Programs, information processing devices, methods, and systems

Abstract

The goal is to further improve efficiency in medical collaboration operations. [Solution] This is a program for operating a computer equipped with a processor and memory. The program causes the processor to perform the following steps: receiving a reservation for medical resources related to medical treatment or examinations to be performed at the receiving medical institution from a terminal device of the referring medical institution; and generating billing data for the costs incurred between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution after the medical treatment or examination is completed.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing apparatus, a method, and a system.

Background Art

[0002] In the cooperation between medical institutions, the development of technologies for improving the efficiency of patient referrals from a referring medical institution to a referred medical institution and the joint use of inspection equipment is underway.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, a system is described in which a plurality of doctors or inspection devices are selected collectively, and their reservation time frames are arranged and displayed in a list on a daily basis, enabling easy reservation considering the patient's wishes. As a result, the person in charge at the referring medical institution can perform the reservation operation while checking the availability of the referred medical institution.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, although the efficiency of the reservation operation is achieved, the billing operations between medical institutions (for example, settlement of inspection commission fees and referral fees) that occur along with the implementation of medical treatment and inspections after reservation are not considered. Therefore, the billing operations after reservation still have to rely on manual work or input to an external accounting system, etc., and there is a problem that it cannot be made efficient.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to further improve the efficiency in medical cooperation operations.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, a program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program for operating a computer comprising a processor and memory, the program causing the processor to perform the following steps: receiving a reservation for medical resources related to medical treatment or examinations to be performed at a referring medical institution from a terminal device of a referring medical institution; and generating billing data for expenses incurred between the referring medical institution and the referring medical institution after the medical treatment or examinations are completed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of medical collaboration operations. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the medical institution collaboration system 1 according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functional parts realized by the control unit 101 of the terminal device 10. [Figure 4] This block diagram shows an example of the hardware configuration of the collaborative server 20 according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the functional unit implemented by the control unit 201 of the collaborative server 20. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the Medical Institutions Table 2021. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the Collaboration Cost Regulations Table 2022. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the reservation table 2023. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the billing data table 2024. [Figure 10] This is a sequence diagram showing the exchange of information between devices when the medical institution collaboration process according to this embodiment is executed. [Figure 11] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a reservation screen displayed on the referring terminal 10A. [Figure 12] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a patient details and message screen displayed on the referring terminal 10A or the receiving terminal 10B. [Figure 13] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the daily schedule screen displayed on the referral terminal 10B. [Figure 14] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a billing management screen displayed on terminal device 10. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings illustrating the embodiments, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted. The following embodiments are not intended to unduly limit the content of this disclosure as described in the claims. Not all components shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential components of this disclosure. Also, each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a strict illustration.

[0011] Furthermore, in the following description, "processor" refers to one or more processors. A processor may be expressed, for example, as processing circuitry. At least one processor is typically a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may be other types of processors such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). At least one processor may be single-core or multi-core. Also, at least one processor may be a general-purpose processor or a purpose-specific processor.

[0012] Also, at least one processor may be a processor in a broad sense, such as a hardware circuit (e.g., FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)) that performs part or all of the processing.

[0013] Also, in the following description, expressions such as "xxx table" may be used to describe information from which an output is obtained for an input. However, this information may be data of any structure or a learning model such as a neural network that generates an output for an input. Therefore, "xxx table" can be referred to as "xxx information".

[0014] Also, in the following description, the configuration of each table is an example, and one table may be divided into two or more tables, or all or part of two or more tables may be one table.

[0015] The program may be pre-installed in the information processing device shown below. For example, it may be on a recording medium (e.g., non-transitory) readable by the information processing device, and this program may be installed in the information processing device. Also, the program may be transmitted from a program distribution server to the information processing device and installed. Also, in the following description, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0016] Also, in the following description, identification information for various objects is used. However, the identification information may be any information indicating a predetermined object, and the specific data is not limited to the embodiments. The identification information may be an identification number or an identifier including letters or symbols.

[0017] <Overview> The medical collaboration system 1 according to this first embodiment aims to streamline the inefficient referral, appointment scheduling, and billing operations between medical institutions, which previously relied on telephone and fax. The collaboration server 20, which forms the core of this system, presents real-time availability information of medical resources (e.g., diagnostic equipment such as MRI and CT) of partner medical institutions (hospitals, clinics, etc.) to terminal devices operated by referring medical institutions (clinics, etc.), enabling direct appointment booking. One of its features is the provision of a billing function that automatically generates and aggregates billing data such as examination fees and referral fees based on the fee regulations agreed upon in advance between the referring and referred medical institutions after the completion of medical treatment or examinations at the referred medical institution. This enables the end-to-end digitalization and automation of everything from appointment management to B2B billing operations between medical institutions, significantly improving the operational efficiency of medical institutions. The term "collaboration" here mainly refers to "clinic-to-clinic collaboration" between local clinics, but also includes "hospital-to-clinic collaboration" between hospitals and clinics, with the aim of efficiently mutually utilizing specialized medical slots or advanced diagnostic equipment resources within the region.

[0018] <Overall System Configuration> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 1 is a system for providing a medical institution collaboration service to digitize collaboration between medical institutions (reservation and billing operations).

[0019] The information processing system 1 shown in Figure 1 includes, for example, a referring terminal 10A, a receiving terminal 10B, and a coordinating server 20. The referring terminal 10A, the receiving terminal 10B, and the coordinating server 20 are connected to each other via, for example, a network 80. The coordinating server 20 may also be connected via a network to an in-hospital system 40 operated by the receiving medical institution, or it may be linked directly or indirectly via an API (Application Programming Interface) or the like.

[0020] Figure 1 shows an example where the information processing system 1 includes one referring terminal 10A and one referring terminal 10B. However, in reality, system 1 may include multiple terminal devices for use by an unspecified number of referring and referring medical institutions. Furthermore, the collaboration server 20 does not need to be a single physical device; it may be implemented as a collection of multiple devices, such as a cloud computing environment where multiple server devices work together.

[0021] In this embodiment, "referring medical institution" refers to a medical institution (e.g., a clinic) that refers its patients to other medical institutions, and "receiving medical institution" refers to a medical institution (e.g., a hospital or another clinic) that accepts patient referrals or shared use of medical resources such as testing equipment from the referring medical institution. In this specification, "clinic" includes not only medical facilities for humans but also animal hospitals (medical facilities as defined in veterinary medicine) for animals. The "collaboration" between these medical institutions mainly includes "clinic-to-clinic collaboration" between local clinics, as well as "hospital-clinic collaboration" between hospitals and clinics. This system aims to efficiently facilitate the mutual use of specialized medical services and advanced testing equipment resources among these medical institutions within a region.

[0022] The referring medical institution functions as an interface that allows a doctor or staff member to operate the referring terminal 10A to inquire in real time about the availability of medical resources (e.g., diagnostic equipment such as MRI and CT scanners, or specialist appointment slots) at the receiving medical institution and to make a reservation. In addition, upon confirmation of the reservation, the referring medical institution transmits medical information, including patient questionnaire data, image data, video data, and handover notes, to the receiving medical institution via the linked server 20. Furthermore, it plays a role in confirming the total amount of expenses (total payment) that the referring institution must pay to the other hospital as the requesting party through the billing management screen described later.

[0023] The referring medical institution can centrally manage the status of external appointments to its hospital by operating the referral terminal 10B, and update the status (e.g., input "completed") as a result of the medical examination or test being performed. The referring medical institution can view the medical information sent from the referring medical institution and use it in actual medical treatment, and after the completion of treatment, it automatically generates and presents billing data for test outsourcing fees, referral fees, etc., based on the pre-agreed fee regulations. This allows the referring medical institution to understand the total amount of fees (total billing) that it bills to other hospitals as the contracted party within the system.

[0024] In this way, by enabling the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution to share information bidirectionally via the linked server 20, it becomes possible to move away from the analog operations that relied on traditional telephone and fax, and to process everything from appointment management to B2B billing operations between medical institutions in a seamless digital manner.

[0025] The referring terminal 10A is, for example, an information processing device operated by a doctor or staff member of the medical institution (e.g., a clinic) that is referring the patient. The referring terminal 10A can be implemented using an information terminal such as a desktop PC, laptop PC, or tablet. The referring terminal 10A accesses the linked server 20 via a web browser or dedicated application and functions as an interface for checking the availability of medical resources (such as MRI and other diagnostic equipment) held by the referring medical institution, making reservations, and transmitting medical information such as medical questionnaires and image data.

[0026] The referral terminal 10B is an information processing device operated by a doctor or staff member at the medical institution receiving the patient referral (e.g., a hospital or clinic). Like the referring terminal 10A, the referral terminal 10B is implemented using an information terminal such as a PC or tablet. The referral terminal 10B functions as an interface for managing reservation status via the linkage server 20, updating status upon "completion" of medical treatment or examination, viewing medical information sent from the referring institution, and confirming billing data.

[0027] The collaboration server 20 forms the core of this information processing system 1 and is an information processing device for managing and executing reservations and billing between medical institutions. It is implemented by a computer connected to the network 80. The collaboration server 20 performs various processes such as reservation information management, medical institution information management, management of collaboration fee regulations (master data), automatic generation and aggregation of billing data, and transfer (relay) of medical treatment data.

[0028] Furthermore, the linked server 20 communicates in real time with the in-house system 40 of the referring medical institution and provides a function to directly acquire information on available slots for medical resources (specific equipment such as MRI and CT scanners, and the availability of specialists) and present it to the referring terminal 10A.

[0029] The in-hospital system 40 is an information system operated within the referring medical institution, and includes, for example, an electronic medical record system, an appointment ledger system, or a medical accounting system. The in-hospital system 40 manages the operational status of the hospital's own testing equipment and appointment slots. The linked server 20 acquires information from this in-hospital system 40, enabling it to display real-time appointment slots that reflect the actual operational status to the referring terminal 10A.

[0030] <Terminal device configuration> Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device (referring terminal 10A and referring terminal 10B) according to this embodiment. In this specification, the referring terminal 10A and the referring terminal 10B have a common hardware configuration, and hereinafter they will be described together as terminal device 10 (10A and 10B). As shown in Figure 2, terminal device 10 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a communication unit 103, an input unit 104, and an output unit 105. Note that terminal device 10 may also include components not related to the essence of the invention of this embodiment, such as a camera 106, a position sensor 107, an acceleration sensor 108, and an audio processing unit (not shown).

[0031] The control unit 101 executes various processes by running various programs stored in the memory unit 102. The control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, etc. By operating according to the program, the control unit 101 performs the functions of an operation reception unit 1011, a transmission / reception unit 1012, and a presentation control unit 1013 as shown in Figure 3.

[0032] The memory unit 102 includes a main memory and an auxiliary memory, and stores various programs and various information. The memory unit 102 also stores an application program 120 for using the functions of this medical collaboration service. The application program 120 includes a web application that runs on a web browser, or a dedicated native application.

[0033] The communication unit 103 performs modulation and demodulation processing for communication with an external device (for example, the cooperating server 20). The communication unit 103 performs transmission processing on reservation requests, status update information, or medical data generated by the control unit 101 and sends them to the cooperating server 20.

[0034] The input unit 104 accepts instructions or information input from the user (doctor, nurse, administrative staff, etc.). The input unit 104 is implemented using a touch-sensitive device, keyboard, mouse, etc. The input unit 104 converts the selection of the referring medical institution, specification of the appointment slot, and input of patient information on the referring terminal 10A, as well as instructions to change the treatment status on the referring terminal 10B (e.g., pressing the "Completed" button), into electrical signals and outputs them to the control unit 101.

[0035] The output unit 105 is implemented by a display or the like that presents information to the user. The output unit 105 displays an available slot calendar, a reservation list, patient medical data (medical questionnaire, images, etc.), or aggregated billing data and invoices (PDF, etc.) provided by the linked server 20.

[0036] Camera 106 is an imaging device that captures images, and is used, for example, in the referring terminal 10A to photograph paper questionnaires, referral letters, or both, and to transmit the image data as medical information. Position sensor 107 is a sensor that detects the position of the terminal device, and is used, for example, in the referring terminal 10A to search for a referral medical institution close to the current location. Accelerometer 108 detects the orientation of the terminal device and is used to present the calendar and detailed billing statements in an optimal screen layout.

[0037] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional units realized by the control unit 101. The control unit 101 comprises an operation reception unit 1011, a transmission / reception unit 1012, and a presentation control unit 1013 as functional units.

[0038] The operation reception unit 1011 receives instructions and other information entered from the input unit 104. Specifically, the referring terminal 10A receives instructions such as selecting a medical institution to be referred to, specifying an appointment slot, confirming the appointment, and entering questionnaire data. The receiving terminal 10B receives instructions such as approving the appointment, changing the treatment status ("completed," "cancelled," etc.), or issuing an invoice.

[0039] The transmitting / receiving unit 1012 sends and receives data with the cooperating server 20. The referring terminal 10A sends reservation requests, medical questionnaire data, or image data, and receives reservation completion notifications and billing confirmation data. The receiving terminal 10B receives reservation status and medical treatment data and sends status update information and billing confirmation information.

[0040] The display control unit 1013 controls the output unit 105 to display information such as the availability of medical resources, reservation status, and billing-related information. In particular, at the referral terminal 10B, it controls the display of the automatically calculated billing items after the status change, or the monthly invoice download screen. The display control unit 1013 also controls the output of a reservation slip for distribution to the patient, which includes the confirmed reservation details. The layout and wording of this reservation slip can be customized according to the department or type of medical institution being referred. For example, when used in a veterinary hospital, the patient name field can be changed to "owner's name" and "pet's name," or the system can be configured to automatically switch the content of the items to bring (such as instructions for fasting the day before the examination) depending on the department. This enables the automation of appropriate guidance to patients (or owners) in various medical settings.

[0041] <Configuration of the linked server> Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the collaborative server 20 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 4, the collaborative server 20 comprises a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, a communication unit 203, and an input / output IF 204. The control unit 201 executes various processes by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 202. The control unit 201 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU.

[0042] The storage unit 202 includes a main memory and an auxiliary memory. The storage unit 202 stores various programs and various information. The storage unit 202 stores various databases. As various databases, the storage unit 202 stores, for example, a medical institution table 2021, a collaboration cost specification table 2022, a reservation table 2023, a billing data table 2024, and an application program 2025 for executing the medical institution collaboration service according to this embodiment.

[0043] The Medical Institution Table 2021 is a database for managing medical institutions that use this system. The Collaboration Fee Regulation Table 2022 is a database for managing the calculation logic for examination outsourcing fees, referral fees, etc., that occur between medical institutions, and stores the fee regulations agreed upon in advance between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution. The Appointment Table 2023 is a database for managing the resource reservation status of each medical institution. The Billing Data Table 2024 is a database for accumulating and managing billing records between medical institutions that are automatically generated upon completion of medical treatment or examinations. The Application Program 2025 is application software for executing and managing this medical institution collaboration service. The Application Program 2025 includes commands related to appointment management, billing processing, and data relay. In addition, the collaboration server 20 strictly synchronizes the patient list held by the in-hospital system 40 with the Appointment Table 2023 on this system. When patient data is updated or deleted on the receiving terminal 10B side based on medical information transmitted from the referring terminal 10A, the changes are reflected in the database on the system side in real time or at a predetermined time. This allows both the referring and receiving hospitals to always have access to the latest and most consistent patient information, preventing data discrepancies caused by duplicate management.

[0044] The communications unit 203 performs processing such as modulation and demodulation to enable the coordinating server 20 to communicate with external devices (referring terminal 10A, receiving terminal 10B, and in-hospital system 40).

[0045] The input / output IF204 is an interface for inputting and outputting data to and from external input / output devices. For example, a display device such as a monitor, a keyboard, or a mouse can be connected to the input / output IF204 for administrators to perform maintenance and configuration operations on the linked server 20. Data input via the input / output IF204 is processed by the control unit 201 or stored in the storage unit 202.

[0046] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the functional units implemented by the control unit 201. The control unit 201 comprises a receiving control unit 2011, a transmitting control unit 2012, a presentation control unit 2013, and a service processing unit 2014 as functional units. Specifically, the control unit 201 implements each functional unit by reading a program stored in the storage unit 202 and executing the instructions contained in the program.

[0047] The receiving control unit 2011 controls the process by which the collaboration server 20 receives signals from external devices (referring terminal 10A, referring terminal 10B, in-hospital system 40, etc.) according to the communication protocol. For example, it receives reservation slot inquiry requests or reservation confirmation requests from the referring terminal 10A, and status change instructions to "completed" from the referring terminal 10B. The transmitting control unit 2012 controls the process by which the collaboration server 20 transmits signals to external devices according to the communication protocol. The presentation control unit 2013 controls the process of presenting various information to the user. Specifically, the presentation control unit 2013 transmits information such as the calendar screen displayed by the output unit 105 of the terminal device 10, reservation status, or aggregated invoice data via the network 80.

[0048] The service processing unit 2014 is the core unit that performs the main processing of this disclosure. The service processing unit 2014 performs the reservation management processing, information transfer processing, progress management processing, billing data generation processing, and result distribution processing as a series of functions, as described below.

[0049] In the reservation management process, the service processing unit 2014, in response to inquiries from the referring terminal 10A, obtains available slot information in real time in conjunction with the in-hospital system 40 and presents it via the presentation control unit 2013. It also receives reservation instructions from the referring terminal 10A, registers them in the reservation table 2023, and processes the reservation to secure it. At this time, the service processing unit 2014 executes an automatic calculation logic to determine the time required for the consultation or examination based on the medical information transmitted from the referring terminal 10A. Specifically, it calculates the time required optimized for each individual patient by applying an adjustment coefficient to a pre-set standard time according to the specific consultation content (medical menu), based on at least one of the patient's age, medical history, or answers in the medical questionnaire (physical characteristics, severity of symptoms, etc.). Furthermore, the service processing unit 2014 identifies the equipment resources (consultation rooms, operating rooms, etc.) and human resources (doctors, nurses, etc.) owned by the referring medical institution according to the calculated time required, and controls the simultaneous reservation of these resources. Furthermore, double bookings are prevented by implementing exclusive control during the reservation process. In addition, the service processing unit 2014 may execute a control that automatically sends a reservation completion notification, including the reservation date and time and important notes, to the patient's terminal (email, SMS, or LINE®, etc.) upon reservation confirmation. This helps prevent patients from forgetting their appointments and improves the rate of patients visiting the clinic.

[0050] In the information transfer process, the service processing unit 2014 receives medical information (medical questionnaire data, image data, video data, or handover information, etc.) transmitted from the referring terminal 10A upon confirmation of the reservation, and securely transfers (relays) it to the receiving terminal 10B. In this specification, "secure transfer" means sending and receiving highly confidential medical information while protecting it from eavesdropping, tampering, or unauthorized access. Specifically, this includes configurations that prevent information leakage to persons other than those with legitimate authority, such as the use of encrypted communication (SSL / TLS, etc.) or a dedicated line (VPN, etc.) via the network 80, or terminal authentication and access control on the cooperating server 20. Furthermore, the service processing unit 2014 can dynamically change the required input items at the time of reservation on the referring terminal 10A according to the examination items or medical menu set at the receiving medical institution. Specifically, only when a specific examination (e.g., MRI examination using contrast agent) is selected, specific handover information such as "presence or absence of contrast agent allergy" or "kidney function values" will be displayed on the screen of the referring terminal 10A as a required input item. This makes it possible to collect all the information required by the referring medical institution and reduces the effort required for reconfirmation after the appointment is confirmed.

[0051] In the progress management process, the service processing unit 2014 manages the progress status of each reservation in the reservation table 2023. Specifically, it updates the reservation status to a state such as "completed" based on instructions from the referral terminal 10B or completion notifications from the in-hospital system 40. In addition, in the progress management process, the service processing unit 2014 monitors the expiration date of "provisional reservations," where personal information is in a provisional registration state. If the official registration (reservation confirmation operation, etc.) is not completed within the specified period, the reservation is automatically canceled by batch processing and the status in the reservation table 2023 is updated. Simultaneously with this cancellation, the linkage server 20 notifies the referring terminal 10A in real time that the slot has become "available for reservation" again. This minimizes the downtime of medical resources due to cancellations and maximizes the efficiency of resource utilization within the region.

[0052] In the billing data generation process, the service processing unit 2014 is activated when the reservation status is updated to "Completed" and refers to the linked cost regulations table 2022. It then automatically calculates the billing amount based on the contract terms between the referring and receiving institutions and generates a record in the billing data table 2024. Furthermore, it aggregates the billing data table at a predetermined time (e.g., the end of the month) and processes the creation of invoice data for each medical institution. In addition, the service processing unit 2014 extracts records between specific medical institutions accumulated in the billing data table 2024 at a predetermined time (e.g., the end of the month). The service processing unit 2014 offsets the receivables and payables between the extracted records and generates invoice data (PDF, etc.) only for the side with a remaining balance, or creates invoice data with details of the offset. At this time, the status of the record in the billing data table 2024 is updated to "Paid" without any actual transfer of money.

[0053] In the results distribution process, the service processing unit 2014 may execute a process to directly distribute information indicating the results of medical treatment or examinations (such as examination result reports, images, and videos) to the patient's terminal device without going through the referring medical institution. This process may be triggered, for example, by the completion of the aggregation of billing data.

[0054] The presentation control unit 2013 causes each terminal device to display the information (availability calendar, medical information, invoice, etc.) generated or acquired by the service processing unit 2014 via the network 80.

[0055] <Data structure> In this embodiment, the main data structures managed by the storage unit 202 of the cooperating server 20 will be described with reference to Figures 6-9. Note that the data structures described are examples and do not exclude data not listed.

[0056] Figure 6 shows an example of the data structure of the Medical Institutions Table 2021. As shown in Figure 6, the Medical Institutions Table 2021 is a table that has columns for Institution Name, Type, and Collaboration Classification, with, for example, Medical Institution ID as the key. Each record stores various information about a single medical institution registered in the system.

[0057] The "Medical Institution ID" field stores an internal management number that uniquely identifies each medical institution participating in this information processing system 1. The "Institution Name" field stores the official name of the medical institution. The "Type" field stores the classification of the medical institution, such as a hospital or a clinic. The "Collaboration Classification" field stores whether the medical institution is primarily a "referring institution" that introduces patients or a "referred institution" that receives referrals. The Medical Institution Table 2021 is generated or updated based on the information entered by medical institutions when they register to use this service.

[0058] Figure 7 shows an example of the data structure of the Collaboration Fee Regulation Table 2022. As shown in Figure 7, the Collaboration Fee Regulation Table 2022 is a table that has columns such as Collaboration ID as the key, referring agency ID, referring agency ID, inspection item code, claim item, and amount / calculation formula.

[0059] This table is a database for managing the calculation logic for examination outsourcing fees and referral fees incurred between medical institutions, and stores the fee regulations agreed upon in advance between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution. The "Examination Item Code" field stores identification information to uniquely identify the type of medical treatment or examination performed at the receiving medical institution (e.g., MRI examination, CT examination, or specific specialized outpatient treatment). The "Billing Item" field stores the type of fee, such as referral fees or outsourcing fees. The "Amount / Calculation Formula" field stores the billing amount itself, or the calculation logic for the billing amount using a fixed amount setting or a certain rate. In this table, by associating billing items and amounts / calculation formulas with specific examination item codes, it becomes possible to automatically calculate the settlement amount according to the medical treatment content.

[0060] Figure 8 shows an example of the data structure of the reservation table 2023. As shown in Figure 8, the reservation table 2023 is a table that has columns such as Reservation ID as the key, referring institution ID, referring institution ID, patient ID, reservation date and time, duration, examination item code, and status. Each record stores information about one reservation (a slot for a medical consultation or examination).

[0061] The "Appointment Date and Time" field stores the date and time on which the medical examination or test will be performed. The "Duration" field stores the time slot allocated to the appointment, and allows for precise settings in one-minute increments to maximize the operational efficiency of the testing equipment. The "Test Item Code" field stores information to identify the type of medical examination or test being booked. The service processing unit 2014 dynamically changes the required input fields on the referring terminal 10A according to the content of the selected test item code (e.g., whether or not a contrast agent is used). The "Status" field is used to manage the progress of the medical examination or test, and stores information such as "Provisional Appointment," "Confirmed," "Completed," or "Cancelled." When the status in this table is updated to "Completed," it functions as a trigger to start the automatic generation process of billing data, which will be described later.

[0062] Figure 9 shows an example of the data structure of the billing data table 2024. As shown in Figure 9, the billing data table 2024 is a table that has columns such as reservation ID, billing (payment) source institution ID, billing (payment) recipient institution ID, claim item, amount, date of occurrence, and status, with billing ID as the key.

[0063] This table is a database for managing billing records between medical institutions that are automatically generated upon completion of medical treatment or examinations. The "Claim Item" field stores the details of the specific costs, such as "MRI examination reservation (head contrast)" or "Specialty outpatient appointment (cardiology)". The "Amount" field stores the billing amount automatically calculated based on the Linked Cost Regulations Table 2022. The "Status" field is for managing the administrative processing status of each billing record. Specifically, "Not Aggregated" indicates that the billing data has just been automatically generated upon completion of medical treatment or examination and has not yet been subjected to periodic aggregation processing (invoice creation). "Aggregated" indicates that the billing record has been included in the prescribed aggregation processing and the creation of invoice data has been completed. "Paid" indicates that the monetary settlement (remittance, offset, etc.) related to the claim item has been completed. Based on the data accumulated in this table, automatic aggregation and issuance of invoice data for each institution are performed at predetermined times, such as the end of the month.

[0064] <Operation> Figure 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of information exchange between devices when the medical institution collaboration process according to this embodiment is executed. The following explanation will follow the steps in Figure 10.

[0065] First, triggered by an operation of the referring terminal 10A, in step S11, a request for checking the availability of medical resources at the referring medical institution is sent from the referring terminal 10A to the cooperating server 20. In this specification, "availability inquiry request" refers to a signal sent from the referring terminal 10A to the cooperating server 20 to check the operational status of medical resources held by the referring medical institution. These resources include, for example, the operational status of examination equipment such as MRI or CT, or the time slots available for consultations by specialists. Upon receiving the request, the cooperating server 20 triggers the acquisition of the latest availability information in real time from the referring medical institution's in-house system 40 and controls the system to present it to the referring terminal 10A. This makes it possible for referring physicians, etc., to immediately understand the availability status of the referring institution in front of the patient.

[0066] In step S12, the service processing unit 2014 of the linked server 20 retrieves the latest available slot information from the in-hospital system 40 in response to a request and presents it to the referring terminal 10A.

[0067] In step S13, the referring terminal 10A executes the reservation acceptance process based on the user's selection of a time slot. Subsequently, in step S14, upon confirmation of the reservation, the referring terminal 10A acquires medical information such as the patient's medical questionnaire data or image data and transmits it to the receiving terminal 10B via the linkage server 20.

[0068] After the patient visits the referring medical institution and undergoes examination or testing, in step S15, the referring terminal 10B accepts the "completion" operation. This sends information about the completion of the procedure to the linked server 20.

[0069] Next, in step S16, the service processing unit 2014 of the linkage server 20, triggered by the completion of medical treatment or examination, refers to the pre-stored linkage fee regulations and calculates the amount of billing incurred between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution.

[0070] Next, in step S17, the linked server 20 presents the generated invoice data, etc., to the referring terminal 10A. This allows the referring medical institution to immediately check the details of the incurred costs each time a medical examination or test is performed, or at a predetermined time.

[0071] Finally, in step S18, the service processing unit 2014 of the linkage server 20 aggregates the unaggregated data accumulated in the billing data table 2024 at a predetermined aggregation timing, such as the end of the month. It then creates invoice data (PDF, etc.) for each medical institution and presents it to both or one of the referring terminal 10A and the receiving terminal 10B, thereby completing the series of linkage processes. This automates the monthly settlement process between medical institutions, significantly reducing the administrative burden.

[0072] Furthermore, after the billing process in step S18 is completed, the linked server 20 may execute a process to directly deliver medical information such as test result reports to the patient's terminal (LINE®, etc.) without going through the referring medical institution. In this case, the system may be configured to obtain the patient's consent for the electronic provision of medical information. This allows patients to receive their medical information quickly, improving convenience.

[0073] <Screen example> In this embodiment of the information processing system 1, examples of screens displayed on the referring terminal 10A and the referring terminal 10B will be described. These screens are realized when the display control unit 2013 of the linkage server 20 generates screen data, which is then displayed on the output unit 105 by the display control unit 1013 of each terminal device 10.

[0074] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a reservation screen displayed on the referring terminal 10A. The reservation screen comprises a referral destination selection area 1101, an available slot display area 1102, and a reservation information input area 1103. The referral destination selection area 1101 includes a menu for selecting the name of the medical institution to be referred, as well as the department and equipment, and a "Map Search" button for searching for facilities based on map information. Furthermore, when a specific medical examination (department and equipment) is selected in the referral destination selection area 1101, the reservation time corresponding to the medical examination and patient attributes is calculated by an automatic calculation logic based on the aforementioned medical questionnaire data, etc. In conjunction with this, the length (time range) of the reservation slots displayed in the available slot display area 1102 may be dynamically adjusted. The available slot display area 1102 displays the operating status of the selected medical resource (e.g., MRI) in a calendar format consisting of dates (e.g., 01 / 08~01 / 11) and a time axis (e.g., 9:00~12:45). In this area, available slots are displayed with resource names such as "MRI," and already booked slots are clearly indicated by shading or the patient's name (e.g., aaa). The reservation information input area 1103 includes an operation mode setting unit for selecting the reservation confirmation conditions, accepting either "Confirmed Reservation (Immediate Confirmation)" which confirms the reservation immediately, or "Provisional Reservation (Approval Required)" which requires approval from the referring medical institution.

[0075] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a patient details and message screen displayed on the referring terminal 10A or the receiving terminal 10B. This screen includes detailed information related to a specific appointment and a communication area that functions as a secure hotline between medical institutions. The top of the screen displays the medical record numbers of the referring and receiving institutions, the name (e.g., aaa), the appointment date and time (e.g., 2026-01-09 09:00), the date of birth, and the appointment details (e.g., imaging area) all at once. The middle of the screen contains items such as the current status (e.g., "Not yet processed"), the selection of the person in charge, management notes, and items such as "Register Tag" and "Attachment." "Register Tag" is a function that adds arbitrary attribute information such as treatment priority, patient's physical characteristics, specific disease name, or medical caution as an identifier (tag) to specific appointment data. This allows administrators to visually and instantly identify appointments with specific attributes from a large amount of appointment data, or to use the tags as search keys, thereby prioritizing tasks and improving the efficiency of patient management. The management memo section displays index information including ID and date of birth, ensuring searchability in accordance with requirements such as the Electronic Bookkeeping Law. At the bottom of the screen are a message input field, an "Add Comment" button, and a "Read" button to share read status, enabling real-time chat-style information exchange where not only text information but also images, videos, and various files can be sent and received.

[0076] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a daily schedule screen displayed on the referral terminal 10B. This screen displays the operational status of each resource within the hospital on a specific date (e.g., January 9th (Fri)) along a timeline. Specifically, columns are provided for personnel resources such as "Hospital Director," "Part-time Doctor A," and "Part-time Doctor B," as well as equipment resources such as "In-hospital adjustment slots" and "MRI." Each resource column is assigned a reservation slot; for example, the 9:00 slot in the MRI column displays reservation information including patient ID, patient name, item, and imaging site. Here, the time slots for using medical resources can be precisely set and managed in arbitrary units, such as one minute, depending on the operational style of the referring medical institution. The length of the reservation slot (e.g., 15 minutes) is determined according to the required time automatically calculated based on the medical information (medical questionnaire data, etc.) sent from the referring institution and the selected examination content, as described above. The assignment status of rooms (equipment) required for specific examination content may also be displayed on the same screen.

[0077] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a billing management screen for centrally managing billing and payment status between medical institutions, which is displayed on the referring terminal 10A or the receiving terminal 10B. As shown in Figure 14, the billing management screen includes a period selection area 1401, an aggregate display area 1402, and a billing details list area 1403. The period selection area 1401 includes a pull-down menu and display buttons for selecting a target period, such as "October 2025," allowing the user to specify any period and inquire about the billing status. The aggregate display area 1402 aggregates and displays the "total billing" and "total payment" for the selected period in real time. The service processing unit 2014 may also be configured to calculate the final settlement amount by subtracting (offsetting) the difference between the receivables (total billing) that the hospital has as the "receiving institution" and the debts (total payment) that the hospital has as the "referring institution" when both exist with the same medical institution. This will minimize the number of cash transfers between medical institutions, thereby reducing bank transfer fees or streamlining administrative settlement processes.

[0078] The billing details list area 1403 displays the details in a table format, including the date, item, linked party, amount, status, and an operation button for downloading the invoice. The item column displays specific details such as "MRI examination reservation (head contrast)" or "specialized outpatient appointment (cardiology)," and the amount column displays the amount calculated based on the linked cost regulations table 2022.

[0079] The "Status" field manages the administrative processing status of each billing record. Specifically, "Not Aggregated" indicates that billing data has just been automatically generated following the completion of medical treatment or examination, and has not yet been included in the regular aggregation process (invoice creation), such as monthly. "Aggregated" indicates that the billing record has been included in the prescribed aggregation process and the creation of invoice data has been completed. "Paid" indicates that the monetary settlement (remittance or offset, etc.) related to the billing item has been completed. Based on the generated invoice data, this system may also have a function to centrally manage automatic reconciliation of payments and automatic updates of payment completion status by linking with external payment systems and financial institution systems. By managing the process from the generation of billing data to settlement in this step-by-step manner, the administrative burden of complex B2B billing operations between medical institutions can be significantly reduced, and errors such as missed settlements can be prevented.

[0080] <Summary> As described above, this embodiment includes a configuration in which the processor executes the following steps: receiving a reservation for medical resources related to medical treatment or examinations to be performed at the receiving medical institution from the terminal device 10A of the referring medical institution, and generating billing data for expenses incurred between medical institutions after the completion of the medical treatment or examination. This makes it possible to move away from conventional analog communication via telephone and fax and process everything from reservation to billing digitally in a seamless manner. As a result, it prevents reservation conflicts between medical institutions and significantly reduces administrative time and effort by automating billing operations.

[0081] Furthermore, by managing the progress of medical treatment or examinations and generating billing data triggered when the status becomes "completed," the system physically eliminates billing omissions and transcription errors, enabling accurate accounts receivable and payable management. In addition, by calculating amounts by referring to pre-agreed collaborative fee regulations, it can flexibly and automatically handle complex fee structures that differ for each medical institution or examination item. With these configurations, both referring and receiving institutions can smoothly carry out monthly settlement operations based on automatically compiled, accurate billing data, contributing to the maintenance and improvement of a high-quality medical collaboration system in the region.

[0082] (modified version) Next, we will describe some modified examples. The following will primarily focus on the differences from the embodiments described above.

[0083] In the above embodiment, a format in which the medical institution and equipment are selected on the reservation screen was described. However, instead of this, or in conjunction with this, the modified input form may be in a format in which the patient's specific symptoms and the purpose of the referral are entered in free text. In this case, an object such as "Consult with AI" is placed on the reservation screen in Figure 11. When the user selects this object, the service processing unit 2014 generates advice such as "Which examination equipment (MRI, CT, etc.) is appropriate for the presented symptoms?" or "Which medical institution with which specialty department is best?" based on the content of the entered free text, and recommends the most suitable medical resources. Specifically, the service processing unit 2014 is equipped with a trained model that has learned from past referral data and correct answer data (training data) showing the correspondence between symptom descriptions and the examination equipment or medical department selected accordingly. The service processing unit 2014 vectorizes the input free-text descriptions using natural language processing and uses them as input data for the trained model. It then calculates identification results, such as "which examination equipment (MRI, CT, etc.) is appropriate for the presented symptoms" or "which medical institution with which specialty is best suited," along with a confidence score. This allows referring physicians to select an appropriate referral destination based on objective information, even for cases outside their area of ​​expertise.

[0084] Furthermore, in addition to the automatic generation process of billing data described above, more advanced conditional judgments may be included in the process. For example, the service processing unit 2014 may perform a process to check the consistency of the calculated billing amount with the "Medical Fee Regulations" or "Official Medical Guidelines" established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, etc., or to present reference information on relevant calculation requirements. Specifically, when calculating the billing amount in step S16, the service processing unit 2014 searches a medical fee database (not shown) separately held in the memory unit 202. It then checks whether specific additional requirements (e.g., additional fees when the referral destination is a regional medical support hospital) are met, and presents links and annotations to the relevant regulation documents attached to the billing data. This enables each medical institution to accurately manage billing in response to complex revisions of official prices, etc.

[0085] Furthermore, the collaboration server 20 may be equipped with an electronic contract interface that completes cost agreements between medical institutions on the system. Specifically, it accepts the operation of pressing an object (button, etc.) indicating "agreement" placed on the screen of the referring medical institution's terminal device 10A, in response to the contents of the "collaboration cost provision table 2022" set from the referring medical institution's terminal device 10B. The service processing unit 2014 uses this operation as a trigger to record the timestamp of the agreement, the logged-in user ID, and the version information of the agreed cost provision in the storage unit 202. In addition, the service processing unit 2014 may be configured to execute interlock control that restricts the generation of billing data at the time of reservation for combinations of medical institutions for which the electronic agreement has not been completed.

[0086] The generated billing data is stored in the storage unit 202 in a manner that satisfies public storage requirements such as those stipulated by the Electronic Bookkeeping Law. Specifically, the service processing unit 2014 assigns "transaction date," "transaction amount," and "business partner" as search indexes to each billing data, enabling extraction by specifying a range or multiple conditions combining these. Furthermore, when stored data such as billing data or medical records is modified or deleted, the service processing unit 2014 does not overwrite the original data, but instead saves the history of the correction or deletion (including the deleted data itself) as a separate record (versioning), or maintains an audit trail by keeping a change log in a physically undeletable state. This ensures data tampering prevention and reliability, and satisfies public storage requirements such as those stipulated by the Electronic Bookkeeping Law. In addition, the service processing unit 2014 may be configured to cooperate with an external timestamp server and perform batch processing to collectively assign or verify timestamps to the generated billing data (PDF, etc.).

[0087] Furthermore, this system may also be equipped with a multilingual support platform. The service processing unit 2014 identifies the attributes of the operating user and the terminal's set language, and dynamically switches the UI of the referring terminal 10A and the receiving terminal 10B, as well as notification messages (LINE®, SMS, etc.) sent to the patient, between multiple languages ​​such as Japanese, English, and Chinese. This enables support for global medical collaboration, such as medical institutions accepting foreign patients visiting Japan (inbound) and accepting reservations from partner medical institutions overseas.

[0088] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes a system consisting of terminal devices 10 and 20 and a cooperating server 20, the modified system may instead be an edge computing type configuration in which processing is completed on a local network within the medical institution. In this case, a program including each function of the service processing unit 2014 is stored in the memory of a dedicated gateway device installed within the medical institution, and the control unit of the device executes a series of processes from reservation acceptance to billing data generation.

[0089] In the embodiments described above, the case in which the unit, means, or module is implemented by a processor has been explained, but it is not limited to this. The unit, means, or module may be any hardware known to perform the operation (such as a dedicated LSI or FPGA).

[0090] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example in which the linked server 20 is equipped with reservation management and billing generation functions, the configuration is not limited to this. Some or all of the functions provided by the linked server 20 in this embodiment may be provided in the referring terminal 10A, the receiving terminal 10B, or the in-hospital system 40 instead of the server.

[0091] Although several embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, configurations and processes in one embodiment may be combined with configurations and processes in another embodiment, or a modification of one embodiment may be applied to another embodiment. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. (Note) The details described in each of the above embodiments are noted below.

[0092] (Note 1) A program for operating a computer that includes a processor and memory, The program sends to the processor, The process involves receiving a reservation for medical resources related to medical treatment or examinations to be performed at the receiving medical institution from the terminal device of the referring medical institution, The process involves generating billing data for expenses incurred between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution after the completion of medical treatment or examinations. A program that executes something.

[0093] (Note 2) The processor also has, The program described in (Appendix 1) further executes the step of calculating the billing amount by referring to the collaborative fee regulations agreed upon in advance between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution, in the step of generating billing data.

[0094] (Note 3) The co-payment provision is the program described in (Appendix 2), which includes the billing amount or the calculation logic for the billing amount, associated with the combination of medical institutions and at least one of the test items.

[0095] (Note 4) The processor also has, A program as described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 3), which further executes the step of automatically aggregating the aforementioned billing data generated at predetermined intervals and creating billing data for each medical institution.

[0096] (Note 5) In the steps for accepting reservations, A program described in any of the following (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 4) that retrieves information on available medical resources from the internal system of the referring medical institution and displays it on the terminal device of the referring medical institution.

[0097] (Note 6) In the steps for accepting reservations, further, A program described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 5) that allows the user to choose between either Mode 1, which immediately confirms the reservation, or Mode 2, which confirms the reservation after approval by the referring medical institution.

[0098] (Note 7) In the steps for accepting reservations, A program described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 6) that allows setting the time frame for using medical resources in one-minute increments.

[0099] (Note 8) The processor also has, A program described in any of the notes (1) to (7) below, which performs the step of transferring medical information transmitted from the referring medical institution's terminal device to the receiving medical institution's terminal device upon confirmation of the appointment.

[0100] (Note 9) In the step of generating billing data, It is possible to handle both billing from the referring medical institution to the referring medical institution, and from the referring medical institution to the referring medical institution. The processor also has, A program described in any of the footnotes (1) to (8), which performs the step of offsetting claims and debts between the same referring medical institution and the referring medical institution to calculate the settlement amount when such claims and debts exist between the two institutions.

[0101] (Note 10) The processor also has, A program described in any of the footnotes (1) to (9) that performs the step of directly delivering information indicating the results of a medical examination or test to the patient's terminal device without going through the referring medical institution.

[0102] (Note 11) The processor also has, The referral medical institution accepts an agreement from its terminal device regarding the referral fee regulations set by the referring medical institution, and A program described in any of (Appendix 2) to (Appendix 10) that causes a control step to be executed, which permits the execution of a step to generate billing data, conditional on the acceptance of an agreement operation.

[0103] (Note 12) The processor also has, The steps include: adding the transaction date, transaction amount, and customer information as an index to the billing data and storing it in the storage unit; A program described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 11) that performs the step of saving a history of corrections or deletions when billing data is corrected or deleted.

[0104] (Note 13) An information processing device comprising a processor and memory, An information processing device in which the processor executes all steps in any of the programs described in (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 12).

[0105] (Note 14) A method to be performed on a computer having a processor and memory, A method by which a processor executes all steps in a program described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 12).

[0106] (Note 15) A system comprising means for executing all steps in a program described in any of (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 12). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0107] 1... System 10…Terminal device 10A... Referrer terminal 10B... Referral terminal 101... Control Unit 102...Storage section 103... Communications Department 104...Input section 105...Output section 20…Linked Server 201... Control Unit 202...Storage section 203... Communications Department 204… Input / Output Interface 40…In-hospital systems 80…Network

Claims

1. A program for operating a computer that includes a processor and memory, The program is provided to the processor: The process involves receiving a reservation for medical resources related to medical treatment or examinations to be performed at the receiving medical institution from the terminal device of the referring medical institution, After the completion of the aforementioned medical examination or test, the steps include generating billing data for the costs incurred between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution, Make it run, A program that, in the step of accepting the aforementioned reservation, calculates the time required for the medical resources needed for the consultation or examination based on medical information, including patient questionnaire data, transmitted from the terminal device of the referring medical institution, and secures a reservation for the medical resources at the referring medical institution according to the calculated time required.

2. The program according to Claim 1, wherein in the step of accepting the reservation, specific handover information is displayed on the screen of the terminal device of the referring medical institution as a required input item, depending on the type of medical treatment or examination.

3. The aforementioned processor further includes, The program according to claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating the billing amount by referring to the referral fee regulations agreed in advance between the referring medical institution and the receiving medical institution, in the step of generating the billing data.

4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the aforementioned coordinating cost provision includes a billing amount or a calculation logic for a billing amount associated with at least one of the combination of medical institutions and the examination items.

5. The aforementioned processor further includes, The program according to claim 1, further comprising the step of automatically aggregating the billing data generated at predetermined intervals and creating billing data for each medical institution.

6. In the step of accepting the aforementioned reservation, The program according to claim 1, which obtains information on available slots for the medical resources from the in-house system of the referring medical institution and presents it to the terminal device of the referring medical institution.

7. In the step of accepting the aforementioned reservation, further, The program according to claim 1, which performs a step of accepting a selection of either a first mode, in which the reservation is immediately confirmed, or a second mode, in which the reservation is confirmed after approval by the referring medical institution.

8. In the step of accepting the aforementioned reservation, The program according to claim 1, wherein the time frame for using the medical resources can be set in one-minute increments.

9. The aforementioned processor further includes, The program according to claim 1, which, upon confirmation of the aforementioned reservation, causes the program to execute the step of transferring the medical information transmitted from the terminal device of the referring medical institution to the terminal device of the receiving medical institution.

10. In the step of generating the aforementioned billing data, It is capable of handling both billing from the referring medical institution to the referring medical institution and billing from the referring medical institution to the referring medical institution. The aforementioned processor further includes, The program according to claim 1, which performs the step of offsetting claims and debts between the same referring medical institution and the referring medical institution to calculate the settlement amount when such claims and debts exist between the two institutions.

11. The aforementioned processor further includes, The program according to claim 1, which causes the program to perform the step of directly distributing information indicating the results of the medical examination or test to the patient's terminal device without going through the referring medical institution.

12. The aforementioned processor further includes, The steps include: accepting an agreement operation from the terminal device of the referring medical institution regarding the aforementioned referral fee regulations set by the referring medical institution, The program according to claim 3, which causes a control step to be executed that permits the execution of the step of generating the claim data, on the condition that the agreement operation is accepted.

13. The aforementioned processor further includes, The steps include: adding the transaction date, transaction amount, and trading partner information as an index to the aforementioned billing data and storing it in a storage unit; The program according to claim 1, which causes the program to perform the step of saving a history of the correction or deletion when the aforementioned claim data is corrected or deleted.

14. An information processing device comprising a processor and memory, An information processing apparatus wherein the processor performs all steps in the program described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A method to be performed on a computer having a processor and memory, A method by which the processor performs all steps in the program described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A system comprising means for performing all steps in a program according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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