Assistance system, program, and drug dispensing system

Abstract

[PROBLEM] To provide an assistance system, a program, and a drug dispensing system that can efficiently use a plurality of drug dispensing systems while suppressing an increase in workload for a user. [SOLUTION] This assistance system (100) comprises: an allocation processing unit (213) that allocates each piece of drug dispensing data to any of a plurality of drug dispensing systems on the basis of a group to which the drug dispensing data belongs; and a transfer processing unit (116) that, when a preset transfer condition is satisfied, transfers the unprocessed drug dispensing data allocated to the one drug dispensing system to another drug dispensing system in units of the group.

Description

Support systems, programs, and drug dispensing systems

[0001] The present invention relates to a support system for supporting the dispensing of medicines.

[0002] A system including a plurality of medicine dispensing systems that executes a process of dispensing medicines based on prescription information is known (see Patent Document 1). In particular, in this type of system, when processing in one medicine dispensing system is congested and there is another medicine dispensing system that has no outstanding cases, a technique is known in which prescription information input into the one medicine dispensing system is transferred to the other medicine dispensing system.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-069273

[0004] However, drugs dispensed based on prescription information for multiple patients belonging to a predetermined group may be handled as a group unit. For example, drugs dispensed based on prescription information for multiple patients hospitalized in the same ward may be transported together to the ward. Therefore, if the prescription information for multiple patients belonging to the same group is input separately to multiple drug dispensing systems, problems may arise, such as the burden on users of consolidating the drugs dispensed from the multiple drug dispensing systems and the risk of human error during this process.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a support system, a program, and a medicine dispensing system that enable efficient use of multiple medicine dispensing systems while suppressing an increase in the workload of the user.

[0006] The support system of the present invention comprises an allocation processing unit that allocates drug dispensing data to one of a plurality of drug dispensing systems, and a transfer processing unit that transfers the unprocessed drug dispensing data allocated to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs when predetermined transfer conditions are met.

[0007] The program of the present invention is a program that causes one or more processors to execute the steps of assigning drug dispensing data to one of multiple drug dispensing systems, and, if predetermined transfer conditions are met, transferring the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs.

[0008] The drug dispensing system of the present invention is a drug dispensing system equipped with a dispensing processing unit that dispenses drugs based on drug dispensing data, and is equipped with a transfer processing unit that transfers unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs when predetermined transfer conditions are met.

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a support system, a program, and a medicine dispensing system that enable efficient use of a plurality of medicine dispensing systems while suppressing an increase in the workload of the user.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first medicine dispensing device of a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first medicine dispensing device of a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first medicine dispensing device of a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a cart used in a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a cart used in a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of medicine dispensing data allocation processing executed in a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of dispensing control processing executed in a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of automatic load balancing processing executed in a medicine dispensing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a result of processing executed in a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a result of processing executed in a support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] [Configuration of Support System 100] As shown in FIG. 1 , the support system 100 includes a plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1 and a dispensing system 2. Users of the support system 100 according to this embodiment include medical professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, technicians, and nurses. In addition, in the medicine dispensing system 1 according to this embodiment, medicines such as injections are dispensed in medicine containers such as ampoules or vials before being injected into an infusion bag. Note that the medicines handled by the support system 100 are not limited to injections, and may also be tablets, powders, or the like.

[0012] In the support system 100, each medicine dispensing system 1 and the dispensing system 2 are connected to each other wirelessly or via a wired connection so as to be able to communicate with each other. Furthermore, each medicine dispensing system 1 is also connected to each other wirelessly or via a wired connection so as to be able to communicate with each other. In the support system 100, each medicine dispensing system 1 is identified by identification information, such as a serial number, pre-assigned to the medicine dispensing system 1. The execution entities of the various processes in the support system 100 described below are merely examples, and the various processes may be executed by the support system 100 as a whole, and the execution entities of the various processes may be changed. For example, the processes executed by the control unit 201 described below in this embodiment may be executed by the control unit 10 described below, and the processes executed by the control unit 10 described below may be executed by the control unit 201 described below. That is, the various processes executed in the support system 100 may be executed by one or more processors.

[0013] 1, the dispensing system 2 is a computer including a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, an operation unit 203, and a display unit 204. The operation unit 203 is an operation means such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel that allows the control unit 201 to accept user operations. The display unit 204 is a display means such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that presents information to the user.

[0014] The control unit 201 has one or more processors and memories that execute various processes according to various programs. The storage unit 202 is a storage means such as a hard disk that stores various programs and various information for causing the control unit 201 to execute various processes. Specifically, the storage unit 202 stores prescription data and drug dispensing data, which will be described later.

[0015] The prescription data is registered in another system such as an electronic medical record and input to the dispensing system 2. The prescription data may also be input to the dispensing system 2 in response to a user operation using the operation unit 203 and the display unit 204 in the dispensing system 2. The control unit 201 stores the prescription data input to the dispensing system 2 in the storage unit 202.

[0016] Prescription data includes information such as prescription number, patient name, ward name, drug name, number of doses, dosage, usage, administration time, and administration method. Drug dispensing data includes information such as prescription number, patient name, ward name, drug name, dispensed amount, administration time, and administration method. The prescription number is prescription identification information for identifying prescription data. The patient name is patient identification information for identifying the patient (the person taking the drug). The ward name is ward identification information for identifying the ward in which the patient is hospitalized. The drug name is drug identification information for identifying a drug such as an injection drug. The number of doses is the number of times a drug is administered to a patient in a predetermined unit period, such as one day. The dispensed amount is information indicating the required amount of drug. The administration time is information including either the date and / or time when the drug is administered to the patient. The administration method is information indicating the method of administering the drug to the patient, such as intravenous infusion or injection.

[0017] The control unit 201 includes various processing units such as a generation processing unit 211, a specification processing unit 212, an allocation processing unit 213, and an output processing unit 214. The control unit 201 functions as various processing units by executing various processes in accordance with programs stored in the storage unit 202 using a processor.

[0018] The generation processing unit 211 temporarily completes the acceptance of prescription data when the current time reaches a preset closing time. Alternatively, the generation processing unit 211 may temporarily complete the acceptance of prescription data when a specific user operation is performed to start the closing process at any timing. In this case, the timing of the user operation is the closing time. The generation processing unit 211 then selects some or all of the prescription data accepted during a preset period as the target for the closing process. For example, the preset period is the period from the previous closing time to the current closing time. The selection of prescription data to be the target for the closing process may be performed on a prescription data basis or on a group basis, such as a ward basis. For example, the generation processing unit 211 selects prescription data corresponding to one or more wards selected by a user operation as the target for the closing process. The generation processing unit 211 may also select prescription data corresponding to wards preset for each closing time as the target for the closing process. Thereafter, the generation processing unit 211 generates drug dispensing data corresponding to each prescription data based on each prescription data selected as the target for the closing processing, and stores the prescription data and the drug dispensing data in correspondence with each other in the memory unit 202.

[0019] The identification processing unit 212 identifies the group to which the drug dispensing data belongs based on ward identification information, such as the ward name, included in the drug dispensing data. In this embodiment, the ward name included in the drug dispensing data is group identification information indicating the group to which the drug dispensing data belongs, and drug dispensing data corresponding to the same ward name belong to the same group. Two or more wards may be collectively classified into one group. The identification processing unit 212 may perform a process of classifying the drug dispensing data by the ward name included in the drug dispensing data, and store each drug dispensing data in the storage unit 202 in association with group identification information, such as a group number, indicating the group to which the drug dispensing data is classified. The ward name indicates the name of the building, floor, or area to which the drug corresponding to the drug dispensing data is delivered. The ward name may also be the name of the building, floor, or area of ​​the nursing home where the patient resides. The ward name may also be the name of the patient's home address or area.

[0020] The allocation processing unit 213 allocates the medicine dispensing data in group units to one of the plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1. Specifically, in the dispensing system 2, allocation information indicating a correspondence between each ward name and identification information such as a unit number for identifying each medicine dispensing system 1 is stored in the storage unit 202. Then, the allocation processing unit 213 allocates the medicine dispensing data to the medicine dispensing system 1 corresponding to the ward name included in the medicine dispensing data based on the allocation information, and stores in the storage unit 202 allocation correspondence information indicating a correspondence between the medicine dispensing data and the unit number of the medicine dispensing system 1 to which the medicine dispensing data is allocated.

[0021] The output processing unit 214 outputs the drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 202 to one of the drug dispensing systems 1 on a group basis. Specifically, the output processing unit 214 outputs the drug dispensing data on a group basis to the drug dispensing system 1 to which the drug dispensing data is assigned, based on the allocation correspondence information. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the drug dispensing data is generated based on prescription data in the dispensing system 2, and the drug dispensing data is output to the drug dispensing system 1. Meanwhile, in another embodiment, prescription data input to the dispensing system 2 may be output to the drug dispensing system 1 as drug dispensing data. Furthermore, both the prescription data and the drug dispensing data may be output from the dispensing system 2 to the drug dispensing system 1. In another embodiment, the output processing unit 214 may output data identification information such as a prescription ID for identifying the drug dispensing data to the drug dispensing system 1 to which the drug dispensing data is assigned, and the drug dispensing system 1 may acquire the drug dispensing data corresponding to the data identification information from the storage unit 202 of the dispensing system 2.

[0022] [Configuration of medicine dispensing system 1] Next, we will explain the configuration of the medicine dispensing system 1. The basic configuration of the medicine dispensing system 1 is also disclosed in known technologies such as JP 2021-171330 A and WO 2019 / 093413 A, and the configurations not described in this embodiment may adopt the configurations of the known technologies.

[0023] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which two medicine dispensing systems 1 are provided in the support system 100, but three or more medicine dispensing systems 1 may be provided in the support system 100. For convenience of explanation, the two medicine dispensing systems 1 may be referred to as medicine dispensing systems 1A and 1B below.

[0024] The medicine dispensing system 1 is a system that automatically dispenses medicines such as injections based on medicine dispensing data acquired from the dispensing system 2. In other embodiments, the medicine dispensing system 1 may be a tablet dispensing device that dispenses tablets, a powder dispensing device that packages and dispenses powdered medicine, or a packaging device that packages and dispenses either or both of tablets and powdered medicine.

[0025] 1 and 2 , the medicine dispensing system 1 includes a control unit 10, a memory unit 11, a tray supply device 20, a tray transport device 22, a label printing device 30, an operation display unit 40, an injection drug dispensing device 50, an injection prescription printing device 60, and a tray dispensing device 70. In addition, in the medicine dispensing system 1, a cart 80 used to transport medicines, etc. dispensed from the medicine dispensing system 1 to a hospital ward is detachable from the tray dispensing device 70.

[0026] The tray supply device 20 supplies trays 21 containing medicines and the like to be dispensed by the medicine dispensing system 1 to the tray transport device 22. The tray 21 is an example of a medicine containing member containing medicines and the like corresponding to each patient.

[0027] The tray conveying device 22 has a conveying path for conveying the trays 21 supplied from the tray supplying device 20 to the tray dispensing device 70 via the label printing device 30, the injection drug dispensing device 50, and the injection prescription printing device 60. Then, on the trays 21 conveyed by the tray conveying device 22, labels, medicines, injection prescriptions, etc. dispensed from the label printing device 30, the injection drug dispensing device 50, and the injection prescription printing device 60 are placed while the trays 21 move on the conveying path.

[0028] The label printing device 30 prints preset label printing information on a label based on the medicine dispensing data, and dispenses the label onto a tray 21 on the conveyance path of the tray conveyance device 22. For example, the label printing information includes information such as the prescription number, patient name, ward name, medicine name, dosage, usage, and administration method. For example, the label is affixed to an infusion container such as an infusion bag into which a medicine dispensed from the medicine dispensing system 1 is injected.

[0029] The operation display unit 40 is a touch panel or the like that displays various information and accepts various user operations. For example, the operation display unit 40 displays information such as the operating status of the medicine dispensing system 1. The operation display unit 40 also accepts user operations such as starting or stopping the operation of the medicine dispensing system 1.

[0030] Based on the medicine dispensing data, the injection drug dispensing device 50 dispenses medicines such as injection drugs corresponding to each patient onto trays 21 on the transport path of the tray transport device 22. The injection drug dispensing device 50 includes a returned medicine dispensing device 50a, a first medicine dispensing device 50b, a second medicine dispensing device 50c, and a bottle dispensing device 50d.

[0031] The returned drug dispensing device 50a stores drugs (returned drugs) returned from hospital wards, etc., after identifying their expiration dates, and dispenses the returned drugs onto the tray 21 if they can be reused. The first drug dispensing device 50b dispenses a first type of drug stored in advance by a user onto the tray 21. The second drug dispensing device 50c dispenses a second type of drug, such as drugs that cannot be managed by the first drug dispensing device 50b (e.g., drugs that do not have a standard shape), drugs used for complex diseases, or relatively expensive drugs, onto the tray 21. The bottle dispensing device 50d dispenses bottles containing liquid drugs onto the tray 21. The drug dispensing system 1 may be provided with at least one of these injection drug dispensing devices 50.

[0032] Here, the configuration of the first medicine dispensing device 50b will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0033] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the exterior shown in Fig. 2 has been removed to visualize the interior of the first medicine dispensing device 50b. As shown in Fig. 3, the first medicine dispensing device 50b includes a medicine cassette handling device 200 that dispenses medicines contained in a medicine cassette Ca. Specifically, the medicine cassette handling device 200 includes a cassette shelf 110, a specific processing unit 120, a cassette holding unit 130, a cassette transport unit 140, and a medicine moving unit 150.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the configuration of the cassette shelf 110, the specific processing unit 120, and the cassette holding unit 130. As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette shelf 110 is a shelf that stores m cassettes Ca containing medicines. m is an integer of 2 or greater. Hereinafter, the direction in which the cassettes Ca are inserted into the cassette shelf 110 may be referred to as the depth direction. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the depth direction in a plane parallel to the horizontal plane may be referred to as the width direction. In this embodiment, the cassette shelf 110 stores the cassettes Ca in a matrix in a vertical plane. Each of the m cassettes Ca is pre-stored with medicines of a specific medicine type. Furthermore, at least two cassettes Ca store medicines of different medicine types. On the other hand, multiple cassettes Ca may store medicines of the same medicine type. Note that the medicines stored in the cassettes Ca are medicines stored in containers such as ampoules or vials.

[0035] The storage unit 11 also stores correspondence data indicating the relationship between cassette-specific information for identifying a cassette Ca and the type of drug contained in the cassette Ca. The correspondence data also stores, for each cassette-specific information for identifying the cassette Ca, the storage position of the cassette Ca on the cassette shelf 110 and the expiration date of the drug contained in the cassette Ca. The expiration date is information read from a barcode or the like attached to the drug, or input by user operation. It is not necessary for all of the m cassettes to be cassettes Ca; as shown in FIG. 4, some of the m cassettes may include cassettes 161-165 for handling returned drugs.

[0036] Fig. 5 is a plan view of cassette holding unit 130. As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, identification processing unit 120 includes medicine delivery unit 121 and identification camera 122. In addition, illumination members 128 and 129 are provided near identification camera 122 to illuminate cassette Ca when the cassette Ca is photographed by identification camera 122.

[0037] The medicine delivery unit 121 has an adsorption mechanism 121a, a moving mechanism 121b, and a slider 121c. The adsorption mechanism 121a is an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs the injection medicine and is extendable vertically downward. The moving mechanism 121b is a mechanism that moves the adsorption mechanism 121a in the depth direction and is capable of reciprocating in the width direction. The moving mechanism 121b reciprocates in the width direction along the slider 121c.

[0038] The identification camera 122 is a camera provided below the cassette shelf 110. The identification camera 122 takes images to identify the position of the medicine to be removed from the cassette Ca. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first medicine dispensing device 50b is provided with two identification cameras 122a and 122b as the identification cameras 122. As shown in FIG. 5 , the identification camera 122a is provided directly above the center of the boundary line between processing positions 132a and 132b (described below), and takes an image of an imaging area 122c including the processing positions 132a and 132b. The identification camera 122b is provided directly above the center of the boundary line between processing positions 132c and 132d (described below), and takes an image of an imaging area 122d including the processing positions 132c and 132d. Therefore, in the first medicine dispensing device 50b, the two identification cameras 122a and 122b can photograph the inside of the cassettes Ca located at the four processing positions 132a to 132d.

[0039] The identification processing unit 120 is controlled by the control unit 10 to perform an identification process on the drugs contained in the cassette Ca. In this embodiment, the identification process includes at least a process of removing the cassette Ca containing the drugs to be dispensed from the cassette shelf 110 and identifying the position of the drug in the cassette Ca based on an image captured by the identification camera 122. The identification processing unit 120 is also provided with a reading camera (not shown) that captures an image of the expiration date of the drug written on the drug, and the identification process also includes a process of identifying the expiration date and type of drug based on the image captured by the reading camera (not shown). Furthermore, the identification processing unit 120 stores the image captured by the reading camera (not shown) in the memory unit 11, and the control unit 10 can execute an image output process to display the image stored in the memory unit 11 on the operation display unit 40, etc. Specifically, the identification processing unit 120 stores the captured image in the storage unit 11 in association with the drug dispensing data or prescription data that was the subject of dispensing when the captured image was captured. Then, the control unit 10 displays the captured image corresponding to any drug dispensing data or prescription data selected as the display target on a display device such as the operation and display unit 40, for example, in response to a user operation. The control unit 10 may also display, on a display device such as the operation and display unit 40, a list of drug dispensing history information, such as prescription IDs, for the drug dispensing data or prescription data that was the subject of dispensing on any date or period, the captured image, and the number of drugs dispensed. This allows the user to confirm the drugs actually dispensed based on the drug dispensing data or prescription data by looking at the captured image. The type of drug in the identification process may be identified based on drug identification information read from the drug by a barcode reader (not shown).

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5 , the cassette holding unit 130 can temporarily hold up to n cassettes Ca that are to undergo specific processing by the specific processing unit 120, among the cassettes Ca stored on the cassette shelf 110. The value of n may be equal to or greater than 2 and less than m (m > n ≥ 2), and in this embodiment, the value of n is 4. In this embodiment, the cassette holding unit 130 is a collection of four cassette holding units 130a to 130d. Note that the number of cassette holding units 130 is not limited to four and is equal to the value of n described above, i.e., the number of cassettes Ca that can be held by the cassette holding units 130. A cassette Ca is held by being placed on one of the cassette holding units 130a to 130d. Additionally, drive mechanisms 133a to 133d are provided below each of the cassette holding units 130a to 130d, respectively, to reciprocate the cassette holding units 130a to 130d in the depth direction.

[0041] The cassette holding unit 130 has a cassette receiving position 131 that receives the cassette Ca from the cassette transfer unit 140 and a processing position 132 where the cassette Ca undergoes a specific process by the specific processing unit 120. More specifically, each of the cassette holding units 130a to 130d has cassette receiving positions 131a to 131d and processing positions 132a to 132d. The cassette holding units 130a to 130d are reciprocated in the depth direction by drive mechanisms 133a to 133d, thereby reciprocating the cassette Ca between the cassette receiving positions 131a to 131d and the processing positions 132a to 132d. In other words, the cassette holding unit 130 moves the cassette Ca horizontally toward the processing position 132. 5 shows a state in which cassette holding unit 130b is located at processing position 132b, and the other cassette holding units 130a, 130c, and 130d are located at cassette receiving positions 131a, 131c, and 131d, respectively. In this manner, each of cassette holding units 130a to 130d can reciprocate cassette Ca independently of the others. Note that two or more of cassette holding units 130a to 130d may be located at corresponding processing positions 132a to 132d.

[0042] The cassette holding unit 130a is also provided with a load cell 134 for measuring the weight of the cassette Ca. The weight of the cassette Ca itself (i.e., not including the weight of the drugs) and the weight per unit amount of drugs contained in the cassette Ca are known. Therefore, the control unit 10 can execute a calculation process to calculate the number of drugs contained in the cassette Ca, i.e., the drug inventory in the first drug dispensing device 50b, by measuring the weight of the entire cassette Ca using the load cell 134. The calculation process is executed, for example, from the completion of all drug dispensing processes for that day in the evening, when each cassette Ca is filled with drugs, until the drug dispensing process for the drugs begins the next morning. The control unit 10 then stores the drug inventory in each cassette Ca calculated by the calculation process in the correspondence data stored in the memory unit 11. Furthermore, even when the drugs are returned to the cassette Ca, the control unit 10 executes the calculation process for the cassette Ca and stores the drug inventory in the cassette Ca in the correspondence data stored in the storage unit 11. Note that the load cell 134 may be provided not only in the cassette holding unit 130a but also in each of the cassette holding units 130b to 130d.

[0043] The cassette transport unit 140 transports cassettes Ca between the cassette shelf 110 and the cassette holding unit 130 to replace cassettes Ca held in the cassette holding unit 130. In this embodiment, the cassette transport unit 140 pulls out cassettes Ca from the cassette shelf 110, transports them vertically, and places them on the cassette holding unit 130 located at the cassette receiving position 131. In particular, when the received drug dispensing data for administration to a single patient includes two or more drugs, the cassette transport unit 140 transports each cassette Ca containing the drugs to the cassette holding unit 130 based on the drug dispensing data and the correspondence data. Note that the drug dispensing data for administration to a single patient may include multiple drug recipes (combinations). In this case, it is possible to dispense drugs for each recipe and administer the drugs dispensed in multiple dispenses to the patient together. Therefore, when one recipe contains two or more types of drugs, the cassette transfer unit 140 may transfer each cassette Ca containing the drugs to the cassette holding unit 130.

[0044] The medicine moving unit 150 moves medicines contained in cassettes Ca located at processing positions 132a to 132d in the cassette holding unit 130, which have undergone specific processing by the specific processing unit 120, to the tray 21. For example, the medicine moving unit 150 adsorbs the medicines contained in the cassette Ca and moves the medicines to the tray 21. Note that the configuration of the medicine moving unit 150 is not limited to that described here, as long as it is capable of moving medicines from the cassette Ca to the tray 21.

[0045] The injection prescription printing device 60 prints preset injection prescription printing information on an injection prescription based on the medicine dispensing data, and dispenses the injection prescription onto a tray 21 on the transport path of the tray transport device 22. For example, the injection prescription printing information includes information such as the patient name, ward name, room number, medicine name, administration method, administration route or site, dosage, administration time, and administration rate, and the injection prescription printing information is information included in the medicine dispensing data.

[0046] The tray dispensing device 70 dispenses the tray 21 containing one or more of the labels, injection medications (medications), and injection prescriptions to the cart 80 attached to the tray dispensing device 70. The tray 21 may be provided with multiple divided trays as storage sections for storing medications. In this case, multiple medications indicated in a patient's medication dispensing data can be stored in divided trays corresponding to the administration times of the medications. Specifically, medications to be administered in the morning of the day can be stored in the first divided tray, medications to be administered in the afternoon in the second divided tray, and medications to be administered in the evening in the third divided tray. In other words, each divided tray provided on the tray 21 can store the respective amounts of medication, etc.

[0047] 6 , the cart 80 is a portable storage shelf that includes a plurality of tray placement sections 81 on which a plurality of trays 21 can be placed. The cart 80 is attached to the tray dispensing device 70 by inserting at least a portion of the cart 80 into the tray dispensing device 70. The control unit 10 then controls the tray dispensing device 70 to dispense the trays 21 onto the respective tray placement sections 81 of the cart 80 so that one tray 21 is placed on one tray placement section 81. Thereafter, the cart 80 with at least one tray 21 placed thereon is removed from the tray dispensing device 70 by the user and carried to the destination hospital ward or the like.

[0048] The control unit 10 has one or more processors and memories that execute various processes according to various programs. The storage unit 11 is a storage means, such as a hard disk, that stores various programs and various information for causing the control unit 10 to execute various processes. In addition to the correspondence data, the storage unit 11 also stores a drug master containing drug identification information such as the drug name of each drug and information such as the weight per unit amount of the drug. The drug master contains not only information on drugs contained in the cassette Ca provided in the drug dispensing system 1 and that can be dispensed from the drug dispensing system 1, but also information on drugs that are not contained in the cassette Ca provided in the drug dispensing system 1 but can be handled by the drug dispensing system 1. The drug master also includes injection drug shape information corresponding to each drug. The injection drug shape information is data on the shape of the packaging container or the like that contains the drug, and indicates the size, diameter, volume, etc. of the packaging container.

[0049] The control unit 10 includes various processing units such as a data processing unit 111, a tray processing unit 112, an output processing unit 113, a dispensing processing unit 114, a storage processing unit 115, a transfer processing unit 116, and a sorting processing unit 117. The control unit 10 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes in accordance with the programs stored in the storage unit 11 using a processor.

[0050] The data processing unit 111 acquires drug dispensing data from the dispensing system 2 and stores it in the storage unit 11. Specifically, in the support system 100, the drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 202 in the dispensing system 2 is assigned to one of the drug dispensing systems 1 on a group basis, such as a ward, and output to the drug dispensing system 1. Therefore, in each drug dispensing system 1, the data processing unit 111 acquires, from the dispensing system 2, drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1 among the drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 202 of the dispensing system 2, and stores it in the storage unit 11. Furthermore, in each drug dispensing system 1, when the allocation of drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 11 to the drug dispensing system 1 is released, the data processing unit 111 deletes the drug dispensing data from the storage unit 11, thereby excluding the drug dispensing data from being subject to drug dispensing processing in the drug dispensing system 1.

[0051] The tray processing unit 112 acquires placement order information (described later) from the storage unit 11 and determines the placement position of each tray 21 on the cart 80. For example, the tray processing unit 112 specifically determines the placement position of each tray 21 from the top to the bottom of the cart 80, and from the right to the left as viewed from the tray dispensing device 70.

[0052] In particular, the medicine dispensing system 1 can be set so that trays 21 corresponding to multiple groups are not placed on the same cart 80. Specifically, the medicine dispensing system 1 has a group-by-group exchange function that determines the timing of cart 80 exchange when the group to which the medicine dispensing data to be executed for the medicine dispensing process belongs changes. The control unit 10 can switch between enabling and disabling the group-by-group exchange function in response to a user operation. When the group-by-group exchange function is enabled, the tray processing unit 112 determines the placement positions of each tray 21 so that only trays 21 of medicine dispensing data belonging to the same group are placed on the same cart 80. That is, the tray processing unit 112 determines the placement positions of each tray 21 so that trays 21 of medicine dispensing data belonging to different groups are not placed on the same cart 80. The tray processing unit 112 stores the determined placement positions of the trays 21 in the storage unit 11 as tray position information. When there are a plurality of carts 80 on which the trays 21 are to be placed, the tray processing unit 112 determines the placement position of the trays 21 for each cart 80 and stores this as tray position information in the storage unit 11 .

[0053] In addition to the medicine dispensing data and tray position information, the storage unit 11 also stores tray shape information, tray placement section information, placement order information, and free space information.

[0054] The tray shape information is data about the shape of the storage section of the tray 21, and indicates the number, size, volume, etc. of divided trays.

[0055] The tray placement section information is data about the tray placement section 81 of the cart 80, and indicates the number of trays that can be placed on the cart 80, the number of rows and the number of columns. The number of trays that can be placed basically means the maximum number of trays 21 that can be placed on one cart 80, but it may also be a number that can be set arbitrarily by the user. In other words, the number of trays that can be placed on the cart 80 is set for the cart 80 on which the trays 21 are to be placed. Hereinafter, the "number of trays that can be placed" may be referred to as the "maximum number of trays that can be placed."

[0056] The placement order information is data that specifies which tray placement section 81, among the multiple tray placement sections 81 provided on the cart 80, to start placing the trays 21 on and in what order the trays 21 should be placed on the tray placement sections 81. For example, the order in which the trays 21 should be placed is specified such that the trays 21 are placed from the top to the bottom of the cart 80 and from the right to the left as viewed from the tray dispensing device 70. The placement order information is set in advance and can be changed as desired by the user. The free space information is data that indicates the tray placement sections 81 (hereinafter referred to as "free spaces 82") on which no trays 21 are placed in the cart 80 attached to the tray dispensing device 70.

[0057] The tray processing unit 112 then calculates the number of trays 21 corresponding to each group based on one or more pieces of drug dispensing data belonging to each group and stores the calculated number of trays 21 in the storage unit 11. Furthermore, the tray processing unit 112 calculates the number of carts 80 required to accommodate all of the trays 21 corresponding to each group based on the calculated number of trays 21 and the maximum number of trays that can be loaded on the cart 80, and stores the calculated number in the storage unit 11. For example, if the maximum number of trays that can be loaded on the cart 80 is 48 and the number of trays 21 corresponding to a certain group is 42, the number of trays 21 corresponding to the group is less than or equal to the maximum number of trays that can be loaded. In this case, all of the trays 21 of one group can be loaded on one cart 80, so the number of carts 80 required for the group is calculated as 1. On the other hand, if the maximum number of trays that can be loaded on the cart 80 is 48 and the number of trays 21 corresponding to a certain group is 70, the number of trays 21 corresponding to the group is greater than the maximum number of trays that can be loaded. In this case, one cart 80 cannot hold all of the trays 21 of one group, but two carts 80 can hold all of the trays 21 of one group, so the number of carts 80 required for that group is calculated as two.

[0058] Furthermore, when the number of trays 21 accommodated in a cart 80 attached to the tray dispensing device 70 is less than the upper limit of the number of trays that can be accommodated in the cart 80, the tray processing unit 112 determines that the cart 80 will have at least one empty area 82 in which no tray 21 is placed. Therefore, the tray processing unit 112 determines the placement positions of the trays 21 based on the calculated number of trays 21, the number of carts 80, and the upper limit of the number of trays that can be accommodated. However, when determining the placement positions of the trays 21 in a cart 80 in which the number of trays 21 is less than the upper limit, the tray processing unit 112 also determines the empty area 82 in which no tray 21 is placed. The tray processing unit 112 then stores the determined empty area 82 in the storage unit 11 as empty area information. The empty area information is not limited to the area determined as the empty area 82, but may also include areas in the cart 80 that have not yet been assigned as placement positions for trays 21.

[0059] The dispensing processing unit 114 controls the operations of the tray supply device 20, tray transport device 22, label printing device 30, injection drug dispensing device 50, injection prescription printing device 60, tray dispensing device 70, etc. based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11, and causes drugs, labels, injection prescriptions, etc. corresponding to the drug dispensing data to be dispensed onto the tray 21. In this embodiment, "unprocessed drug dispensing data" refers to a state in which the drug dispensing data has not been processed as a target for drug dispensing processing in the drug dispensing system 1.

[0060] The storage processing unit 115 stores the tray 21 containing the medicines, etc., dispensed based on the medicine dispensing data in the cart 80 corresponding to the group to which the medicine dispensing data belongs. Specifically, the storage processing unit 115 specifies the tray placement unit 81 on which the tray 21 containing the medicines, etc., should be placed, based on the tray position information stored in the memory unit 11. Then, the storage processing unit 115 controls the operation of the tray dispensing device 70 to move the tray 21 to a position facing the tray placement unit 81 on which the tray 21 should be placed, and places the tray 21 on the tray placement unit 81. Note that when the group-by-group exchange function is enabled, the storage processing unit 115 waits for the cart 80 to be exchanged when the group of the medicine dispensing data to be subjected to the medicine dispensing process is switched, and after the cart 80 is exchanged, the storage processing unit 115 places the tray 21 corresponding to the switched group in the exchanged cart 80.

[0061] For example, when the timing for replacing the cart 80 arrives, the output processing unit 113 executes a notification process that outputs a message or a warning sound prompting the user to replace the cart 80. Specifically, when two carts 80 are required to dispense trays 21 corresponding to one group, the output processing unit 113 executes the notification process when the dispensing of the trays 21 to the first cart 80 is completed. Furthermore, when the group-by-group exchange function is enabled, the output processing unit 113 executes the notification process when the group corresponding to the trays 21 dispensed to the cart 80 by the dispensing processing unit 114 is switched. That is, when the group-by-group exchange function is enabled, the output processing unit 113 determines the timing when the group of the drug dispensing data for which the drug dispensing process is to be executed is switched as the timing for replacing the cart 80. In this way, the execution of the notification process by the output processing unit 113 allows the user to replace the cart 80 at the appropriate timing, and allows the cart 80 corresponding to each group to be transported to the destination, such as a hospital ward, of the group.

[0062] When the group-by-group exchange function is disabled, the storage processing unit 115 can place trays 21 corresponding to multiple groups on the same cart 80. For example, when the group-by-group exchange function is disabled, the tray processing unit 112 may determine the placement positions of the trays 21 so that, in one cart 80, trays 21 corresponding to the group of ward A are placed on seven levels A to G and trays 21 corresponding to the group of ward B are placed on four levels H to K, as shown in Fig. 7, and store this as the tray position information in the storage unit 11. When the group of drug dispensing data corresponding to trays 21 dispensed to the cart 80 is switched to the next group, the output processing unit 113 determines whether all of the trays 21 corresponding to the next group can be placed on the same cart 80 based on the tray position information or the available space information. Here, if it is determined that the trays 21 can be placed on the same cart 80, there is no need to replace the cart 80, and therefore the output processing unit 113 does not determine the timing when the group corresponding to the trays 21 placed on the cart 80 is switched as the timing to replace the cart 80. In other words, if trays 21 corresponding to multiple groups are placed on the cart 80, the output processing unit 113 does not execute the notification process at the timing when the group is switched. Note that even in this case, the output processing unit 113 may execute the notification process when the number of trays 21 placed on the cart 80 reaches the upper limit number of trays that can be placed.

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, before the tray processing unit 112 starts storing trays 21 corresponding to a certain group in the carts 80, the number of carts 80 required to store the trays 21 corresponding to the certain group is calculated, and the placement positions of each tray 21 in the cart 80 are also determined. Meanwhile, in other embodiments, the placement positions of each tray 21 do not need to be determined in advance. In this case, the storage processing unit 115 sequentially stores trays 21 in a certain cart 80 until the number of free spaces 82 in the cart 80 reaches a predetermined number or less. Thereafter, when the free spaces 82 in the cart 80 reach a predetermined number or less, the storage processing unit 115 waits for a cart 80 to be replaced, and after the cart 80 is replaced, resumes placing trays 21 in the cart 80. In such a case, the output processing unit 113 determines the timing when the trays 21 are sequentially placed in the carts 80 and the number of trays 21 placed in the cart 80 reaches the upper limit number of trays that can be placed as the timing for replacing the cart 80, and executes the notification process. Furthermore, when the group-by-group exchange function is enabled, the output processing unit 113 determines that the timing for exchanging the cart 80 is not only when the number of free spaces 82 in the cart 80 reaches a predetermined number or less, but also when the group corresponding to the trays 21 sequentially placed on the cart 80 is switched, and executes the notification process. On the other hand, when the group-by-group exchange function is disabled, the output processing unit 113 may not execute the notification process if the number of free spaces 82 is greater than a predetermined value, even when the timing for exchanging the group corresponding to the trays 21 sequentially placed on the cart 80 arrives. Specifically, the default value is the number of trays 21 corresponding to the group after the switch. As a result, when trays 21 corresponding to multiple groups can fit on one cart 80, the trays 21 corresponding to the multiple groups can be accommodated and transported on one cart 80. Note that the default value may be a preset fixed value.

[0064] The transfer processing unit 116 transfers unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to one drug dispensing system 1 to another drug dispensing system 1 on a group basis when preset transfer conditions are met. Specifically, the transfer conditions include a condition that, when the drug dispensing data belonging to the group to be transferred among the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system 1 is transferred to the other drug dispensing system 1, the relationship between the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system 1 and the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system 1 satisfies a preset first condition. For example, the first condition is that the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system 1 is less than or equal to the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system 1. In another embodiment, the first condition may be that the difference between the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system and the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system is equal to or less than a predetermined specific value. Furthermore, in this embodiment, whether or not the transfer condition is satisfied is determined based on the number of drug dispensing data, but in another embodiment, whether or not the transfer condition is satisfied may be determined based on the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the drug dispensing data.

[0065] The sorting unit 117 executes a sorting process to sort the order of execution of the drug dispensing process based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1 (hereinafter referred to as the "execution order") by group in accordance with a preset first sorting rule. For example, the first sorting rule specifies that the higher the group priority preset for each group, the earlier the execution order. The group priority may be preset for each ward corresponding to the group, or group priority information may be attached to the drug dispensing data input from the dispensing system 2. The sorting unit 117 may also sort the execution order of the drug dispensing data by group based on the administration time included in the drug dispensing data. Furthermore, when unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1 is transferred to another drug dispensing system 1, the sorting unit 117 subsequently sorts the execution order of the drug dispensing process based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system 1, including the transferred unprocessed drug dispensing data, by group in accordance with the first sorting rule. At this time, the sorting processing unit 117 excludes from the sorting target the group to which the medicine dispensing data for which the medicine dispensing process is currently being executed belongs.

[0066] The sorting unit 117 also sorts the execution order of drug dispensing processes based on drug dispensing data belonging to the same group according to a preset second sorting rule. For example, the second sorting rule specifies that the earlier the administration time included in the drug dispensing data, the earlier the execution order. When unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to a drug dispensing system 1 is transferred to another drug dispensing system 1, the sorting unit 117 sorts the execution order of the transferred drug dispensing data within the same group according to the second sorting rule. At this time, the sorting unit 117 excludes drug dispensing data for which drug dispensing processes are currently being performed from the sorting target.

[0067] [Processing of the Support System 100] In the support system 100, it is also possible to transfer drug dispensing data once assigned to one drug dispensing system 1 to another drug dispensing system 1. However, if drug dispensing data for multiple patients belonging to the same group are input separately to multiple drug dispensing systems 1, problems such as the burden on the user of consolidating the drugs dispensed from the multiple drug dispensing systems 1 and the risk of human error occurring in this task arise. In contrast, in the support system 100, as described below, various processes are performed by the drug dispensing system 1 and the dispensing system 2, and the drug dispensing data assigned to multiple drug dispensing systems 1 is transferred on a group-by-group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs. This makes it possible to efficiently use multiple drug dispensing systems while minimizing the increase in the user's workload.

[0068] [Medicine Dispensing Data Allocation Process of Dispensing System 2] First, with reference to FIG. 8, an example of medicine dispensing data allocation process executed by the control unit 201 in the dispensing system 2 will be described.

[0069] <Step S1> In step S1, the generation processing unit 211 of the control unit 201 determines whether the timing for executing the closing process has arrived. Specifically, the generation processing unit 211 determines that the timing for executing the closing process has arrived when the current time reaches a preset closing process time or when a user operation is performed to start the closing process. Then, if it is determined that the timing for executing the closing process has arrived (S1: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the timing for executing the closing process has not arrived (S1: No), the processing proceeds to step S7.

[0070] <Step S2> In step S2, the generation processing unit 211 of the control unit 201 identifies prescription data to be subject to the closing process. For example, the generation processing unit 211 identifies prescription data corresponding to one or more wards selected by a user operation as the target of the closing process. The generation processing unit 211 may also identify prescription data corresponding to wards that are preset for each closing process time as the target of the closing process.

[0071] <Step S3> In step S3, the generation processing unit 211 of the control unit 201 generates medicine dispensing data based on the prescription data identified as the target of the closing process in step S2, and stores the data in the storage unit 202.

[0072] <Step S4> In step S4, the identification processing unit 212 of the control unit 201 identifies a group to which each piece of medicine dispensing data belongs based on the ward name information included in each piece of medicine dispensing data generated in step S3. Here, the identification processing unit 212 may store a group number for identifying the group to which each piece of medicine dispensing data belongs in the storage unit 11 in association with the medicine dispensing data.

[0073] <Step S5> In step S5, the allocation processing unit 213 of the control unit 201 allocates each of the medicine dispensing data to one of the medicine dispensing systems 1 in units of the group identified in step S4. That is, the allocation processing unit 213 collectively allocates the medicine dispensing data belonging to the same group to the same medicine dispensing system 1. As a result, the medicines etc. corresponding to the plurality of medicine dispensing data belonging to the same group are dispensed from the same medicine dispensing system 1 without the plurality of medicine dispensing data belonging to the same group being input separately to the plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1.

[0074] <Step S6> In step S6, the output processing unit 214 of the control unit 201 outputs the medicine dispensing data assigned to each medicine dispensing system 1 in step S5 to the medicine dispensing system 1 in group units.

[0075] <Step S7> In step S7, the allocation processing unit 213 of the control unit 201 determines whether a transfer instruction, described below, has been received from any of the medicine dispensing systems 1. The transfer instruction is transmitted from the medicine dispensing system 1 to the dispensing system 2 in step S29 of the automatic load balancing process (see FIG. 10), described below. The transfer instruction includes identification information such as the prescription number of the medicine dispensing data to be transferred, identification information such as the unit number of the medicine dispensing system 1 to which the medicine dispensing data is to be transferred, and identification information such as the unit number of the medicine dispensing system 1 from which the medicine dispensing data is to be transferred. If it is determined that a transfer instruction has been received (S7: Yes), the process proceeds to step S8. If it is determined that a transfer instruction has not been received (S7: No), the process proceeds to step S1.

[0076] <Step S8> In step S8, the allocation processing unit 213 of the control unit 201 executes a transfer process based on the transfer instruction to reallocate, to the destination drug dispensing system 1, the drug dispensing data to be transferred among the drug dispensing data assigned to the source drug dispensing system 1. Note that the control unit 201 executing the transfer process to transfer, to the destination drug dispensing system 1, the drug dispensing data to be transferred among the drug dispensing data assigned to the source drug dispensing system 1, may be regarded as an example of a transfer processing unit according to the present invention, and in that case, the dispensing system 2 may be regarded as an example of a support system according to the present invention.

[0077] <Step S9> In step S9, the output processing unit 214 of the control unit 201 outputs the drug dispensing data assigned to the transferee drug dispensing system 1 in the transfer process of step S8 to the transferee drug dispensing system 1. As a result, in the support system 100, the drug dispensing data once assigned to the transferor drug dispensing system 1 is input to the transferee drug dispensing system 1, and the transferee drug dispensing system 1 executes the drug dispensing process based on the drug dispensing data.

[0078] <Step S10> In step S10, the output processing unit 214 of the control unit 201 notifies the user of the content of the transfer process of step S8 by displaying it on the display unit 204 or the like. The output processing unit 214 may also notify the user of the content of the transfer process of step S8 by displaying it on the operation display unit 40 or the like of either or both of the source drug dispensing system 1 and the destination drug dispensing system 1. Note that, for example, the content of the transfer process of step S8 notified in step S10 includes identification information such as the unit number of the source drug dispensing system 1, identification information such as the unit number of the destination drug dispensing system 1, and identification information of the group of drug dispensing data to be transferred (e.g., ward name, group number).

[0079] [Dispensing control process of medicine dispensing system 1] Next, an example of the dispensing control process executed by the control unit 10 in the medicine dispensing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Note that, here, the dispensing control process executed by the control unit 10 of the medicine dispensing system 1A among the plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1 will be described, but the dispensing control process is also executed by the control unit 10 in the medicine dispensing system 1B in the same manner.

[0080] <Step S11> In step S11, the data processing unit 111 of the control unit 10 determines whether or not drug dispensing data has been acquired from the dispensing system 2. As described above, the drug dispensing data is input in groups from the dispensing system 2 to the drug dispensing system 1A and stored in the storage unit 11. If it is determined that drug dispensing data has been acquired (S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. If drug dispensing data has not been acquired (S11: No), the process proceeds to step S15.

[0081] <Step S12> In step S12, the data processing unit 111 of the control unit 10 identifies a group of the medicine dispensing data determined to have been acquired in step S11. Specifically, the data processing unit 111 identifies a group to which the medicine dispensing data belongs based on ward name information included in the medicine dispensing data. For example, the data processing unit 111 identifies medicine dispensing data having the same ward name information as medicine dispensing data belonging to the same group.

[0082] <Step S13> In step S13, the sorting processing unit 117 of the control unit 10 sorts the execution order of the drug dispensing process in the drug dispensing system 1A by group in accordance with the first sorting rule for the unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the drug dispensing system 1A, and stores the order in the memory unit 11.

[0083] In the support system 100 according to this embodiment, when drug dispensing data assigned to a drug dispensing system 1 is transferred to another drug dispensing system 1 on a group basis, the control unit 10 of the other drug dispensing system 1 acquires the drug dispensing data to be transferred (S11: Yes). Therefore, in step S13, the sorting unit 117 of the control unit 10 sorts the execution order of all unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11, including the drug dispensing data to be transferred, by group in accordance with the first sorting rule. At this time, the sorting unit 117 excludes from the sorting target the group to which the drug dispensing data currently undergoing drug dispensing processing belongs.

[0084] <Step S14> In step S14, the sorting processing unit 117 of the control unit 10 sorts the execution order of the unprocessed medicine dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the medicine dispensing system 1A in accordance with the second sorting rule within the same group, and stores the sorted order in the memory unit 11. At this time, the sorting processing unit 117 excludes from the sorting the medicine dispensing data for which the medicine dispensing process is currently being executed.

[0085] In the medicine dispensing system 1, in the first medicine dispensing device 50b, the cassette Ca containing various medicines is moved between the cassette shelf 110 and the cassette holding unit 130 as needed. In addition, the cassette Ca held in the cassette holding unit 130 is also moved between the cassette receiving position 131 and the processing position 132 as needed. Specifically, in the first medicine dispensing device 50b, when medicines are dispensed from the cassette Ca containing medicines to be dispensed based on specific medicine dispensing data, the cassette Ca is moved from the cassette shelf 110 to the cassette receiving position 131 of the cassette holding unit 130, and then moved from the cassette receiving position 131 to the processing position 132. Here, in the drug dispensing system 1, since the number of cassette holding units 130 is smaller than the number of cassettes Ca, the number of cassettes Ca that can be continuously held in the cassette holding units 130 without being returned to the cassette shelf 110 is limited to the number of cassette holding units 130. Therefore, for example, in a drug dispensing process based on drug dispensing data to be executed next after the specific drug dispensing data, if drugs different from those in the specific drug dispensing data are dispensed, the cassette Ca moved to the processing position 132 in the drug dispensing process based on the specific drug dispensing data is moved from the processing position 132 to the cassette receiving position 131 and then returned to the cassette shelf 110. On the other hand, in a drug dispensing process based on drug dispensing data to be executed next after the specific drug dispensing data, if drugs of the same type as those in the specific drug dispensing data are dispensed, the cassette Ca moved to the processing position 132 in the drug dispensing process based on the specific drug dispensing data can be used as is. Therefore, the second sorting rule is set so that drug dispensing data for the same type of drug to be dispensed is arranged as consecutively as possible in the drug dispensing system 1A. That is, the data processing unit 11 sorts the execution order of the drug dispensing data so that drug dispensing data for the same type of drug to be dispensed is arranged as consecutively as possible. Then, when drug dispensing data for the same type of drug to be dispensed is consecutive, the dispensing processing unit 114 maintains the cassette Ca containing the drug in a state held by the cassette holding unit 130 at the processing position 132.That is, when consecutive drug dispensing data have the same type of drug to be dispensed, the cassette Ca is not moved from the processing position 132 to the cassette receiving position 131. As a result, in the drug dispensing system 1, in drug dispensing processes based on multiple drug dispensing data to be executed consecutively, drugs can be dispensed from the same cassette Ca that is continuously held in the cassette holding unit 130 located at the processing position 132, thereby reducing the number of times the cassette Ca is moved in the drug dispensing system 1 and shortening the time required for the drug dispensing process.

[0086] <Step S15> In step S15, the data processing unit 111 of the control unit 10 determines whether or not there is unprocessed drug dispensing data in the storage unit 11 that is due for execution of the drug dispensing process. Specifically, in the drug dispensing system 1A, when drug dispensing data is input from the dispensing system 2, the data processing unit 111 determines that the time to execute the drug dispensing process for the drug dispensing data has arrived. Alternatively, in the drug dispensing system 1A, when a user operation is performed on unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 11, the data processing unit 111 may determine that the time to execute the drug dispensing process for the drug dispensing data has arrived. Here, if it is determined that there is drug dispensing data that is due for execution of the drug dispensing process (S15: Yes), the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no medicine dispensing data for which the execution timing of the medicine dispensing process has arrived (S15: No), the dispensing control process ends, and the process is executed again from step S11.

[0087] <Step S16> In step S16, the output processing unit 113 of the control unit 10 determines whether the timing for replacing the cart 80 has arrived. Specifically, the output processing unit 113 determines that the timing for replacing the cart 80 has arrived when there is no more free space in the cart 80. Furthermore, the output processing unit 113 determines that the timing for replacing the cart 80 has arrived when the group that is the target for executing the medicine dispensing process has switched. Here, if it is determined that the timing for replacing the cart 80 has arrived (S16: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S17, and if it is determined that the timing for replacing the cart 80 has not arrived (S16: No), the processing proceeds to step S18.

[0088] <Step S17> In step S17, the output processing unit 113 of the control unit 10 executes notification processing to output a message, a warning sound, or the like urging the user to replace the cart 80. This allows the user to replace the cart 80 at an appropriate timing. Note that the control unit 10 may put the processing on hold until a user operation indicating that the cart 80 has been replaced is performed.

[0089] <Step S18> In step S18, the transfer processing unit 116 of the control unit 10 executes an automatic load balancing process, which will be described later, to automatically distribute the load of the medicine dispensing system 1A to another medicine dispensing system 1B as necessary. After that, when the automatic load balancing process is completed, the process proceeds to step S19.

[0090] <Step S19> In step S19, the dispensing processing unit 114 and the storing processing unit 115 of the control unit 10 execute a medicine dispensing process based on the medicine dispensing data to be executed, to dispense medicines, labels, injection prescriptions, etc. onto the tray 21. Thereafter, the control unit 10 ends the dispensing control process, and executes the next dispensing control process again from step S11.

[0091] Here, an example of a drug dispensing process executed by the dispensing processing unit 114 based on the drug dispensing data will be described. The dispensing processing unit 114 supplies an empty tray 21 from the tray supply device 20 to the tray transport device 22. The dispensing processing unit 114 causes the tray transport device 22 to transport the tray 21 to the label printing device 30, the injection drug dispensing device 50, and the injection prescription printing device 60 in that order. At this time, the dispensing processing unit 114 controls the label printing device 30 to print a label based on the drug dispensing data and place the label in the tray 21 transported to the label printing device 30. The dispensing processing unit 114 also controls the injection drug dispensing device 50 to dispense drugs based on the drug dispensing data and place the drugs in the tray 21 transported to the injection drug dispensing device 50. The dispensing processing unit 114 then controls the injection prescription printing device 60 to print an injection prescription based on the drug dispensing data and place the prescription in the tray 21 transported to the injection prescription printing device 60. Thereafter, the dispensing processing unit 114 transports the tray 21 containing the medicines, labels, injection prescriptions, etc. to the tray dispensing device 70, and the receiving processing unit 115 controls the tray dispensing device 70 to place the tray 21 on the cart 80.

[0092] In particular, when dispensing processing unit 114 controls first medicine dispensing device 50b to dispense medicines, it controls cassette transport unit 140 to identify, based on the correspondence data, a cassette Ca containing medicines to be dispensed in the medicine dispensing process based on the medicine dispensing data, and moves the cassette Ca from cassette shelf 110 to cassette holding unit 130. Next, dispensing processing unit 114 controls cassette holding unit 130 to move cassette Ca held by cassette holding unit 130 from cassette receiving position 131 to processing position 132. Thereafter, dispensing processing unit 114 controls medicine moving unit 150 to dispense medicines from cassette Ca located at processing position 132 onto tray 21. The dispensing processing unit 114 then controls the cassette holding unit 130 to move the cassette Ca from the processing position 132 to the cassette receiving position 131, and then controls the cassette transport unit 140 to move the cassette Ca from the cassette holding unit 130 to the cassette shelf 110. However, after the drugs have been dispensed from the cassette Ca to the tray 21, if the drugs to be dispensed in the drug dispensing process based on the drug dispensing data and the drugs to be dispensed in the drug dispensing process based on the drug dispensing data to be executed next are the same type, the dispensing processing unit 114 causes the cassette Ca to wait at the processing position 132 without moving it from the processing position 132 to the cassette receiving position 131. Then, in the drug dispensing process based on the drug dispensing data to be executed next, the dispensing processing unit 114 dispenses the drugs to be dispensed from the cassette Ca waiting at the processing position 132.

[0093] [Automatic Load Balancing Process] Hereinafter, an example of the automatic load balancing process executed in step S18 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0094] <Step S21> In step S21, the transfer processor 116 determines whether another drug dispensing system 1B exists in the support system 100. Specifically, the transfer processor 116 searches for another drug dispensing system 1B in the support system 100 that has a different unit number from the unit number assigned to the system itself. Furthermore, even if another drug dispensing system 1B exists, the transfer processor 116 determines that the other drug dispensing system 1B does not exist if the other drug dispensing system 1B is not activated or is not in an activatable state, or if the other drug dispensing system 1B is in a state where it cannot execute the drug dispensing process. Here, if it is determined that the other drug dispensing system 1B exists (S21: Yes), the process proceeds to step S22. If it is determined that the other drug dispensing system 1B does not exist (S21: No), the automatic load balancing process ends.

[0095] <Step S22> In step S22, the transfer processing unit 116 determines whether or not the group unit exchange function is enabled in the medicine dispensing system 1 A. If it is determined that the group unit exchange function is enabled (S22: Yes), the process proceeds to step S23. If it is determined that the group unit exchange function is not enabled (S22: No), the automatic load balancing process ends.

[0096] <Step S23> In step S23, the transfer processing unit 116 determines whether the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the drug dispensing system 1A is equal to or greater than a predetermined first predetermined value. If it is determined that the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value (S23: Yes), the process proceeds to step S23. If it is determined that the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data is less than the first predetermined value (S23: No), the automatic load balancing process ends.

[0097] That is, in steps S21 to S23, the transfer processing unit 116 determines whether or not to execute a transfer process (step S29) for transferring the drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1A to another drug dispensing system 1B as necessary. That is, the transfer processing unit 116 restricts the execution of the transfer process when it is determined that the conditions are not met in any of steps S21 to S23. Note that in other embodiments, any one or more of steps S21 to S23 may be omitted.

[0098] <Step S24> In step S24, the transfer processing unit 116 checks the processing status of the medicine dispensing data in the other medicine dispensing system 1B provided in the support system 100. Specifically, the transfer processing unit 116 acquires the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the other medicine dispensing system 1B provided in the support system 100.

[0099] Specifically, the transfer processing unit 116 of the medicine dispensing system 1A references unprocessed medicine dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the medicine dispensing system 1A and acquires the number of the medicine dispensing data. The transfer processing unit 116 of the medicine dispensing system 1A may also be configured to reference unprocessed medicine dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of another medicine dispensing system 1B. In this case, the transfer processing unit 116 can acquire the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data in the other medicine dispensing system 1B by referencing the unprocessed medicine dispensing data stored in the memory unit 11 of the other medicine dispensing system 1B. The transfer processing unit 116 may also transmit an inquiry about the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data to the control unit 10 of the other medicine dispensing system 1B, thereby acquiring the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data in the other medicine dispensing system 1B based on the reply of the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data from the control unit 10 of the other medicine dispensing system 1B.

[0100] The control unit 10 of each medicine dispensing system 1 may notify the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 of the completion of the medicine dispensing process when the medicine dispensing process based on the medicine dispensing data assigned to the medicine dispensing system 1 is completed. In this case, the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 stores the notification of the completion of each medicine dispensing data in the storage unit 202. This allows the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 to grasp the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data items among the medicine dispensing data assigned to each medicine dispensing system 1. Therefore, the transfer processing unit 116 of the medicine dispensing system 1 may obtain the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data items in each medicine support system 1 from the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2. The transfer processing unit 116 of the medicine dispensing system 1 may also access the storage unit 202 of the dispensing system 2 to obtain the number of unprocessed medicine dispensing data items in each medicine support system 1.

[0101] <Step S25> In step S25, the transfer processor 116 determines whether the unprocessed drug dispensing data in the other drug dispensing system 1B is less than a predetermined second predetermined value. That is, the transfer processor 116 obtains the magnitude of the current processing load in the other drug dispensing system 1B based on whether the unprocessed drug dispensing data in the other drug dispensing system 1B is less than the predetermined second predetermined value. Note that the first predetermined value and the second predetermined value may be the same or different. Here, if it is determined that the unprocessed drug dispensing data in the other drug dispensing system 1B is less than the second predetermined value (S25: Yes), the process proceeds to step S26. If it is determined that the unprocessed drug dispensing data in the other drug dispensing system 1B is not less than the second predetermined value (S25: No), the automatic load balancing process ends.

[0102] <Step S26> In step S26, the transfer processing unit 116 identifies a transferable group that satisfies a preset first transfer condition among groups to which unprocessed drug dispensing data in the drug dispensing system 1A belongs. Specifically, the first transfer condition is that the group is a group to which drug dispensing data belongs that is later in the execution order than the group to which the drug dispensing data that will be "X-1"th in the execution order of the drug dispensing process in the drug dispensing system 1A belongs, where X is the first predetermined value. That is, the transfer processing unit 116 restricts the transfer of the drug dispensing data for a group for which drug dispensing process based on at least some of the drug dispensing data has been initiated in the drug dispensing system. Note that the first transfer condition may be a group that is later in the execution order than the group to which the drug dispensing data for which drug dispensing process is being executed in the drug dispensing system 1A belongs.

[0103] For example, FIG. 11 shows the status of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to each of the drug dispensing systems 1A and 1B. Note that "G1" to "G7" shown in FIG. 11 are group numbers for identifying groups. Consider a case where 15 drug dispensing data "D1" to "D15" are assigned to the drug dispensing system 1A, with drug dispensing process execution orders of "1" to "15," as shown in FIG. 11(A). Furthermore, assume that the drug dispensing data "D1" to "D3" are classified into group "G1," the drug dispensing data "D4" to "D8" into group "G2," the drug dispensing data "D9" to "D12" into group "G3," and the drug dispensing data "D13" to "D15" into group "G4." Furthermore, assume that the first predetermined value is set to "7." In this case, the transfer processing unit 116 specifies, as the transferable groups, groups "G3" to "G4" to which belong drug dispensing data that are later in execution order than group "G2" to which drug dispensing data "D6" that is "6th" or later in execution order of the drug dispensing process in the drug dispensing system 1A belongs. On the other hand, the transfer processing unit 116 excludes groups "G1" to "G2" to which belong drug dispensing data "D1 to D5" that are "5th" or earlier in execution order of the drug dispensing process in the drug dispensing system 1A.

[0104] <Step S27> In step S27, the transfer processing unit 116 selects the transferable groups as transfer target candidates in order of latest execution of the drug dispensing process in the drug dispensing system 1A. For example, when step S26 is executed first in the automatic load balancing process, the transfer processing unit 116 selects the transferable group that has executed the drug dispensing process latest in the drug dispensing system 1A as the transfer target candidate. Thereafter, when step S26 is executed next in the same automatic load balancing process, the transfer processing unit 116 selects the transferable group that has executed the drug dispensing process next latest in the drug dispensing system 1A as the transfer target candidate.

[0105] <Step S28> In step S28, the transfer processing unit 116 determines whether the transferable group selected as a transfer target candidate in step S27 satisfies a preset second transfer condition. Specifically, the second transfer condition is that, when the transfer process of the drug dispensing data belonging to the transferable group selected as a transfer target candidate is performed, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer destination drug dispensing system 1B is equal to or less than the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer source drug dispensing system 1A. If it is determined that the second transfer condition is satisfied (S28: Yes), the process proceeds to step S29. If it is determined that the second transfer condition is not satisfied (S28: No), the process proceeds to step S281. That is, for the transferable group that does not satisfy the second transfer condition, the transfer processing unit 116 restricts the execution of the transfer process of transferring the drug dispensing data of the transferable group to the other drug dispensing system 1B.

[0106] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 11(A), six drug dispensing data "D21" to "D26" are assigned to the drug dispensing system 1B, with the drug dispensing process execution orders of "1" to "6." Furthermore, assume that the drug dispensing data "D21" to "D22" are classified into group "G5," the drug dispensing data "D23" to "D24" into group "G6," and the drug dispensing data "D25" to "D26" into group "G7." Here, consider a case where, as shown in FIG. 11(B), the drug dispensing system 1A performs transfer processing on the drug dispensing data "D13" to "D15" belonging to group "G4," which is the first candidate for transfer. 11(C), after the transfer process is executed, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer destination drug dispensing system 1B becomes 9, and the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer source drug dispensing system 1A becomes 12. That is, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer destination drug dispensing system 1B becomes equal to or less than the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer source drug dispensing system 1A. Therefore, in this case, in step S28, it is determined that the second transfer condition is satisfied.

[0107] 11(C), after the transfer process is executed, in step S13, the control unit 10 sorts the execution order of the drug dispensing data, including the unprocessed drug dispensing data stored in the storage unit 11 and the drug dispensing data to be transferred, by group in accordance with the first sorting rule. At this time, the sorting unit 117 excludes from the sorting target the group to which the drug dispensing data currently being processed belongs. For example, if the priority of group "G4" of the drug dispensing data "D13" to "D15" to be transferred is higher than the priority of group "G7," the execution order of the drug dispensing data belonging to group "G4" is sorted by group "G4" so that it comes earlier than the execution order of the drug dispensing data belonging to group "G7," as shown in FIG. 11(C).

[0108] 12A shows another example of the status of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to each of the drug dispensing systems 1A and 1B. In the example shown in FIG. 12A, eleven drug dispensing data "D1" to "D11" whose execution order of the drug dispensing process is "1" to "11" are assigned to the drug dispensing system 1A, and six drug dispensing data "D21" to "D26" whose execution order of the drug dispensing process is "1" to "6" are assigned to the drug dispensing system 1B. The drug dispensing data "D1" to "D3" are classified into group "G1," the drug dispensing data "D4" to "D8" into group "G2," and the drug dispensing data "D9" to "D11" into group "G3." Furthermore, drug dispensing data "D21" to "D22" are classified into group "G5," drug dispensing data "D23" to "D24" into group "G6," and drug dispensing data "D25" to "D26" into group "G7." Here, as shown in FIG. 12(B), consider the case where drug dispensing system 1A performs transfer processing on drug dispensing data "D9" to "D11" belonging to group "G3," which is the first candidate for transfer. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12(C), after the transfer processing is performed, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer-destination other drug dispensing system 1B becomes eight, and the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer-source drug dispensing system 1A becomes nine. That is, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer-destination other drug dispensing system 1B becomes greater than the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data items in the transfer-source drug dispensing system 1A. Therefore, in this case, it will be determined in step S28 that the second transfer condition is not satisfied.

[0109] <Step S281> In step S281, the transfer processing unit 116 determines whether there are any other transferable groups in addition to the transferable group selected as a transfer target candidate in step S27. If it is determined that there are any other transferable groups (S281: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S27. If it is determined that there are no other transferable groups in addition to the transferable group (S281: No), the automatic load balancing processing ends.

[0110] <Step S29> In step S29, the transfer processing unit 116 executes a process to transfer the drug dispensing data of the transferable group selected as a candidate for transfer in step S26 to another drug dispensing system 1B. Specifically, the transfer processing unit 116 transmits a transfer instruction to the dispensing system 2 to transfer the drug dispensing data of the group selected as a candidate for transfer in step S26 to another drug dispensing system 1B. As a result, as described above, in the dispensing system 2, the control unit 201 transfers the drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1A to another drug dispensing system 1B based on the transfer instruction (S7-S8). Note that in another embodiment, the transfer processing unit 116 may execute a transfer process to transfer the drug dispensing data by transmitting the drug dispensing data of the transferable group to another drug dispensing system 1B, and notify the dispensing system 2 of the results of the transfer process.

[0111] As described above, in the support system 100, the medicine dispensing data assigned to the medicine dispensing system 1 by the dispensing system 2 may be transferred to another medicine dispensing system 1 based on the processing load of each medicine dispensing system 1. Therefore, the support system 100 makes it possible to efficiently use multiple medicine dispensing systems 1 while suppressing an increase in the workload of the user.

[0112] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the transfer process is executed for a group that satisfies the first transfer condition and the second transfer condition has been described as an example. On the other hand, in other embodiments, step S26 may be omitted, that is, the transfer process may be executed for a group that satisfies the second transfer condition without determining whether the first transfer condition is satisfied.

[0113] In the present embodiment, the support system 100 is described as being provided with two drug dispensing systems 1A and 1B as the drug dispensing system 1. However, the support system 100 may be provided with three or more drug dispensing systems 1. In this case, the automatic load balancing process may be executed in each of the multiple drug support systems 1, thereby transferring the drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1 to another drug dispensing system 1 on a group basis. In this case, the automatic load balancing process checks the processing status of the drug dispensing data in the multiple drug dispensing systems 1 in step S24, and selects a transfer destination for the drug dispensing data. Specifically, the transfer processing unit 116 of the control unit 10 selects the drug dispensing system 1 with the least amount of unprocessed drug dispensing data as the transfer destination for the drug dispensing data. This allows the processing load of the drug dispensing systems 1 to be distributed as evenly as possible throughout the support system 100 as a whole.

[0114] Furthermore, the transfer processing unit 116 of the control unit 10 may preset other drug dispensing systems 1 as transfer destination candidates for each drug dispensing system 1. For example, when drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B, and 1C are provided as the drug dispensing system 1, the transfer destination for drug dispensing systems 1A and 1B may be set to drug dispensing system 1C, and the transfer destination for drug dispensing system 1C may be set to drug dispensing system 1B. Furthermore, the transfer processing unit 116 of the control unit 10 may preset a priority of other drug dispensing systems 1 as transfer destination candidates for each drug dispensing system 1. For example, when drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B, and 1C are provided as the drug dispensing system 1, the priority of the transfer destination for drug dispensing system 1A may be set to drug dispensing system 1B higher than drug dispensing system 1C, and the priority of the transfer destination candidate for drug dispensing system 1B may be set to drug dispensing system 1C higher than drug dispensing system 1A.

[0115] In this embodiment, the case where the control unit 10 of each of the medicine dispensing systems 1A and 1B executes the automatic load balancing process in the dispensing control process has been described as an example. However, only the control unit 10 of one predetermined medicine dispensing system 1 among the plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1A and 1B may execute the automatic load balancing process in the dispensing control process. For example, if it is known that one medicine dispensing system 1A among the plurality of medicine dispensing systems 1 is likely to be under a higher load than another medicine dispensing system 1B, only the control unit 10 of the medicine dispensing system 1A executes the automatic load balancing process in the dispensing control process, and the control unit 10 of the medicine dispensing system 1B does not execute the automatic load balancing process.

[0116] Alternatively, the control unit 10 of a preset one of the plurality of drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B may execute an automatic load balancing process to transfer drug dispensing data between the drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B on a group-by-group basis as needed. In this case, the control unit 10 acquires the status of the drug dispensing process based on the drug dispensing data in each of the plurality of drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B, and transfers the drug dispensing data between the drug dispensing systems 1A, 1B on a group-by-group basis based on the status. Specifically, in the automatic load balancing process (see FIG. 10 ), the control unit 10 determines whether a plurality of drug dispensing systems 1 exist (S21) and whether the group-by-group exchange function is enabled in the plurality of drug dispensing systems 1 (S22). Then, if the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1A is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value (S23: Yes), the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1B is less than a second predetermined value (S25: Yes), and even if some of the unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1A is transferred to drug dispensing system 1B, the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1B will not become greater than that in drug dispensing system 1A (S27: No), the control unit 10 sends a transfer instruction to the dispensing system 2 to transfer the part of the drug dispensing data from drug dispensing system 1A to drug dispensing system 1B (S29). Similarly, when the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1B is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value (S23: Yes), the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1A is less than a second predetermined value (S25: Yes), and transferring a portion of the unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1B to drug dispensing system 1A does not result in the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data in drug dispensing system 1B being greater than that in drug dispensing system 1B (S27: No), the control unit 10 transmits a transfer instruction to the dispensing system 2 to transfer the portion of the drug dispensing data from drug dispensing system 1B to drug dispensing system 1A (S29). Furthermore, instead of the control unit 10 of drug dispensing system 1, the control unit 201 of drug dispensing system 2 may perform automatic load balancing processing to transfer drug dispensing data between drug dispensing systems 1A and 1B as needed in groups, as described above.

[0117] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a case has been described in which, based on the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1, the drug dispensing data is transferred to another drug dispensing system 1. Meanwhile, in other embodiments, the control unit 10 of the drug dispensing system 1 or the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 may be able to calculate or estimate the required time for drug dispensing processing based on each drug dispensing data in the drug dispensing system 1. In this case, the drug dispensing data may be transferred to another drug dispensing system 1 based on the required time for drug dispensing processing for the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1. That is, when drug dispensing data belonging to a group to be transferred among unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to one drug dispensing system 1 is transferred to another drug dispensing system 1, if the relationship between the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system 1 and the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system 1 satisfies a preset second condition, the transfer processing unit 116 transfers the drug dispensing data belonging to the group from the one drug dispensing system 1 to the other drug dispensing system 1. Note that the second condition is that the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system is equal to or less than the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system.

[0118] [Other Functions] In addition to the functions described above, the support system 100 may have the following functions.

[0119] [Exceptional Dispensing Function] In the support system 100 according to the above embodiment, the case has been described in which the drug dispensing data input from the dispensing system 2 to the drug dispensing system 1 is drug dispensing data that identifies the patient to whom the drug is to be administered. On the other hand, the support system 100 may have an exceptional dispensing function that enables any drug to be dispensed from the drug dispensing system 1 in any amount.

[0120] For example, a medical institution such as a hospital or pharmacy using the support system 100 may be equipped with a co-infusion device that automatically performs a co-infusion process based on prescription data, in which drugs pre-stored in the device are injected into an infusion container such as an infusion bag. In this case, it is desirable that the drugs to be used in the co-infusion process are pre-stored in the co-infusion device before the prescription data for the co-infusion process is input. Therefore, in the support system 100, the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 may be able to accept, via user operation, input of the type of drug to be dispensed for filling the co-infusion device and the dispensing amount of the drug. The control unit 201 then generates drug dispensing data including the input drug type and dispensing amount and outputs the data to the drug dispensing system 1. In this way, in the drug dispensing system 1, the control unit 10 executes a drug dispensing process that dispenses the drug to be dispensed in the dispensing amount based on the drug dispensing data. Therefore, in the support system 100, it is possible to dispense any drug from the drug dispensing system 1 before prescription data is input into the dispensing system 2, and the user can fill the drug dispensed from the drug dispensing system 1 into the co-infusion device.

[0121] Furthermore, for example, in medical facilities such as hospitals or pharmacies where the support system 100 is used, a fixed-arrangement drug system may be adopted, in which a specific number of a specific type of drug is pre-determined in a specific location, such as a hospital ward or pharmacy. The drugs allocated as fixed-arrangement drugs may be used exceptionally, for example, in emergencies. Even in such cases, a specific number of the specific type of drug is needed for allocation as the fixed-arrangement drug, even when prescription data has not been entered into the dispensing system 2. Therefore, in the support system 100, the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 may be able to accept, via user operation, input of the type of drug to be dispensed for use as the fixed-arrangement drug and the dispensing amount of the drug. The control unit 201 then generates drug dispensing data including the input drug type and dispensing amount of the drug and outputs the generated data to the drug dispensing system 1. As a result, in the drug dispensing system 1, the control unit 10 executes a drug dispensing process to dispense the drug to be dispensed in the dispensing amount based on the drug dispensing data. Therefore, in the support system 100, it becomes possible to dispense any drug from the drug dispensing system 1 before prescription data is input into the dispensing system 2, and the user can place the drug dispensed from the drug dispensing system 1 in the specific location as the fixed placement drug.

[0122] [Sorting Function of Medicine Dispensing Data] As described above, the data processing unit 111 may have a sorting function for changing the execution order of medicine dispensing in the medicine dispensing system 1 for multiple medicine dispensing data belonging to a group corresponding to the same ward. Specifically, in the medicine dispensing system 1, n (n = 4 in this embodiment) cassettes Ca can be held in the cassette holding units 130 (130a to 130d). Furthermore, in the cassette holding units 130 (130a to 130d), the cassettes Ca can be moved between cassette receiving positions 131 (131a to 131d) that receive the cassettes Ca from the cassette transporter 140 and processing positions 132 (132a to 132d) where the cassettes Ca undergo specific processing by the specific processing unit 120. On the other hand, when multiple drug dispensing data for the same drug to be dispensed are executed consecutively in the drug dispensing system 1, the cassette Ca that was moved to the processing position 132 of the cassette holding unit 130 when dispensing the drug based on the drug dispensing data that was executed first among the multiple drug dispensing data can be used as is to dispense the drug based on the drug dispensing data that is next to be executed.

[0123] Therefore, it is considered that the second sorting rule is set to sort the execution order of the drug dispensing process based on a plurality of drug dispensing data belonging to a group corresponding to the same ward so as to minimize the number of times the cassette Ca is moved between the cassette shelf 110 and the cassette holding unit 130. As a result, in step S14, the data processing unit 111 sorts the execution order of the plurality of drug dispensing data belonging to the same group so that a plurality of drug dispensing data containing the same type of drug to be dispensed are consecutive.

[0124] Then, in the drug dispensing process of step S19 described below, which is executed for multiple drug dispensing data sets that contain the same type of drug as the dispensing target and that are consecutive in execution order, the cassette Ca containing the drug in the drug dispensing process based on the first drug dispensing data set is moved to processing position 132. Thereafter, the dispensing processing unit 114 causes the cassette Ca to wait at processing position 132 until the drug dispensing process for multiple drug dispensing data sets that contain the same type of drug as the dispensing target and that are consecutive in execution order is completed. This eliminates the need to repeatedly transport the same cassette Ca to processing position 132, and can shorten the time required to dispense the drug in the drug dispensing system 1 compared to when multiple drug dispensing data sets that contain the same drug as the dispensing target are not consecutive.

[0125] In another embodiment, when the drug dispensing process based on the first drug dispensing data among multiple drug dispensing data sets that contain the same type of drug as the dispensing target and that are executed in succession is completed, the cassette Ca containing the drug may be moved from the processing position 132 to the cassette receiving position 131. In this case, the dispensing processing unit 114 may repeatedly move the cassette Ca between the cassette receiving position 131 and the processing position 132 until the drug dispensing process for multiple drug dispensing data sets that contain the same type of drug as the dispensing target and that are executed in succession is completed. Even in such a case, the time required for drug dispensing is shortened compared to repeatedly moving the cassette Ca between the cassette shelf 110 and the cassette holding unit 130. In addition, when multiple drugs are included as drugs to be dispensed within one drug dispensing data, and changing the dispensing order of the multiple drugs for the drug dispensing data allows the same cassette Ca to be used continuously as other drug dispensing data whose execution order is consecutive to that of the drug dispensing data, the data processing unit 111 may change the dispensing order of the multiple drugs within the drug dispensing data.

[0126] [Parent-Child Cassette Function] In the medicine dispensing system 1, the control unit 10 can associate cassette-specific information of a cassette Ca with drug identification information of drugs contained in the cassette Ca and register the association data in accordance with user input. In this case, the control unit 10 may have a parent-child cassette function that can associate drug identification information of the same type of drug with multiple cassettes Ca. Hereinafter, multiple cassettes Ca associated with drug identification information of the same type of drug are referred to as parent-child cassettes. As mentioned above, the storage unit 11 also stores the inventory quantity of drugs contained in each cassette Ca and the expiration date of the drugs in the association data.

[0127] In the drug dispensing process (step S19) based on the drug dispensing data executed by the dispensing processing unit 114 in the drug dispensing system 1, it is determined based on the correspondence data whether multiple cassettes Ca exist corresponding to the drugs to be dispensed in the drug dispensing process. If multiple cassettes Ca corresponding to the drugs to be dispensed exist, i.e., if parent-child cassettes are registered for the type of drug, the dispensing processing unit 114 moves the cassette Ca with the drug containing the closest expiration date from the cassette shelf 110 to the cassette holding unit 130. However, if the number of drugs contained in the cassette Ca with the closest expiration date among the parent-child cassettes is less than the number of drugs to be dispensed based on the drug dispensing data being executed in the drug dispensing process, after dispensing the drugs from the cassette Ca, it is necessary to move the other cassette Ca registered as the parent-child cassette back to the cassette holding unit 130 and dispense the drugs from the cassette Ca.

[0128] Therefore, when parent-child cassettes are registered for the drugs to be dispensed, the dispensing processing unit 114 identifies a cassette Ca among the parent-child cassettes that contains more drugs than the number of drugs to be dispensed based on the drug dispensing data. Then, among the identified cassettes Ca, the cassette Ca with the drug expiration date closest to the expiration date is moved from the cassette shelf 110 to the cassette holding unit 130, and the drugs are dispensed from that cassette Ca. This eliminates the need to sequentially move multiple cassettes Ca registered as parent-child cassettes to the cassette holding unit 130 when dispensing the number of drugs corresponding to the drug dispensing data, thereby reducing the time required to dispense the drugs.

[0129] In another embodiment, when the number of drugs contained in the cassette Ca with the shortest expiration date among the parent-child cassettes is smaller than the number of drugs to be dispensed based on the drug dispensing data for which the drug dispensing process is being executed, the dispensing processing unit 114 may move, from the cassette shelf 110 to the cassette holding units 130, the multiple cassettes Ca including the cassette Ca with the shortest expiration date among the multiple cassettes Ca registered as the parent-child cassettes. This makes it possible to dispense drugs from the cassettes Ca held in the multiple cassette holding units 130, thereby shortening the time required for dispensing the drugs.

[0130] [Filling Cassette Identification Function] A user of the medicine dispensing system 1 performs a filling operation to fill a cassette Ca provided in the first medicine dispensing device 50b with medicines as needed. The filling operation also includes the user returning medicines (returned medicines) that were dispensed from the medicine dispensing system 1 to a cassette Ca corresponding to the type of medicine. Meanwhile, as described above, in the medicine dispensing system 1, the control unit 10 manages the inventory of medicines in each cassette Ca using correspondence data in the storage unit 11. For example, the control unit 10 may accept the selection of a cassette Ca filled with medicines through a user operation and update the inventory of medicines in the cassette Ca. However, in this case, a user operation is required to select the cassette Ca. In response to this, the control unit 10 may be provided with a filling cassette identification function that automatically identifies a cassette Ca filled with medicines.

[0131] Specifically, in first medicine dispensing device 50b, each cassette Ca is configured to be detachable from cassette shelf 110, and a user fills the cassette Ca with medicines by inserting or removing the cassette Ca from cassette shelf 110. Therefore, first medicine dispensing device 50b may be provided with a detection device (not shown) capable of individually detecting the cassettes Ca inserted or removed from cassette shelf 110. For example, the detection device (not shown) is an area sensor capable of individually detecting the passage of each cassette Ca in the direction in which the cassette Ca is pulled out of cassette shelf 110. In another embodiment, the detection device may be capable of individually detecting the insertion or removal of each cassette Ca by a switch that contacts or separates from the cassette Ca when the cassette Ca is inserted or removed.

[0132] When the detection device of the first medicine dispensing device 50b detects that a cassette Ca has been removed from the cassette shelf 110, the control unit 10 determines that the cassette Ca whose removal was detected by the detection device is the target of the refilling operation. When the cassette Ca is returned to the cassette shelf 110, the control unit 10 moves the cassette Ca to the cassette holding unit 130a, measures the weight of the cassette Ca with the load cell 134, executes the calculation process to calculate the number of medicines contained in the cassette Ca, and updates the inventory of medicines corresponding to the cassette Ca in the correspondence data based on the result of the calculation process. The control unit 10 may also identify the number of medicines filled into the cassette Ca based on the difference between the weight of the cassette Ca after insertion or removal and the weight of the cassette Ca last measured before insertion or removal, and store the identified number of medicines in the memory unit 11 as a refilling history. In addition, when the filling operation into cassette Ca begins, a user operation may be performed that can identify whether the filling into cassette Ca is a new fill or a return, and in this case, information as to whether the filling into cassette Ca is a new fill or a return is also stored as filling history.

[0133] [Drug allocation function] Prior to the closing process, the control unit 201 of the dispensing system 2 may execute a provisional closing process to identify the types of drugs that need to be dispensed by the medicine dispensing system 1 based on the prescription data already input to the dispensing system 2, and transmit the results of the provisional closing process to the medicine dispensing system 1. However, since the medicine dispensing system 1 does not have cassettes Ca corresponding to all types of drugs registered in the medicine master, drugs that do not have a corresponding cassette Ca (hereinafter referred to as "non-implemented drugs") cannot be dispensed by the medicine dispensing system 1.

[0134] Therefore, in the medicine dispensing system 1, if the medicines to be dispensed include non-installed medicines based on the result of the pre-tightening process, the control unit 10 may execute a medicine allocation process to allocate the non-installed medicines to one of the cassettes Ca provided in the first medicine dispensing device 50b. Specifically, if an unused cassette Ca to which no medicines are currently assigned is present in the first medicine dispensing device 50b, the control unit 10 allocates the non-installed medicines to the cassette Ca. Furthermore, the control unit 10 may allocate the non-installed medicines to one of the assigned cassettes Ca provided in the first medicine dispensing device 50b that are currently assigned other medicines. The control unit 10 may automatically select the unused cassette Ca to which the non-installed medicines are to be assigned or the assigned cassette Ca to which the non-installed medicines are to be assigned, or may select the cassette Ca in response to a user operation.

[0135] The control unit 10 then displays on the operation display unit 40 the identification information or installation location of the cassette Ca to which the non-installed drug is assigned, and also displays on the operation display unit 40 information such as a message prompting the user to fill the cassette Ca with the non-installed drug. As a result, when the user fills the cassette Ca to which the non-installed drug is assigned with the non-installed drug, the first drug dispensing device 50b becomes able to dispense the non-installed drug from the cassette Ca. Note that when a non-installed drug is assigned to the cassette Ca, the control unit 10 manages the inventory of the non-installed drug using the correspondence data stored in the memory unit 11, in the same way as other drugs.

[0136] [Filling Notification Function] In the first drug dispensing device 50b, the control unit 10 may have a filling notification function that outputs first information, such as a predetermined message, to a user when the difference between the inventory number of the drug stored in the cassette shelf 110 of the first drug dispensing device 50b and the required number of drugs to be dispensed based on the drug dispensing data assigned to the drug dispensing system 1 is equal to or less than a predetermined first predetermined number. For example, the first information may be one or more of a message encouraging the user to fill the drug when the difference is equal to or less than the first predetermined number, a predetermined recommended filling number, or the current inventory number. The recommended filling number may be, for example, the same number as the difference, or may be a number calculated based on the drug dispensing history and a predetermined arithmetic formula.

[0137] The user fills the first drug dispensing device 50b with drugs based on the first information reported by the notification process. However, in addition to drugs whose difference is equal to or less than the first predetermined number, there may be drugs whose difference is approaching the first predetermined number. In this case, the user may need to fill another drug immediately after filling a certain drug. Therefore, in the notification process executed when the difference for a certain drug reaches or exceeds the first predetermined number, the control unit 10 may output second information, such as a message preset in the same manner as the first information, for other drugs contained in a cassette Ca different from the drug targeted by the notification process if the difference is equal to or less than a second predetermined number greater than the first predetermined number. This allows the user to simultaneously fill multiple drugs, improving work efficiency.

[0138] [Consumables Notification Function] The medicine dispensing system 1 is provided with various devices that use consumables, such as recording media such as labels and sheets to be printed, and ink or toner used for printing, such as the label printing device 30 and the injection prescription printing device 60. The user must replace or replenish the consumables for these various devices as needed. In response to this, the control unit 10 may have a consumables notification function that predicts the timing for replacing or replenishing the consumables based on preset prediction information and notifies the user.

[0139] Specifically, the control unit 10 stores the usage history of each consumable item in the label printing device 30 and the injection prescription printing device 60 for a predetermined period, such as one day or one week, in the storage unit 11 as the prediction information. The control unit 10 then predicts the timing for replacing or replenishing each consumable item in the label printing device 30 and the injection prescription printing device 60 based on the usage history and the current remaining amount or number of times each consumable item can be used. For example, the control unit 10 predicts the timing for replacing or replenishing each consumable item when the remaining amount or number of times each consumable item can be used reaches or falls below a first threshold value preset for each consumable item. The control unit 10 can manage the current remaining amount or number of times each consumable item can be used by setting the current remaining amount or number of times each consumable item can be used to an initial value preset for each consumable item when the consumable item is replaced or replenished in the label printing device 30 or the injection prescription printing device 60, and then subtracting the initial value based on the use of the consumable item. The prediction information may also include the number of drug dispensing data input to the drug dispensing system 1 for each season, day of the week, or time period, or the number of drugs to be dispensed. Then, when the remaining amount or number of times that the consumable can be used reaches or falls below a second threshold value that is preset as a value that is equal to or greater than the first threshold value corresponding to each consumable, the control unit 10 notifies the user of the predicted timing for replacing or replenishing the consumable by outputting the timing for replacing or replenishing the consumable to the operation display unit 40, etc.

[0140] Furthermore, the control unit 10 may be capable of storing and managing, in the storage unit 11, an inventory of each consumable item that is not filled in the medicine dispensing system 1 at the facility where the medicine dispensing system 1 is used (hereinafter referred to as "facility inventory"). In this case, the control unit 10 may predict when the facility inventory of each consumable item will run short based on the facility inventory of each consumable item and the predicted timing of replacement or replenishment for each consumable item, and may notify the user of the timing when the facility inventory of each consumable item will run short by outputting a notification to the operation display unit 40 or the like at a predetermined notification timing before the timing. For example, the notification timing may be a predetermined time of day, when the medicine dispensing system 1 is started, or at the closing processing time.

Claims

1. A support system comprising: an allocation processing unit which allocates drug dispensing data to one of a plurality of drug dispensing systems; and a transfer processing unit which, when a preset transfer condition is satisfied, transfers the unprocessed drug dispensing data allocated to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs.

2. The support system according to claim 1, wherein the drug dispensing data includes at least information on the injection drug dispensed by the drug dispensing system.

3. The support system according to claim 2, further comprising the plurality of drug dispensing systems, each of which is provided with a storage processing unit that stores trays containing drugs indicated in the drug dispensing data in a storage shelf corresponding to the group to which the drug dispensing data belongs.

4. The support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer condition includes that when the drug dispensing data belonging to the group to be transferred among the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system is transferred to the other drug dispensing system, a relationship between the number of the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system and the number of the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system satisfies a preset first condition, and the transfer processing unit transfers the drug dispensing data belonging to the group to be transferred to the other drug dispensing system when the transfer condition is satisfied.

5. The support system according to claim 4, wherein the first condition is that the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system is less than or equal to the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system.

6. The support system described in claim 4, wherein the first condition is that a difference between the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system and the number of unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system is equal to or less than a predetermined specific value.

7. The support system according to claim 4, wherein the transfer processing unit restricts the transfer of the drug dispensing data when the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system is less than a first predetermined value set in advance.

8. The support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer processing unit restricts the transfer of the drug dispensing data for a group for which drug dispensing processing based on at least a portion of the drug dispensing data has been started in the one drug dispensing system.

9. The support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer processing unit selects as candidates for transfer targets groups in descending order of the execution order of the medicine dispensing process in the one medicine dispensing system.

10. A support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sorting processing unit which, after the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system is transferred to the other drug dispensing system, sorts the execution order of the drug dispensing process based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system by group in accordance with a pre-set sorting rule.

11. The support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transfer condition includes that when the drug dispensing data belonging to the group to be transferred among the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system is transferred to the other drug dispensing system, a relationship between the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the one drug dispensing system and the time required for drug dispensing processing based on the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to the other drug dispensing system satisfies a predetermined second condition, and the transfer processing unit transfers the drug dispensing data belonging to the group to be transferred to the other drug dispensing system when the transfer condition is satisfied.

12. A program for causing one or more processors to execute the steps of: allocating drug dispensing data to one of a plurality of drug dispensing systems; and, when a preset transfer condition is satisfied, transferring the unprocessed drug dispensing data allocated to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs.

13. A drug dispensing system comprising a dispensing processing unit that dispenses drugs based on drug dispensing data, and a transfer processing unit that transfers the unprocessed drug dispensing data assigned to one of the drug dispensing systems to another of the drug dispensing systems on a group basis to which the drug dispensing data belongs when a preset transfer condition is satisfied.