JP7629766B2 - Call control system and call control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a call control system and a call control method, and in particular to a call control system and a call control method suitable for nursing care or care staff to respond appropriately according to the priority of calls made simultaneously by users using nurse calls.

In nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities that require care and nursing for users, a system has become widespread in which an IP private branch exchange (hereafter referred to as "IP-PBX" (Internet Protocol - Private Branch eXchange)) is installed within the facility, and when a user makes a so-called nurse call, the call is received via the IP-PBX on the mobile device, such as a smartphone, of the caregiver or nursing staff.

A system in which patients can make nurse calls via IP-PBX and send alarms to staff is described, for example, in Patent Document 1.

JP 2016-77522 A

The nurse call system described in Patent Document 1 generates alarm information from the patient's bedside, and the IP-PBX acquires the call history and sends a push-type alarm message to the staff's IP phone based on that.

However, with current IP-PBXs, when multiple handsets call at the same time, the call that arrives first is usually given priority and displayed on the called terminal, so the next call cannot be answered until the displayed call is answered.

In other words, as in Patent Document 1, in a system in which a nurse call system and an IP-PBX are linked, if an emergency user and a non-emergency user call at the same time and the non-emergency user arrives first, the staff will not be able to immediately respond to the emergency user's call.

In this way, in conventional technology, the first incoming call is displayed on the staff member's mobile device, and other calls are displayed in order and can be answered after the displayed call is answered. The priority of the users who should be answered is left to the experience of the person answering.

The object of the present invention is to provide a call control system and a call control method suitable for allowing staff to respond appropriately according to the priority of calls made simultaneously by users using nurse calls in caregiving or nursing.

The call control system according to the present invention is preferably a call control system that responds to calls from users in a care facility or nursing care facility, and includes a call handset that receives calls from users, an IP-PBX (Internet Protocol - Private Branch eXchange), a mobile terminal carried by staff providing care services or nursing care services, and a wireless AP (Access Point) device that calls the mobile terminal and communicates wirelessly. The call handset, IP-PBX, and wireless AP device are interconnected, the IP-PBX holds care information or nursing care information for each user, and calculates a response priority for each user from the care information or nursing care. When the mobile terminal is called from the call handset, the IP-PBX generates incoming call display data including the response priority for each user and transmits the incoming call display data to the called mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal displays an incoming call display screen including the response priority for each user.

The present invention provides a call control system and a call control method suitable for allowing staff to respond appropriately to simultaneous nurse calls from users in the care or nursing field according to the priority of the calls.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a call control system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware and software configuration of an IP-PBX. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a call control table. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a user information table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a call history. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an incoming call screen of a smartphone. 13 is a flowchart showing an incoming call process. 10 is a flowchart showing an incoming call response/disconnection process. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the incoming call queue when the IP-PBX controls calls, the display on the smartphone for the staff, and the staff's response (part 1). FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the incoming call queue when the IP-PBX controls calls, the display on the smartphone for the staff, and the staff's response (part 1). This figure explains an example of the contents of the incoming call queue when the IP-PBX controls calls, the display on the smartphone for the staff, and the staff's response (part 3). 11 is a flowchart showing a response priority process performed by an IP-PBX. This is a diagram that explains the series of events from when a user makes a nurse call to when a staff member responds (part 1). This is a diagram that explains the series of events from when a user makes a nurse call to when a staff member responds (part 2). This is a diagram that explains the series of events from when a user makes a nurse call to when a staff member responds (part 3). This is a diagram that explains the series of events from when a user makes a nurse call to when a staff member responds (part 4). This diagram explains the sequence of events from when a user makes a nurse call to when a staff member responds (part 5).

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 10E.

First, an overview of the configuration and processing of a call control system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, a call control system in a care facility will be described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to cases where a user makes a nurse call and staff (caregivers, nurses) provide care and nursing services, such as in a hospital that accommodates patients.

As shown in FIG. 1, the call control system of this embodiment is composed of a nurse call handset 10 installed in a nursing care facility, a wireless AP (Access Point) device 20, a smartphone 30, an IP-PBX 100, and a nursing care management server 200.

The nurse call handset 10 and the IP-PBX 100 are connected by an internal telephone line 5, and the IP-PBX 100 and the wireless AP device 20 are connected by a LAN 7 (Local Area Network). A user (a person receiving care services) can call the smartphone 30 carried by a staff member of the care facility (a person in charge of providing care services to the user) by calling the nurse call handset 10. The wireless AP device 20 calls the smartphone 30 from the nurse call handset 10 using a wireless protocol of the existing Wi-Fi standard (e.g., IEEE802.11a, b, g, n, ac, etc.), and the staff member operates the smartphone 30 to answer the call, enabling a conversation with the called user.

The IP-PBX 100 is a device that has the function of accepting calls from the nurse call handset 10, performing line switching, and calling the smartphone 30 using the IP protocol.

The IP-PBX 100 has the following functional units: a call control unit 110, a care information receiving unit 120, a response priority calculation unit 130, and an incoming call screen data processing unit 140.

The call control unit 110 is a functional unit that makes, receives, and exchanges calls. The care information receiving unit 120 is a functional unit that receives care information from the care management server 200. The response priority calculation unit 130 is a functional unit that calculates the response priority (details will be described later) that is determined for each user. The incoming call screen data processing unit 140 is a functional unit that creates data for the display screen when an incoming call is received from the nurse call handset 10 to the smartphone 30.

The smartphone 30 is a mobile terminal carried by the staff member to receive calls from the nurse call handset 10, and has a function to display call information from the nurse call handset 10 in addition to normal calling functions. The mobile terminal carried by the staff member may be, for example, a laptop-type PC (Personal Computer) or tablet, as long as it is capable of implementing calling functions and information display functions.

The care management server 200 holds a care DB (Data Base) 210 and is a server for managing the care information of the user. The care management server 200 can be implemented as an information processing device such as a normal server device. The care management server 200 is connected to the IP-PBX 200 via a LAN 7, and periodically transmits the care information of the user to the IP-PBX 200 using a care information transmission program (not shown) with a set time schedule.

The care management server 200 has the following functional units: a care information management unit 220, a care information transmission unit 230, and a care information input unit 240.

The care information management unit 220 is a functional unit that manages the care information in the care DB 210. The care information transmission unit 230 is a functional unit that transmits the care information to the IP-PBX 100. The care information input unit 240 is a functional unit that inputs the care information of the user to the care management server 200 via an input/output device or a network.
Specific examples of care information for users will be described in detail later.

Next, the hardware and software configuration of the IP-PBX will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the IP-PBX 100 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 300, a main memory 302, a flash memory 304, an internal line I/F (Interface) 306, and a network I/F 308, which are interconnected by a bus.

The CPU 300 is a processor that controls the overall operation of the IP-PBX 100, and executes various processes for the IP-PBX 100 as a whole by referencing control programs and data such as tables loaded into the main memory 302 and executing control programs (not shown). It also provides the call control processing functions of this embodiment by executing application programs described below.

Main memory 302 is composed of semiconductor elements such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and is used to store various control programs such as the exchange operation control program and various control information such as extension number information for IP-PBX 100, as well as being used as a work memory for CPU 300 to store information used temporarily when executing exchange operations. Although not shown in the figure, the control programs and tables are stored in auxiliary storage devices such as flash memory 304 or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) (not shown) and are loaded into main memory 302 at the time of execution.

The network I/F 308 is an interface circuit with the LAN 7, through which the wireless AP device 20 and various network devices are connected.

The extension I/F 120 is a hardware circuit that accommodates the extensions of the IP-PBX 100 and monitors the answering signals of the connected extensions and the status of the call termination lines.

The flash memory 304 is installed with a call control program 311 for executing the call control processing of this embodiment, a care information receiving program 312, a response priority calculation program 313, and an incoming call screen data processing program 314.

The call control program 311, the care information receiving program 312, the response priority calculation program 313, and the incoming call screen data processing program 314 are programs for realizing the functions of the call control unit 110, the care information receiving unit 120, the response priority calculation unit 130, and the incoming call screen data processing unit 140, respectively.

Flash memory 304 also stores a call control table 400, a user information table 410, and a call history 420. Details of each table will be described later.

Next, we will explain the data structure used in the call control system using Figures 3 to 5.

The call control table 400 is a table for managing the calling numbers and called numbers of the IP-PBX 200, and as shown in FIG. 3, has fields for calling number 400a and called number 400b.

The calling number 400a is the extension number sent from the nurse call handset 10. The called number 400b is the extension number of the smartphone carried by the staff member who receives the call when called from the nurse call handset 10 with the extension number listed in the calling number 400a. The example in FIG. 3 adopts the concept of an incoming call group, where one incoming call group contains multiple extension numbers, and the IP-PBX 200 allows the call to be received at any available extension number. In other words, it is assumed that one of the staff members carrying an extension number assigned to one incoming call group is in a position to care for the called user.

The user information table 410 is a table for storing information about users in a care facility, and as shown in FIG. 4, has fields for user ID 410a, user name 410b, extension number 410c, response priority 410d, care level 410e, vital signs 410f, independence level 410g, excretion timing 410h, and injury or illness 410i.

The user ID 410a stores an identifier that can uniquely identify a user of the nursing facility. The user name 410b stores the user's name. The extension number 410c stores the extension number assigned to the nurse call handset used by the user. The response priority 410d stores a priority indicating which call the staff should respond to when receiving a call from the user. In this embodiment, the priority is expressed as an integer value from 1 to 5, and the higher the priority value, the higher the priority. The following care level 410e, vital information 410f, independence level 410g, excretion timing 410h, and injury/illness 410i store the user's nursing record information. The care level 410e stores an index of the level of care required physically and mentally for the user (for example, levels of support required 1 and 2, levels of care required 1 to 5, etc.). Vital information 410f stores the user's health measurement information (e.g., body temperature, blood pressure, pulse oximeter measurements) in a specified format. Independence level 410g stores a classification value that indicates the state of the user when living an everyday life independently (e.g., classification into full assistance, partial assistance, supervision, independence, etc.). Excretion timing 410h stores the time set aside for the user to excrete. Illness or injury 410i stores a flag indicating whether the user is ill or injured.

The call history 420 is a table that stores the history of nurse call calls, and as shown in FIG. 5, has fields for call ID 420a, calling extension number 420b, call time 420c, call time 420d, and call end time 420e.

Call ID 420a stores an identifier that uniquely identifies a call from a nurse call handset 10. Call extension number 420b stores the extension number of the nurse call handset 10 that made the call. Call time 420c stores the time of the call from the nurse call handset 10 in the format yyyymmddhhmmss. Call time 420d stores the time when the call from the nurse call handset 10 was received by the smartphone 30 and the call between the user and the staff member started in the format yyyymmddhhmmss. Call end time 420e stores the time when the call between the user and the staff member ended in the format yyyymmddhhmmss.

Next, the incoming call screen of the smartphone will be described with reference to FIG.
When calls from multiple nurse call handsets 10 occur at the same time, the IP-PBX 100 transmits incoming call screen data and notifies all calls to the staff member's smartphone 30. The smartphone 30 has a call display screen 500 as shown in Fig. 6, which is made up of a call display unit 510 created for each call.

The call display unit 510 displays the user name display 511, the response priority display 512, the call time display 513, and the response button 520.

The user name display 511 displays the name of the user who has been called from the nurse call handset 10. The response priority display 512 displays the response priority calculated by the IP-PBX 100 for the called user. The call time display 513 displays the time from the time of the call to the present. The answer button 513 is a button that the staff member taps when answering a call from the user corresponding to that call display unit 510.

In principle, staff will respond to calls with a higher priority as indicated by the response priority display 512. To this end, the call display screen 500 of the smartphone 30 displays the call display units 510 sorted in order of highest response priority. When a new call occurs while a call is being displayed, the call display screen 500 is updated, a call display unit 510 corresponding to the new call is created, and the call display units 510 are re-sorted to display the call display screen 500.

At this time, if this principle is followed, calls with low response priority may have to be waited for a long time, so it is desirable to display the time from when the call was made to the present as the call time display 513, and to notify staff when a certain time has passed by, for example, flashing the call display.

A call from the nurse call handset 10 is notified to the smartphone 30 to which the extension number of the incoming call group is assigned, and the call display screen 500 is displayed. At this time, when a staff member answers the call and talks, a call screen (not shown) is displayed on the smartphone 30 of that staff member, the call display screen 500 of the smartphone 30 of the other staff member is updated, the call display unit 510 corresponding to the answered call is deleted, and the call display screen 500 corresponding to the unanswered call remains.

Next, the call control process of the IP-PBX will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B.
In the incoming call processing, the IP-PBX 100 first determines whether or not the incoming call is a new call (S100).
When a new call is received (S100: YES), the call is registered in an incoming call queue (S101). The incoming call queue is a data structure that stores incoming calls as calls waiting to be answered.

Next, it checks whether the extension of the target extension number in the incoming call group is busy (S102), and for busy incoming calls (S103: YES), it waits (S106), and if there is an incoming call that is not busy (S103: NO), it checks the incoming calls in the incoming call queue (S104), and issues an incoming call instruction to the smartphone 30 of the extension number in the incoming call group that is not busy along with the incoming call screen data shown in Figure 6, including the response priority (S105).

In addition, when answering/disconnecting an incoming call, the IP-PBX 100 determines whether the call is to be disconnected (S200).

If the call is not disconnected (answered) (S200: NO), the answered incoming call is deleted from the incoming call queue (S201).

Next, the system checks for other incoming calls in the incoming call queue (S202), and if there are other incoming calls (S203: YES), it performs the incoming call processing shown in FIG. 7A for the other incoming calls (S204).

Next, using Figures 8A to 8C, we will explain the contents of the incoming call queue when the IP-PBX controls calls, the display on the smartphone for staff, and an example of the staff's response.

As shown in Figure 8A, assuming that nurse calls are made from user A, user B, and user C in that order at a certain time, the incoming call group for user A, user B, and user C includes extensions (1) to (3), and these extensions are not busy.

At this time, the IP-PBX notifies the smartphones 30 of extensions (1) to (3) of the incoming call by displaying the response priority. Then, since the staff member of the smartphone 30 of extension (1) has the highest response priority for user B, he answers the call from user B, and the call from user B becomes busy.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the incoming call from user B is deleted and the smartphone 30 of extension (1) displays a screen showing a call in progress with user B, after which the call ends and is disconnected. The display screens of the smartphones 30 of extensions (2) and (3) are updated when the incoming call from user B is answered, and display the incoming calls from users A and C. At this point, the staff member at the smartphone 30 of extension (2) answers the incoming call from user A, which has the highest response priority and is displayed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, the incoming call from user A is deleted, and the smartphone 30 of extension (2) displays a screen showing that a call is in progress with user A. The display screens of the smartphones 30 of extension (1) (where the call with user B has already been disconnected) and extension (3) are updated when the incoming call from user A is answered, and display only the incoming call from user C.

Next, the response priority process performed by the IP-PBX will be described with reference to FIG.
The care management server 200 periodically transmits the care record information to the IP-PBX 200, and when the values are updated, the IP-PBX 200 stores the values in the care record information (care level 410e, vital sign information 410f, independence level 410g, excretion timing 410h, and injury/illness presence/absence 410i) in the user information table 410. The care management server 200 may periodically transmit the care record information to the IP-PBX 200, or may notify the IP-PBX 200 when the care record information is updated.

The IP-PBX 200 checks for updates to the care record information (S300).
Then, the IP-PBX 200 determines whether or not the care record information has been updated (S301), and if the care record information has been updated (S301: YES), acquires the care record information from the user information table 410 (S302).

Next, the IP-PBX 200 acquires call history information from the call history 420 (S303).
Next, the IP-PBX 200 calculates the call frequency of each user from the call history information (S303).
Next, the IP-PBX 200 calculates the pre-priority of each user from the care record information (S303). The pre-priority is calculated, for example, by the following (Equation 1).
pre priority = Min ((a x care level + b x vital sign information + c x independence + d x injury or illness + 1) rounded value), 4)) ... (Formula 1)
Here, a, b, c, and d are weighting coefficients that are determined according to which of the items is to be prioritized. Note that, according to (Equation 1), the pre priority level takes an integer value from 1 to 4.

Next, it is determined whether it is time for each user to excrete (S306). If it is time to excrete (S306: YES), the process proceeds to S310. If it is not time to excrete (S306: NO), the process proceeds to S307.

Next, if there is no excretion timing, it is determined whether pre-priority = 1 or not (S307), and if pre-priority = 1 is not set (S307: NO), the process proceeds to S310, and if pre-priority = 1 is set (S306: YES), the process proceeds to S308.

Next, when pre priority = 1, it is determined whether the call frequency calculated in S303 within a specified time exceeds a specified threshold (for example, more than 3 times in the past 3 hours, more than 7 times in the past day, etc.) (S308), and when the call frequency calculated in S303 within a specified time exceeds the specified threshold (S308: YES), the response priority is set to 1 (S309).

In the process of this embodiment, when the pre-priority determined by the nursing record information is less than a predetermined threshold (2 in the example of FIG. 9), the user is determined to be relatively healthy mentally and physically. In the process of S309, when the pre-priority is less than the predetermined threshold and the call frequency exceeds the predetermined threshold over a certain period of time, it is assumed that the user is calling frequently for reasons such as wanting to chat, despite being relatively healthy mentally and physically, and therefore the response priority is set low.

Next, when it is time to excrete, when pre-priority is not 1, and when the call frequency calculated in S303 within a predetermined time does not exceed a predetermined threshold, response priority is set to pre-priority + 1 (S310).
In any case, the response priority is an integer value between 1 and 5.

Next, the IP-PBX 200 stores the calculated response priority for each user in the user information table 410 (S311).

Next, we will explain the sequence of events from when a user makes a nurse call until a staff member responds, using Figures 10A to 10E.

First, as shown in FIG. 10A, users A, B, and C make calls at the same time, and incoming calls are displayed to the staff at extensions (1), (2), and (3).

Now, as shown in Figure 10B, the staff member at extension (1) selects and answers the call from user B, which has the highest response priority.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10C, the staff member at extension (1) is on the phone with user B, and the call display unit 510 for the call to user B is deleted from the smartphones 30 carried by the staff at extensions (2) and (3).

Next, as shown in FIG. 10D, the staff member at extension (2) selects and answers the call from user A, which currently has the highest response priority.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10E, the staff member at extension (2) is on the phone with user A, and the call display unit 510 for the call to user B is deleted from the smartphone 30 carried by the staff member at extension (3).

As described above, according to the call control system of this embodiment, even if multiple nurse calls are made at the same time, all of them are displayed on the smartphone of each staff member who needs to respond, along with the response priority, so that users who need urgent attention can be quickly responded to.

In addition, staff members are assigned to specific users within a group of smartphones to which notifications are sent, and if they receive simultaneous calls from multiple users, they can prioritize their own users.

The system automatically determines response priority based on nursing records and call frequency, allowing staff to select and respond to calls that should be prioritized without having to understand the urgency of the user.

5... Internal telephone line, 7... LAN (Local Area Network), 10... Nurse call handset, 20... Wireless AP (Access Point) device, 30... Smartphone, 100... IP-PBX, 110... Call control unit, 120... Care information receiving unit, 130... Response priority calculation unit, 140... Incoming call screen data processing unit, 200... Care management server, 210... Care DB (Data Base), 220... Care information management unit, 230... Care information transmission unit, 240... Care information input unit

Claims (8)

A call control system for responding to calls from users in a care facility or nursing care facility, comprising:
The system includes a call handset for receiving calls from users, an IP-PBX (Internet Protocol-Private Branch eXchange), a mobile terminal carried by a staff member who provides care services or nursing care services, and a wireless AP (Access Point) device that calls the mobile terminal and communicates wirelessly;
the call handset, the IP-PBX, and the wireless AP device are connected to each other;
The IP-PBX includes:
Holding care information or nursing care information for each of said users;
Calculating a response priority for each user based on the care information or nursing care;
When the mobile terminal is called by the call handset,
The IP-PBX generates call display data including the response priority for each user, and transmits the call display data to the called mobile terminal;
the mobile terminal displays an incoming call display screen including the response priority for each user;
When a plurality of the call handsets call the mobile terminal at the same time for a certain period of time, until an answering instruction is given from the mobile terminal, an incoming call display corresponding to the calls of all the call handsets that have made the call, the incoming call display including a call display unit created for each of the calls, is displayed on the mobile terminal;
A call control system comprising: a call control unit for selecting and answering a call on said call handset in units of said call display displayed as an incoming call . 2. The call control system according to claim 1 , wherein the call display corresponding to the call to the call handset is sorted in order of response priority from highest to lowest. The call control system according to claim 1, characterized in that calls from the call handset to the mobile terminal are received by multiple mobile terminals to which extensions of an incoming call group corresponding to the extension numbers of each call handset are assigned. 4. The call control system according to claim 3 , wherein when one of the portable terminals called from said call handset is instructed to answer, the incoming call screen of the other portable terminal is updated. The IP-PBX generates call display data including a call time for each user, and transmits the call display data to the called mobile terminal;
2. The call control system according to claim 1, wherein said mobile terminal displays an incoming call display screen including the ring time for each user. The IP-PBX further comprises:
maintaining a call history of calls from said user;
2. The call control system according to claim 1, wherein the response priority is calculated by referring to the call history. The call control system of claim 6, characterized in that the IP-PBX lowers the response priority for calls whose pre-priority calculated from care information or nursing information is less than a predetermined threshold and whose call frequency exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time. A call control method for a call control system that responds to calls from users in a care facility or nursing care facility, comprising:
The call control system includes:
The system includes a call handset for receiving calls from users, an IP-PBX (Internet Protocol-Private Branch eXchange), a mobile terminal carried by a staff member who provides care services or nursing care services, and a wireless AP (Access Point) device that calls the mobile terminal and communicates wirelessly;
the call handset, the IP-PBX, and the wireless AP device are connected to each other;
the IP-PBX storing care information or nursing care information for each of the users;
The IP-PBX calculates a response priority for each user from the care information or nursing care.
When the mobile terminal is called from the call handset, the IP-PBX generates call display data including the response priority for each user, and transmits the call display data to the called mobile terminal;
a step of displaying an incoming call display screen including the response priority for each user by the mobile terminal;
A call from the call handset to a mobile terminal is received by a plurality of mobile terminals to which extensions of an incoming call group corresponding to the extension numbers of the respective call handsets are assigned;
When a plurality of the call handsets call the mobile terminal at the same time for a certain period of time, until an answering instruction is given from the mobile terminal, an incoming call display corresponding to the calls of all the call handsets that have made the call , the incoming call display including a call display unit created for each of the calls, is displayed on the mobile terminal;
A call control method comprising the steps of: selecting and answering a call on said call handset in units of said call display displayed as an incoming call .

Images