JP7759439B2 - Device, method and program for providing continuous medication instruction after medication issuance - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus, method, and program for providing continuous medication instructions after medication is dispensed.

Currently, after receiving a diagnosis from a doctor, a patient presents the issued prescription at a pharmacy and receives medication from a pharmacist. When receiving the medication, the patient receives medication instructions from the pharmacist. Patent Document 1 by the applicant discloses technology that enables pharmacists to provide sufficient medication instructions to patients.

Patent No. 6381088

As such, pharmacists provide guidance to patients to ensure they take their medications appropriately, and although there are techniques to make this process smooth, patients do not visit pharmacists frequently, meaning that pharmacists have limited opportunities to provide guidance to patients over the entire period of medication. As a result, they are unable to fully grasp whether the medications prescribed to a patient are producing the expected effects without side effects, or whether the medications are being taken appropriately in the first place.

If pharmacists could continue to communicate with each patient after dispensing medication, they would be able to continue to understand the patient's condition. However, each pharmacist handles a large number of patients, and it is currently unrealistic for them to continue communicating with every patient. As an example, if a pharmacy sees 100 patients per day and is open 20 days a month, it will dispense medication to 2,000 patients per month. Since multiple medications are often dispensed at one time, the total number of medications amounts to several thousand. If pharmacists are unable to fully understand the patient's condition, they will not be able to provide appropriate guidance to each patient.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a device, method, or program for providing continuous medication instructions after medication is dispensed.

To achieve this objective, a first aspect of the present invention is a method for providing continuous medication instructions after medication is dispensed, comprising the steps of: selecting one or more questions associated with a medication based on the medication name or medication identifier included in prescription information received from a first terminal used by the patient; transmitting question information to the first terminal, the question text or question identifier of the one or more questions and the answer text or answer identifier of multiple candidate answers to each question; receiving answer information from the first terminal, the answer text or answer identifier of the answer selected by the patient; and determining whether the answer included in the answer information is appropriate, and if it is inappropriate, generating an alert to be displayed on a second terminal used by a pharmacist.

A second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect, characterized in that the alert includes the answer sentence or answer identifier of the answer determined to be inappropriate and the question sentence or question identifier of the corresponding question.

A third aspect of the present invention is the first aspect, characterized in that the selection is made by referring to a correspondence between a drug and a set of questions.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the third aspect, characterized in that the selection is performed in descending order of priority assigned to each question among a set of questions associated with the drug included in the prescription information.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is the fourth aspect, characterized in that, if the answer included in the answer information is appropriate, the priority of the question corresponding to the answer determined to be appropriate is lowered for a predetermined period of time.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the first aspect, further comprising the step of receiving, from the second terminal, instruction information including an instruction statement or instruction identifier for instructions regarding the drug that is the subject of the alert, and transmitting the instruction information to the first terminal.

The seventh aspect of the present invention is the first aspect, characterized in that when the prescription information includes multiple drugs, the group of each drug is determined, and the selection is made for one or more drugs belonging to the group with the highest priority.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a method for providing continuous medication instructions after medication is dispensed, the method including the steps of: selecting one or more questions associated with a medication based on the medication name or medication identifier included in prescription information received from a first terminal used by the patient; transmitting question information to the first terminal including question text or question identifiers of the one or more questions and answer texts or answer identifiers of multiple candidate answers to each question; receiving answer information from the first terminal including the answer text or answer identifier of the answer selected by the patient; and determining whether the answer included in the answer information is appropriate, and if it is inappropriate, generating an alert to be displayed on a second terminal used by a pharmacist.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a device for providing continuous medication instructions after medication is dispensed, which selects one or more questions associated with a medication based on the medication name or medication identifier contained in prescription information received from a first terminal used by the patient, transmits question information to the first terminal including the question text or question identifier of the one or more questions and the answer text or answer identifier of multiple candidate answers to each question, receives answer information from the first terminal including the answer text or answer identifier of the answer selected by the patient, determines whether the answer contained in the answer information is appropriate, and if it is inappropriate, generates an alert to be displayed on a second terminal used by the pharmacist.

According to one aspect of the present invention, one or more questions are selected based on the patient's prescription information and sent to the patient's terminal. If the corresponding answer is inappropriate, an alert can be displayed on the pharmacist's terminal. This makes it possible to grasp the patient's condition after medication is dispensed, efficiently detect patients who may be experiencing problems from among a large number of patients, and prioritize medication instructions that are most needed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a flow diagram of a method in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of prescription information generated in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a patient's response screen in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an alert notification screen for a pharmacist in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a message sending screen for a pharmacist to send a message including medication instructions to a patient according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 comprises a server 110, a first terminal 120 used by a patient, and a second terminal 130 used by a pharmacy or pharmacist, which are capable of communicating with each other via the server 100.

The first terminal 120 can be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet, and is equipped with an image sensor that captures a two-dimensional code 141 representing the prescription information written on a prescription to generate the prescription information. The two-dimensional code 141 is written on a document 140 provided with the medication, such as a medication record data sheet, and the patient can take a photo of this using the first terminal 120, for example, at home.

The server 110 comprises a communication unit 111 such as a communication interface, a processing unit 112 such as a processor or CPU, and a storage unit 113 including a storage device or storage medium such as memory or a hard disk, and can be configured by executing programs for performing each process, and may include one or more devices, computers, or servers. In addition to the storage unit 113, the server 110 may further comprise a database 114 for storing data required for sending questions (described below), etc., but in the following description, these will be referred to as the storage unit 113 without distinction. The program may include one or more programs, and may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium to form a non-transitory program product. The program may be stored in a storage device or storage medium accessible from the storage unit 113 or the server 110, and can be executed by the processing unit 112. Although not shown, the first terminal 120 and the second terminal 130 may also have a similar configuration. An application for enabling continuous medication instruction according to this embodiment is installed on the first terminal 120 and the second terminal 130 as needed.

Figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method for providing continuous medication instructions after dispensing medication according to this embodiment. First, the patient photographs a two-dimensional code 141 printed on a document 140 at home or elsewhere using a first terminal device 120, such as a smartphone, and transmits the generated prescription information to the server 110 (S201). Here, the two-dimensional code 141 has been described as being printed on the document 140, but it may also be received electronically by the first terminal 120, as long as the prescription information represented by the two-dimensional code 141 is generated by processing the two-dimensional code 141.

Figure 3 shows an example of generated prescription information. The patient name is "Nakao Yutaka," the drug name is "Mucodyne Tablets 250 mg," and the drug identifier is the YJ code "2233002F1174." As shown in the figure, drug names other than "Mucodyne Tablets 250 mg" may be listed, and information about multiple drugs may be included in the prescription information. The format of prescription information 300 is not necessarily the same depending on the system that generated the two-dimensional code 141. Furthermore, prescription information is not limited to that represented by the two-dimensional code 141, as long as it includes at least one of the drug names and drug identifiers for one or more drugs.

When prescription information includes multiple drugs, server 110 determines the priority of the drugs as necessary (S202). For example, possible classifications include a first group including narcotics, anticancer drugs, etc. that may cause serious side effects; a second group including drugs in the first group that may cause milder but higher-risk side effects; a third group for drugs that are less likely to cause side effects but require continued medication instructions; and a fourth group for other drugs. In one embodiment, the group is determined for each of the multiple drugs included in the prescription information, and one or more drugs in the highest priority group are targeted for subsequent processing, allowing for priority delivery of medication instructions that require the most.

Next, the server 110 selects one or more questions from the set of questions associated with each drug included in the prescription information (S203) and transmits question information including the question text or question identifiers of the multiple questions to the first terminal 120 (S204). The server 110 stores the association between drugs and the set of questions in the memory unit 113 or in a storage medium or storage device accessible from the server 110, and can extract at least a portion of the set of questions based on the drug name or drug identifier included in the prescription information received from the first terminal 120. In one embodiment, during or after extraction, a predetermined number of top-ranked questions can be selected as questions to be sent to the first terminal 120 by referring to the priority assigned to each question. The selected questions can be sent periodically, in response to receiving some kind of notification from the first terminal 120, or at various times.

As an example, the following 14 questions may be associated with the drug "insulin."
"Do you store unused insulin in the refrigerator?"
"Do you check to see if any liquid comes out before you give the injection?"
"Did you press the injection button all the way until it stopped?"
"After pressing the injection button, do you count the specified number of seconds before removing the needle?"
"After opening, can insulin be stored at room temperature (1-30°C)?"
Do you dispose of needles after one use?
"Do you know how to dispose of used needles?"
"Does the injection site bleed after the injection?"
"Is the skin at the injection site hard?"
"Are you careful not to inject into the same area consecutively?"
Do you have any pain or numbness in your toes, soles, or fingers?
Do you have difficulty seeing things or reading text?
"Are you having trouble urinating or are you prone to swelling?"
Do you get tired easily or short of breath even with a little movement?

Each question may be assigned a score, and the questions may be prioritized based on the score, with the top three questions selected. In order to more efficiently understand the patient's condition, the priority may also be determined by taking into consideration information other than prescription information, such as the past response history of the patient who submitted the question information, and the past response history of patients other than the patient who submitted the question information.

At the first terminal 120, the multiple questions included in the received question information and at least some of the multiple answer candidates for each question are displayed on the display screen 400, and answer information including the answer sentence or answer identifier of the answer selected by the patient, preferably by tapping or clicking, is transmitted to the server 110 (S205). Figure 4 shows an example of the answer screen. Three question sentences are displayed, and multiple answer candidates are displayed selectably for each question. In other words, as an example, the question information transmitted from the server 110 is preferably in a format that allows multiple answer candidates for each question to be displayed selectable by tapping on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Figure 4 omits questions 3 and beyond, which are displayed by scrolling. The server 110 associates the received answer information with at least one of the patient who answered and the prescription information entered by the patient, and stores it in the memory unit 113 or a storage medium or storage device accessible from the server 110.

The server 110 determines whether the answer statement or answer identifier contained in the received answer information is appropriate (S206), and if it is inappropriate, generates an alert to be displayed on the second terminal 130 (S207). In this way, the pharmacist using the second terminal 130 can continue to monitor the patient's condition even after dispensing medication, and efficiently detect patients who may be experiencing problems from among a large number of patients, thereby efficiently triaging them and prioritizing the most necessary medication instructions.

If the determination result is appropriate, the server 110 preferably stores the fact that an appropriate answer was given to the question (S208) and lowers the priority of the question so that it will not be selected for a specified period of time. This makes it possible to grasp the patient's condition in more detail, more efficiently detect patients who may be experiencing problems, and prioritize medication instructions that are most needed. Examples of specified periods include January, March, etc. However, since the question information contains multiple questions, it is possible that an appropriate answer will be given to some questions and an inappropriate answer will be given to others.

The server 110 can determine whether an answer is appropriate by referencing the correspondence between the answer and its appropriateness. This correspondence can be stored in the memory unit 113 or in a storage medium or storage device accessible from the server 110. Specifically, by flagging appropriate answers with 1 and inappropriate answers with 0, among the possible answers to the question, "Do you check to see if the liquid will come out before injecting?", "I check" can be associated with 1, and "I sometimes forget," "I don't check," and "I don't know how to do it" can be associated with 0.

The generated alert may be viewed by the second terminal 130 accessing a website provided by the server 110, or may be sent to an application installed on the second terminal 130 and viewed on that application. As an example, the alert may display the question to which the inappropriate answer was given and the answer to that question, and prompt the pharmacist to create a message for the patient as necessary. Figure 5 shows an example of an alert notification screen. The above explanation describes alert generation based on prescription information received by the server 110, but it is also possible to receive input information in a form other than a question from the first terminal 110 and generate an alert based on predetermined criteria. Examples of such input information include body condition such as body temperature and bowel movement frequency, as shown in Figure 5.

The pharmacist using the second terminal 130 checks the displayed alert and, if it is determined that a response is necessary, generates a message including medication instructions for the patient (S209). Figure 6 shows an example of a message creation screen. The pharmacist can select a guidance statement for the drug that is the subject of the alert, and can send a message including the selected guidance statement to the first terminal 110 via the server 110 (S210). From the perspective of the server 110, the flow is to receive guidance information including a guidance statement or guidance identifier for the drug that is the subject of the alert from the second terminal 130, and then send the guidance information to the first terminal 110.

The above explanation deals with the case where server 110 receives prescription information for the first time, but when receiving prescription information containing the same drug from the same patient, questions may be selected independently, or questions that have been answered appropriately may be selected based on the patient's past answer history, with the priority of these questions being lowered.

Please note that unless the word "only" is used, such as "based only on," "depending only on," or "only in the case of," this specification assumes that additional information may also be taken into consideration. As an example, please note that the phrase "do b when a" does not necessarily mean "do b always when a" or "do b immediately after a" unless expressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, the phrase "each a that constitutes A" does not necessarily mean that A is composed of multiple components, but includes the case where the component is singular.

Furthermore, just to be clear, even if there is an aspect of a method, program, terminal, device, server, or system (hereinafter referred to as "method, etc.") that performs an operation different from that described in this specification, each aspect of the present invention is directed to an operation identical to any of the operations described in this specification, and the existence of an operation different from that described in this specification does not mean that the method, etc. falls outside the scope of each aspect of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 System 110 Server 111 Communication unit 112 Processing unit 113 Storage unit 114 Database 120 First terminal 130 Second terminal 140 Document 141 Two-dimensional code 300 Prescription information 400 Answer screen 500 Alert notification screen 600 Message creation screen

Claims (4)

A method for providing medication instructions after dispensing a drug, comprising:
A step in which a computer selects one or more questions associated with the drug based on a drug name or a drug identifier of the drug included in the prescription information;
a step of transmitting question information including question sentences or question identifiers of the one or more questions to a first terminal used by a patient by the computer;
and receiving, by the computer, a response from the patient from the first terminal;
The selection is made by referring to the correspondence between the drug and the question;
If the answer is correct, the question corresponding to the answer determined to be correct is not selected for a predetermined period of time. 10. The method of claim 1,
The first terminal is a mobile terminal. A program for causing a computer to execute a method for providing medication instructions after dispensing a drug, the method comprising:
A step in which a computer selects one or more questions associated with the drug based on a drug name or a drug identifier of the drug included in the prescription information;
a step of transmitting question information including question sentences or question identifiers of the one or more questions to a first terminal used by a patient by the computer;
and receiving, by the computer, a response from the patient from the first terminal;
The selection is made by referring to the correspondence between the drug and the question;
If the answer is correct, the question corresponding to the answer determined to be correct is not selected for a predetermined period of time. A device for providing medication instructions after dispensing a drug,
a processing unit that selects one or more questions associated with a drug based on a drug name or a drug identifier of the drug included in the prescription information;
a communication unit that transmits question information including question sentences or question identifiers of the one or more questions to a first terminal used by a patient and receives answers from the patient from the first terminal;
Equipped with
The selection is made by referring to the correspondence between the drug and the question;
If the answer is correct, the question corresponding to the answer determined to be correct is not selected for a predetermined period of time.