacy search. Alternatively, pharmacies may be displayed in the order of having stock, receiving new stock, and having a history of dispensing. If there are multiple pharmacies that have received new stock, they may be displayed in order of the most recent stock arrival date. If there are multiple pharmacies with a history of dispensing, they may be displayed in order of the most recent dispensing date.

[0158] [4-3. Operation of the communication system] Next, the operation of the communication system S will be explained with reference to Figure 33. The drug selection screen information transmission process and the drug name input screen information transmission process may be the same as the processes shown in Figures 17 and 18, respectively. Figure 33 is a flowchart showing an example of a pharmacy search process executed by the system control unit 11 of the pharmacy reservation server 1. In Figure 33, the same reference numerals are used for processes that are the same as those in Figure 19.

[0159] As shown in Figure 33, steps S301 to S307 are executed first. After step S307, the search unit 1107 extracts pharmacies from among the pharmacies registered in the pharmacy reservation service for which inventory information including the drug name obtained from the search request is not stored in the inventory DB 14d (step S361). For example, the search unit 1107 may obtain a pharmacy ID from each inventory information including the drug name in the inventory DB 14d. The search unit 1107 may also extract pharmacies for which inventory information is not stored by searching for pharmacy IDs stored in the pharmacy DB 14b that do not match any of the pharmacy IDs obtained from the inventory information. Next, the search unit 1107 searches the arrival DB 14f for arrival information including the pharmacy ID of one of the pharmacies extracted in step S361 and the drug name obtained from the search request (step S362). This allows the search unit 1107 to find pharmacies that have received an arrival. At this time, the search unit 1107 may search for arrival information for which the arrival date is within a predetermined period. Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds information to the HTML document of the search result map screen for each pharmacy found to have received a shipment, in order to display the search pharmacy information display area 550 (step S363). At this time, the search unit 1107 adds information to display the received shipment information 564 to the information for displaying the search pharmacy information display area 550. Except for this point, the processing in step S363 may be the same as the processing in step S305.

[0160] Next, the search unit 1107 extracts pharmacies from among those registered in the pharmacy reservation service where inventory information including the drug name obtained from the search request is not stored in the inventory DB 14d, and where incoming information including that drug name is not stored in the incoming DB 14f (step S364). For example, the search unit 1107 may extract pharmacies from among those extracted in step S361 that were not determined to be pharmacies that received incoming goods in step S362. Next, the search unit 1107 searches the medication record DB 14c for medication information including the pharmacy ID of any of the pharmacies extracted in step S364 and the drug name obtained from the search request (step S365). This allows the search unit 1107 to find pharmacies with a dispensing record. At this time, the search unit 1107 may search for medication information where the dispensing date is within a predetermined period. Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 adds information to the HTML document of the search result map screen for each pharmacy found to have a dispensing record, in order to display the search pharmacy information display area 550 (step S366). At this time, the search unit 1107 adds information to display the dispensing record information 563 to the information to display the search pharmacy information display area 550. Except for this point, the processing in step S366 may be the same as the processing in step S305. Next, the search result information transmission unit 1108 sends the HTML document of the search result map screen to the user terminal 4 (step S308), and the pharmacy search process ends.

[0161] As described above, this embodiment can provide useful information regarding the possibility of dispensing drugs by pharmacies.

[0162] (Note 1-1) A pharmacy search device comprising: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; a dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring dispensing information associated with the recipient of a drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; a search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on the inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and a search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device.

[0163] (Appendix 1-2) The dispensing information includes dispensing drug identification information for each of the one or more dispensed drugs, and the dispensing information acquisition means further comprises: a selection screen information transmission means that acquires one or more dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means, and transmits to the terminal device selection screen information that displays a selection screen accepting the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired one or more dispensing information, and a selection drug identification information receiving means that receives from the terminal device selection drug identification information for identifying the drug selected on the selection screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted selection screen information, and the search means searches for a pharmacy that satisfies the predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of drugs identified by the received selection drug identification information among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information.

[0164] (Appendix 1-3) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 1-2, further comprising: an input screen information transmission means for transmitting input screen information to the terminal device, which displays an input screen for accepting input of the name of a drug; and an input drug information receiving means for receiving from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, wherein the search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the stock of the drug of the received name, and when a drug is selected on the selection screen, the input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information to display the input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information has been pre-entered.

[0165] (Appendix 1-4) The dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug to be dispensed, the inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drug in stock, the input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information to display an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug and the amount of the drug, when a drug is selected on the selection screen, transmits input screen information to display an input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information and an amount corresponding to the dispensing quantity of the drug have been pre-entered, the input drug information receiving means receives the name of the drug and quantity information indicating the amount entered on the input screen, and the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug of the received name in an amount equal to or greater than the amount indicated by the received quantity information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug of the received name in an amount equal to or less than the amount indicated by the received quantity information. This is the pharmacy search device according to Appendix 1-3.

[0166] (Appendix 1-5) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 1-1, further comprising: an input screen information transmission means for transmitting input screen information to a terminal device, which displays an input screen for accepting input of drug names; and a drug information receiving means for receiving from the terminal device the names of the drugs entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, wherein the search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the stock of the drug of the received name, and the input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information to display an input screen in which the names of at least one drug have been pre-entered when the dispensing information is acquired by the dispensing information acquisition means.

[0167] (Appendix 1-6) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 1-1, wherein the dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug dispensed, the inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drug in stock, and the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug equal to or greater than the dispensing quantity information included in the acquired dispensing information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug equal to or less than the dispensing quantity information included in the acquired dispensing information.

[0168] (Appendix 1-7) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 1-4 or 1-6, characterized in that the search means searches for the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy, and the search result information transmits the search result information that allows the pharmacy searched by the search means to distinguish between the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy.

[0169] (Appendix 1-8) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 1-2 to 1-4, wherein the dispensing information further includes dispensing time information indicating the dispensing time of the drug, the dispensing information acquisition means acquires one or more dispensing pieces of information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means, and the selection screen information transmission means displays the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired one or more dispensing pieces of information on the selection screen in order of the most recent dispensing time indicated by the dispensing time information included in the dispensing information, and transmits the selection screen information for accepting the selection of the displayed drugs on the selection screen.

[0170] (Appendix 1-9) The dispensing information further includes dispensing pharmacy identification information for identifying the dispensing pharmacy that dispensed the drug, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from other pharmacies searched by the search means, if there is a dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information among the pharmacies searched by the search means. This is the pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-8.

[0171] (Appendix 1-10) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-9, wherein the dispensing information further includes dispensing pharmacy identification information for identifying the dispensing pharmacy that dispensed the drug, and further comprises location information acquisition means for acquiring location information indicating the location of the dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information and the pharmacy searched by the search means, and the search result information transmission means, when it is determined based on the acquired location information that there is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy among the pharmacies searched by the search means, transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from the pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy and other pharmacies searched by the search means.

[0172] (Appendix 1-11) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-10, characterized in that the dispensing information storage means stores the medication information registered in the user's medication notebook as dispensing information in association with the user, and the dispensing information acquisition means acquires the medication information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information.

[0173] (Appendix 1-12) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-11, characterized in that the inventory-related information includes inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs, and the search means searches for pharmacies that have inventory of at least one drug.

[0174] (Appendix 1-13) The inventory-related information includes inventory change information indicating that there has been a change in the inventory of a drug, and the search means is characterized in that it searches for a pharmacy where the inventory of at least one drug has changed, as described in any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-12.

[0175] (Appendix 1-14) The inventory-related information includes inventory status information indicating the inventory status of drugs and inventory change information indicating that there has been a change in the inventory of drugs, the search means searches for pharmacies that have stock of at least one drug based on the inventory status information, and searches for pharmacies that have experienced a change in the inventory of at least one drug based on the inventory change information, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that allows for the distinction between pharmacies that have stock of the drug and pharmacies that are not found to have stock of the drug but have experienced a change in the drug, as described in any one of Appendix 1-1 to 1-13.

[0176] (Appendix 1-15) A pharmacy search method performed by a computer, comprising: a user identification information acquisition step for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; a dispensing information acquisition step for acquiring dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information as a recipient of the drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; a search step for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and a search result information transmission step for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search performed in the search step to the terminal device.

[0177] (Appendix 1-16) A pharmacy search program characterized in that a computer functions as: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; a dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring dispensing information associated with the recipient of a drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; a search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for at least one drug among the drug inventory identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on the inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and a search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device.

[0178] (Note 2-1) When a terminal device requests a search for a pharmacy that may be a candidate for dispensing, the pharmacy search device is characterized by comprising: a means for acquiring dispensing target drug identification information to identify the drug to be dispensed; a search means for searching for a pharmacy that has a history of dispensing the drug identified by the acquired dispensing target drug identification information, based on dispensing information stored in a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensings, which indicates the dispensed drug and the dispensing pharmacy; and a search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device.

[0179] (Appendix 2-2) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 2-1, characterized in that the search means further searches for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the acquired drug identification information, based on the stock status information stored in the stock status information storage means which stores stock status information indicating the status of drug inventory at pharmacies in association with pharmacies and drugs, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish between pharmacies that have stock and pharmacies that are not found as having stock but have a history of dispensing the drug.

[0180] (Appendix 2-3) The pharmacy search device according to Appendix 2-1 or 2-2, characterized in that the search means further searches for pharmacies that have received a drug, identified by the acquired dispensing target drug identification information, based on the arrival information stored in the arrival information storage means which stores arrival information indicating the drug that has been received and the pharmacy that received the drug, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish between pharmacies that have received the drug and pharmacies that have not been found as pharmacies that have received the drug but have a dispensing record.

[0181] (Appendix 2-4) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-3, characterized in that the search means further searches for pharmacies that have stock of the drug identified by the acquired drug identification information, based on the stock status information stored in the stock status information storage means which stores stock status information indicating the status of drug inventory at a pharmacy in association with the pharmacy and the drug; the search means further searches for pharmacies that have received stock of the drug identified by the acquired drug identification information, based on the arrival information stored in the arrival information storage means which stores arrival information indicating the drug that has been received and the pharmacy that received the drug; and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information which makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacies searched by the search means from pharmacies that have stock, pharmacies that are not found as pharmacies that have stock and have received stock, and pharmacies that are not found as either pharmacies that have stock or pharmacies that have received stock and have a history of dispensing.

[0182] (Appendix 2-5) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-4, characterized in that the dispensing information further indicates the dispensing time of the drug, and the search means searches for pharmacies that have a dispensing record within a predetermined period up to the time of the pharmacy search.

[0183] (Appendix 2-6) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-5, characterized in that the dispensing information storage means stores the medication information registered in the user's medication notebook as dispensing information in association with the user, and the search means performs a search based on the medication information.

[0184] (Appendix 2-7) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-6, characterized in that the dispensing information storage means stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing for each of a plurality of patients, and the search means searches for pharmacies that have a history of dispensing the drug identified by the acquired dispensing target drug identification information, regardless of whether the patient to whom the drug is provided by the pharmacy is the same as the user of the terminal device.

[0185] (Appendix 2-8) The dispensing information storage means further comprises a user identification information acquisition means for which the dispensing information, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, is stored in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drug is to be provided, and the dispensing target drug identification information is obtained as the dispensing drug identification information stored in the dispensing information storage means in association with the user identified by the acquired user identification information as the destination of the drug.

[0186] (Note 2-9) The dispensing information storage means further comprises: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of the terminal device; a dispensing information storage means for acquiring from the dispensing information storage means one or more dispensing information associated with a patient to whom the dispensed drug is to be provided; a selection screen information transmission means for transmitting to the terminal device selection screen information that allows the user identified by the acquired user identification information to be associated with the recipient of the drug; and the dispensing target drug identification information acquisition means for acquiring from the terminal device selection screen information that allows the user to select any drug from among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired one or more dispensing information, wherein the dispensing target drug identification information acquisition means receives from the terminal device as dispensing target drug identification information selection drug identification information for identifying the drug selected on the selection screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted selection screen information.

[0187] (Note 2-10) The dispensing information storage means stores the dispensing information, which includes one or more dispensing drug identification information for identifying one or more dispensed drugs, in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drugs are provided; a user identification information acquisition means for identifying the user of the terminal device; a dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring one or more dispensing information from the dispensing information storage means to which the user identified by the acquired user identification information is associated as the recipient of the drugs; and a selection screen information that displays a selection screen accepting the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired one or more dispensing information, to the terminal device. The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-9, further comprising: a selection screen information transmission means; and an input screen information transmission means for transmitting input screen information to the terminal device, which causes the terminal device to display an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug, wherein the dispensing target drug identification information acquisition means receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information as dispensing target drug identification information, and when a drug is selected on the selection screen, the input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information to display the input screen in which the name of the selected drug has been pre-entered, based on the received selected drug identification information.

[0188] (Note 2-11) The dispensing information storage means stores the dispensing information, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drug is provided; user identification information acquisition means for identifying the user of the terminal device; dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring the dispensing information from the dispensing information storage means to which the user identified by the acquired user identification information is associated as the recipient of the drug; and input screen information for displaying an input screen that accepts input of the name of the drug, which is transmitted to the terminal device. A pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-1 to 2-10, further comprising: an information transmission means; wherein the dispensing target drug identification information acquisition means receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information as dispensing target drug identification information; and the input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information that displays the input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the dispensing information has been pre-entered when the dispensing information is acquired by the dispensing information acquisition means.

[0189] (Appendix 2-12) The dispensing information further includes dispensing time information indicating the dispensing time of the drug, and the selection screen information transmission means displays the drugs identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired 1 or more dispensing information on the selection screen in order of the most recent dispensing time indicated by the dispensing time information included in the dispensing information, and transmits the selection screen information for accepting the selection of the displayed drugs on the selection screen, as described in Appendix 2-9 or 2-10.

[0190] (Appendix 2-13) The dispensing information further includes dispensing pharmacy identification information for identifying the dispensing pharmacy that dispensed the drug, and the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from the pharmacy with a dispensing record and other pharmacies searched by the search means, if there is a pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information among the pharmacies searched by the search means, as described in any one of Appendix 2-8 to 2-12.

[0191] (Appendix 2-14) The pharmacy search device according to any one of Appendix 2-8 to 2-13, wherein the dispensing information further includes dispensing pharmacy identification information for identifying the dispensing pharmacy that dispensed the drug, and further comprises location information acquisition means for acquiring location information indicating the location of the dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information and the dispensing pharmacy with a dispensing record, and the search result information transmission means, when it is determined based on the acquired location information that among the pharmacies searched by the search means there is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from the pharmacy located within the predetermined distance from other pharmacies searched by the search means.

[0192] (Appendix 2-15) A pharmacy search method performed by a computer, characterized in that when a terminal device requests a search for a pharmacy that is a candidate to be dispensed, the method includes: a step of acquiring a dispensing target drug identification information to identify a drug to be dispensed; a search step of searching for a pharmacy that has a history of dispensing the drug identified by the acquired dispensing target drug identification information, based on dispensing information stored in a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information that indicates the dispensed drug and the dispensing pharmacy, which is dispensing information related to dispensing performed in the past; and a search result information transmission step of transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search performed in the search step to the terminal device.

[0193] (Appendix 2-16) A pharmacy search program characterized in that, when a terminal device requests a search for a pharmacy that is a candidate to be dispensed, the computer functions as: a means for acquiring information on information to be dispensed to identify the drug to be dispensed; a means for searching for a pharmacy that has a history of dispensing the drug identified by the acquired information on information to be dispensed, based on dispensing information stored in a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information that indicates the dispensed drug and the pharmacy that dispensed it, which is dispensing information related to dispensing in the past; and a means for transmitting search results information that indicates the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0194] 1. Pharmacy reservation server 2. Inventory System 3. Pharmacy terminal 4. User terminals 11 System Control Unit 12 System Bus 13 Input / Output Interfaces 14 Storage section 14a UserDB 14b Pharmacy Database 14c Medication Record Database 14d Inventory DB 14e Reservation DB 14f New Arrivals DB 15 Communications Department 1101 User Identification Information Acquisition Unit 1102 Dispensing Information Acquisition Department 1103 Selection screen information transmission unit 1104 Selected Drug Identification Information Receiving Unit 1105 Input screen information transmission unit 1106 Department for Acquiring Information on Dispensing Target Drugs 1107 Search Department 1108 Search Results Information Transmission Unit 1109 Reservation Department 1110 Location information acquisition unit NW Network S Communication System

Claims

1. A means for obtaining user identification information to identify the user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search, Dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided, and dispensing information acquisition means that acquires the dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information as the recipient of the drug, A search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on the inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information related to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associating it with the pharmacy and the drug. A search result information transmission means that transmits search result information indicating the results of the search performed by the search means to the terminal device, A pharmacy search device characterized by being equipped with the following features.

2. The dispensing information includes the dispensing drug identification information for each of the one or more dispensed drugs. The dispensing information acquisition means acquires one or more dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means. A selection screen information transmission means transmits to the terminal device selection screen information that displays a selection screen accepting the selection of any drug from among the drugs identified by the drug identification information contained in the acquired one or more dispensing information, A selection drug identification information receiving means receives from the terminal device selection drug identification information for identifying the drug selected on the selection screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted selection screen information, Furthermore, The pharmacy search device according to claim 1, characterized in that the search means searches for pharmacies that satisfy the predetermined conditions regarding the inventory of drugs identified by the received selected drug identification information among the drugs identified by the drug identification information contained in the acquired dispensing information.

3. An input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information, which displays an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug, to the terminal device. An input drug information receiving means receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, Furthermore, The search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the inventory of the drug with the received name. The pharmacy search device according to claim 2, characterized in that when a drug is selected on the selection screen, the input screen information is transmitted to display the input screen in which the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information is pre-entered.

4. The aforementioned dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug dispensed, The aforementioned inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drugs in stock. The input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information that displays the input screen which accepts input of the name of the drug and the amount of the drug, and when a drug is selected on the selection screen, transmits the input screen information that displays the input screen which has the name of the drug identified by the received selected drug identification information and the amount equivalent to the amount of the drug to be dispensed pre-entered. The input drug information receiving means receives the name of the drug and quantity information indicating the amount entered on the input screen. The pharmacy search device according to claim 3, characterized in that the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug with the received name in an amount equal to or greater than the amount indicated by the received quantity information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of the drug with the received name in an amount equal to or less than the amount indicated by the received quantity information.

5. An input screen information transmission means transmits input screen information, which displays an input screen that accepts input of the name of a drug, to the terminal device. A drug information receiving means that receives from the terminal device the name of the drug entered on the input screen displayed on the terminal device based on the transmitted input screen information, Furthermore, The search means searches for pharmacies that meet the predetermined conditions for the inventory of the drug with the received name. The pharmacy search device according to claim 1, wherein the input screen information transmission means transmits the input screen information that displays the input screen in which the names of at least one drug are pre-entered when the dispensing information is acquired by the dispensing information acquisition means.

6. The aforementioned dispensing information further includes dispensing quantity information indicating the amount of drug dispensed, The aforementioned inventory-related information includes inventory quantity information indicating the amount of drugs in stock. The pharmacy search device according to claim 1, characterized in that the search means searches for at least one of the following: a first pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug equal to or greater than the amount dispensed by the amount dispensed information included in the acquired dispensing information, and a second pharmacy that has an inventory of at least one drug equal to or less than the amount dispensed by the amount dispensed information included in the acquired dispensing information.

7. The search means searches for the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy, The pharmacy search device according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that allows for the distinction between the first pharmacy and the second pharmacy, based on the pharmacies searched by the search means.

8. The aforementioned dispensing information further includes dispensing time information indicating the time of dispensing of the drug, The dispensing information acquisition means acquires one or more dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information from the dispensing information storage means. The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the selection screen information transmission means displays at least one drug on the selection screen in order of the most recent dispensing date indicated by the dispensing date information included in the dispensing information, and transmits the selection screen information for accepting the selection of the displayed drug on the selection screen.

9. The aforementioned dispensing information further includes pharmacy identification information for identifying the pharmacy that dispensed the medication, The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, if there is a pharmacy identified by the pharmacy identification information contained in the acquired dispensing information among the pharmacies searched by the search means, the search means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from other pharmacies searched by the search means.

10. The aforementioned dispensing information further includes pharmacy identification information for identifying the pharmacy that dispensed the medication, The system further includes a location information acquisition means that acquires location information indicating the location of the dispensing pharmacy identified by the dispensing pharmacy identification information included in the acquired dispensing information and the location of the pharmacy searched by the search means, The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, when the search results information transmission means determines, based on the acquired location information, that there is a pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy among the pharmacies searched by the search means, it transmits the search results information that makes it possible to distinguish the pharmacy searched by the search means from the pharmacy located within a predetermined distance from the dispensing pharmacy and other pharmacies searched by the search means.

11. The dispensing information storage means stores the medication information registered in the user's medication record book as dispensing information, associating it with the user. The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the dispensing information acquisition means acquires the medication information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information.

12. The aforementioned inventory-related information includes inventory status information showing the inventory status of the drug, The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the search means searches for a pharmacy that has stock of at least one drug.

13. The aforementioned inventory-related information includes inventory change information indicating that there has been a change in the drug inventory. The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the search means searches for pharmacies where the inventory of at least one drug has changed.

14. The aforementioned inventory-related information includes inventory status information showing the inventory status of drugs and inventory change information showing that there have been changes in drug inventory. The search means searches for pharmacies that have stock of the at least one drug based on the inventory status information, and searches for pharmacies that have experienced a change in the stock of the at least one drug based on the inventory change information. The pharmacy search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the search result information transmission means transmits the search result information that makes it possible to distinguish between pharmacies found by the search means as pharmacies that have the drug in stock and pharmacies that are not found as pharmacies that have the drug in stock and have experienced changes in the drug.

15. In a computer-based pharmacy search method, The user identification information acquisition means provided by the computer includes a user identification information acquisition step, which acquires user identification information for identifying the user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search, The dispensing information acquisition means provided by the computer includes a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, in association with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided, and the dispensing information acquisition step acquires the dispensing information associated with the user identified by the acquired user identification information as the recipient of the drug. The search means provided by the computer searches for a pharmacy that meets predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on the inventory-related information stored in the inventory-related information storage means which stores inventory-related information related to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy in association with the pharmacy and the drug. The search result information transmission means provided by the computer transmits search result information indicating the results of the search performed in the search step to the terminal device in a search result information transmission step, A pharmacy search method characterized by including the following.

16. A pharmacy search program characterized in that a computer functions as: a user identification information acquisition means for acquiring user identification information for identifying a user of a terminal device requesting a pharmacy search; a dispensing information acquisition means for acquiring dispensing information associated with the recipient of a drug, from a dispensing information storage means that stores dispensing information relating to past dispensing, including dispensing drug identification information for identifying the dispensed drug, associated with the patient to whom the dispensed drug was provided; a search means for searching for a pharmacy that satisfies predetermined conditions for the inventory of at least one drug identified by the dispensing drug identification information included in the acquired dispensing information, based on inventory-related information stored in an inventory-related information storage means that stores inventory-related information relating to the inventory of drugs in a pharmacy, associated with the pharmacy and the drug; and a search result information transmission means for transmitting search result information indicating the result of the search by the search means to the terminal device.

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