JP2001350839A - Reservation controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it is difficult for a user to predict a time when his or her turn comes, and that a waiting time in a hospital is a cause of anxiety when a face-to-face task to the user is performed based on a reservation system. SOLUTION: A reservation inputting part 20 writes the reservation of a patient in a reservation table 16. A reservation setting part 22 writes a margin in the reservation table 16. The margin is set as a parameter to indicate a timing before the examination scheduled time of the patient that the patient should be announced. An announcement timing control part 26 calculates an announcement timing based on the set margin, and an announcing part 28 announces the patient that his or her medical examination approaches.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a reservation management technique. The present invention particularly relates to an apparatus for supporting a user in face-to-face business in order of reservation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Medical institutions generally perform medical examinations in the order of visits or reservations. For this reason, the patient usually brings a medical examination ticket, submits it to the reception, and then waits for his turn in the waiting space. However, as the number of patients increases, it becomes difficult to determine how long the waiting time is before one's turn, and often a considerable amount of time elapses. In the meantime, waiting without knowing when a call will occur is nothing more than pain for a patient who has tolerated the disease.

[0003] As the length of waiting time in hospitals becomes more chronic, the situation in which patients leave the waiting space or hardly appear in hospitals has become constant. If the condition is not good, it is natural to want to wait at home until the last minute. Conversely, if the condition is not too heavy, it is the human condition that one wants to do a little shopping during the waiting time. For this reason, there are patients who cannot easily find nurses who call. Finding this patient delays the consultation.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-141094 discloses a technique in which a caller that makes an external notification in response to an identification electromagnetic wave different for each reserved patient is lent to the patient, and the patients are called in the order of reservation. According to this device, even if the patient temporarily leaves the waiting space, a call can be made if the order of his / her consultation is close, so that the patient can quickly return to the vicinity of the consultation room.

[0005]

However, as described above, the condition of a patient and other circumstances vary from person to person, and there is a need for more detailed services. In particular, expensive medical equipment has been introduced, and advanced long-term and lifelong medical care and preventive medical care have been called out.On the other hand, patients who are complaining of various medical conditions have to wait in an unpredictable order in a narrow waiting space, resulting in a shortage of hospitals. The situation in which nurses call patients' names is a national issue whose resolution is too late for highly developed nations, which are aging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a reservation system that enables a user of a face-to-face job, such as a patient, to know the start timing of a job for himself relatively easily. In providing management skills.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reservation management technique that allows a user to easily arrive at a service providing location at the start of a task for the user. Still another object is to provide a reservation management technique that can promote business progress even for business providers. These and various other objects will be apparent from the following description.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A reservation management apparatus according to the present invention provides support for a user to perform face-to-face tasks in the order of reservation. Here, it is assumed that a notification is issued to the user before the scheduled start timing of the face-to-face business for the user. The reservation management device individually sets a reservation input unit for receiving the reservation of the user and recording the reservation in a reservation table, and a margin of the report timing with respect to the scheduled start timing for the user, and stores the margin in the reservation table. A preliminary setting unit, by referring to the reservation table, a report timing management unit that specifies the report timing for each of the users based on the scheduled start timing and the margin, and the specified report timing is And a reporting unit for issuing a report to the user when it arrives.

[0008] Here, the "margin" means a margin of time, and here, the degree of time to be notified before the scheduled start of work for a certain user is set for each user. You. This setting does not need to be performed every time for each user, does not need to be different for each user, and it is sufficient if the setting can be performed for each user.

When a user makes a reservation, this is recorded in a reservation table. Next, based on the scheduled start timing and the margin, the notification timing is specified, detected, or calculated for each of the users, and a notification is issued to the user whose notification timing has arrived. Since the margin is set for each user, the time from the notification to the scheduled start time can be operated according to the user's circumstances. For example, for a patient waiting at a remote home,
With a large margin, you can make an early notification and arrive at the hospital in time for the scheduled start time.

[0010] For each of the users, a start timing estimating unit may be provided for calculating the scheduled start time of the work for the user. The start timing predicting unit may use any calculation method, such as predicting the scheduled start timing in real time from the progress of the business, or quantifying the past empirical rules and predicting it for each user or uniformly.

[0011] The reservation management device may include a report completion detecting unit for confirming that the report to the user has been completed.
In that case, the confirmation result is reflected in the reservation table, and the reporting unit can issue the report only to the user who has not yet completed the report.

[0012] The reservation management device may include an arrival confirmation unit for confirming that the user has arrived at the place where the face-to-face business is performed. In that case, the confirmation result is reflected in the reservation table. Therefore, a call unit may be provided for calling only those who have already arrived among the users who have come to the start of work. According to this configuration, it is possible to eliminate the waste of calling a person who has not arrived.

The preliminary setting unit may set a difference between the scheduled start timing and the notification timing generated when the timing is converted into time as a “time expression” margin, or use the scheduled start timing and the notification timing. The difference between the two is expressed by the number of people
It may be set as a margin.

Another aspect of the reservation management device of the present invention is a reservation input unit for receiving a user's reservation and recording the reservation in a reservation table, and when the user arrives at the place where the face-to-face business is performed, By referring to the reservation table, and by referring to the reservation table, among the users whose face-to-face work has come to a start timing, the user has already arrived at the place where the face-to-face work is performed. And a calling unit for calling a person. Even with this configuration, the waste of calling a person who has not arrived is eliminated.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a reservation management apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. This configuration is, in terms of hardware components, the CPU of any computer,
The functions are realized by a memory, a program having a reservation management function loaded in the memory, and the like. Here, functional blocks realized by their cooperation are illustrated. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

Here, an example of managing a patient's consultation appointment at a hospital is described. The outline of functions is as follows: IC card reader 32, input device 34, telephone reception system 36
Offer to book or visit the patient through any of the routes. The reservation input unit 20 inputs this to the reservation table 1
Write to 6. At this time, the preliminary setting unit 22 sets a margin. The start timing prediction unit 24 predicts a scheduled start time of medical treatment for each patient (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “scheduled start timing”). The notification timing management unit 26 calculates the time obtained by subtracting the margin from the scheduled start timing as the notification timing, and the notification unit 28 notifies the patient whose notification timing has arrived.

On the other hand, the patient who has actually arrived at the start timing of the examination (hereinafter simply referred to as “start timing”), that is, the patient whose turn of examination has come, is called from the local calling unit 44. In this configuration, by setting a margin for each patient, a far person is notified early, and a near person is notified when the start scheduled timing is approached. Therefore, the patient only has to wait at home or other work before receiving the notification, and does not need to stay in the waiting space for a long time.

The whole will be described in detail. When a patient comes directly to the hospital, the patient or a receptionist inputs the patient's ID (hereinafter simply referred to as “patient ID”), for example, a consultation ticket number, using an input device 34 such as a keyboard. When the function of the consultation ticket is stored in the IC card 40, the patient inserts the IC card 40 into the IC card reader 32 provided at the reception. Thereby, the patient ID is obtained. When the patient makes an appointment by telephone, the patient ID is acquired by the automatic voice response function of the telephone reception system 36.

In any case, it is inquired together with the patient ID how far ahead of the scheduled start timing should be notified. For example, a patient takes 20 minutes from home to the hospital, so this time is input as "20 minutes", "25 minutes", or the like. This is the margin. You may ask for the margin each time you make an appointment.
It may be written to 0. Further, in this embodiment, an inquiry is made as to whether or not a notification is desired for each patient.

The acquired patient ID, margin, and necessity of notification are sent to the reservation input section 20. The reservation input unit 20 manages the reservation table 16 for the reservation of the patient, and the patient ID and the necessity of the report are written in the reservation table 16 in the reservation order. On the other hand, the preliminary setting unit 22 manages the margin, which is written to the reservation table 16 for each patient.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the reservation table 16.
As shown in the figure, the reservation table 16 has a date / time column 100, a reservation number column 102, a patient ID column 104, a consulted column 106, a scheduled start timing column 108, a report margin column 110, a report timing column 112, a report completion column 114, and an arrival. Box 11
6 and a report request column 118. Reservation number column 10
2 describes a reservation order, and a patient ID column 104 describes a patient ID such as a consultation ticket number. Consulted column 106
Is set to a flag "1" for a patient whose examination has already been completed. The default of the flag is “0”, and the flag of the patient who has not been consulted remains at “0”. Here, the consultation has been completed for the patients whose reservation number is “3”.

The progress of the consultation is examined by the progress management unit 14, and the consulted column 106 is updated. The progress management unit 14 further gives an instruction to the guidance unit 18 for the next action to be taken by the patient, for example, which medical department to go to next, as described later. The progress management unit 14 refers to any one of a series of consultation processes such as a command of the doctor who made the consultation, the completion of delivery of the medicine, and the completion of accounting. For example, when an accounting process or another process such as writing the current consultation fee to the IC card 40 is performed, a consultation completion signal may be input to the progress management unit 14.

In the scheduled start timing column 108, the scheduled start timing of the medical examination for each patient is described by the start timing predicting section 24. Here, the examination is started at 9:00 am, and the scheduled start time is calculated assuming a required time of 10 minutes for each patient. However, 20 for patients with appointment number “7” based on past medical records
It is assumed that a minute of consultation time is required. Now, the scheduled start timing of the patient is “10:00”, and thus the scheduled start timing of the next patient, that is, the patient with the reservation number “8” is estimated to be “10:20”. Similarly, a consultation time of 15 minutes is estimated for the patient with the reservation number “9”. In any case, the notification timing is calculated by subtracting the notification margin from the estimated start timing thus estimated. In addition, in calculating the scheduled start timing, various situations other than the patient's situation, such as the situation on the consultation side, for example, the number of doctors during lunch break can be considered.

The report margin column 110 describes a margin for each patient. However, the patient who did not want to report in the report request column 118, that is, the report request column 11
The margin is omitted for the patient whose flag is “0” in 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “non-reporting patient”), and the patient who wants to report, that is, the patient whose flag is “1” in the report request column 118 ( The margin is described only for the “reported patient” below).

The report timing column 112 is filled in by the report timing manager 26. The report timing management unit 26
The report timing column 112 is calculated by subtracting the value in the report margin column 110 from the time in the scheduled start timing column 108. Again, only the reporting patient is considered.

The notification completion column 114 is filled in by the notification completion detection unit 30. The notification unit 28 detects a patient whose current time exceeds the notification timing, and notifies the patient via a telephone line, that is, makes a call. When the patient responds to the call, the notification completion detection unit 30 sets the flag “1” in the notification completion column 114 assuming that the notification was successful. The default is “0”. Various settings are possible for measures to be taken when the power is turned off when the report destination is, for example, a mobile phone. In FIG. 2, the notification has been completed to the patient whose reservation number is “8”. The notification can be made by any method using a telephone line or any other network, such as a telephone such as a mobile phone, a fax, a pager, and an e-mail. The patient database 12 holds patient information such as telephone numbers necessary for reporting. FIG. 3 shows an internal data structure of the patient database 12, and a patient ID column 10
4. Patient's name field 130, telephone number field 132, address 13
4. Includes medical information 136 such as insurance type and past medical history.

The arrival column 116 is filled in by the arrival confirmation section 38. When the reserved patient receives the notification or arrives at the hospital voluntarily, the fact is notified to the arrival confirmation unit 38 through the IC card reader 32 or the input device 34. The arrival confirmation unit 38 sets “1” in the flag of the arrival column 116 regarding the arriving patient. The default is “0”.
For the non-reporting patient, the flag in the arrival column 116 may be set to “1” in advance. Because it is assumed that such patients are waiting in the waiting space,
This is because there is a possibility that an offer to visit the hospital through the C card reader 32 and the input device 34 may not be made.

Returning to FIG. 1, the local calling unit 44 refers to the reservation table 16 and calls a local person who has arrived at the hospital among the patients whose start timing has actually arrived. This call is made to the patient who will be examined next in the examined column 106, here, the patient whose reservation number is "4". However, if the arrival column 116 of the patient is “0”, the next patient is called first, and the skipped patient is called after the arrival column 116 becomes “1”. Note that the call can be realized not only by the speaker but also by calling the mobile phone used for the previous notification. In any case, since the call to the patient in the hospital is surely performed, the waste of stopping the consultation and calling the absent patient many times can be avoided.

The guidance unit 18 acquires the progress of the medical examination via the progress management unit 14, and displays this on the display device 42 for patient's reference. FIG. 4 shows the guidance unit 18.
5 shows the screen 200 displayed by the. Here, the patient 202 currently being examined, a predetermined reservation number among subsequent patients,
In this case, the apparatus has a 5th and 10th scheduled start timing 204 and a user interface 206 for the patient to input the reservation number and know the scheduled start timing.

FIG. 5 shows another screen 200 displayed by the guidance unit 18. Here, an instruction is given to the patient 210 who has completed the medical examination to go to the X-ray room next. Also, the directions 212
Are displayed along with a button 220 for enlarging or printing it.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the processing from reservation to calling of a single reporting patient with the above configuration. As shown in the figure, first, a reservation for a patient is received via the IC card reader 32, the input device 34, the telephone reception system 36, and the like (S10). Next, this reservation is stored in the reservation table 16 together with necessary information by the reservation input unit 20 (S12). Start timing prediction unit 24
Predicts the start timing with reference to the reservation table 16 (S14). Subsequently, the notification timing is specified by the notification timing management unit 26 based on the patient's margin (S16).

Thereafter, the arrival of the notification timing for the patient is awaited (N in S18), and when it arrives (S18).
(Y), a report is issued from the report unit 28 (S20). Next, the arrival of the actual start timing is awaited (S22).
N), when it arrives (Y in S22), it is determined whether the patient has already arrived at the hospital (S24). If it has not arrived, it waits until it arrives (N in S24), and if it arrives (Y in S24), it calls the local calling unit 44 (S26). Note that these processes are actually formed by the simultaneous progress of a plurality of processes.
0) is always on standby for any patient. Also,
While waiting for the arrival of the patient (N in S24), the process of calling the next patient first is started.

As described above, since the margin can be set for each patient in the reservation management device 10, fine reservation management is realized. In addition, such as setting margins and setting whether or not to report,
Since the needs of the patient can be taken in, the convenience can be improved. Furthermore, on the hospital side,
At the start time of the consultation, there is a high possibility that the patient has arrived at the place, and since no absent person is called, the amount of work is reduced and the work efficiency is improved.

The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. For example, the elements in FIG. 1 have a very high degree of freedom in combination. Most of the configurations are not necessarily essential to the present invention, and it is sufficiently possible to realize the reservation management device 10 only with the reservation table 16, the reservation input unit 20, the report timing management unit 26, and the report unit 28. Various reservation management devices 10 are realized by adding arbitrary elements in FIG. 1 to the reservation management device 10 in any combination.

As another modification, the reservation management apparatus 10 is not used only for hospital use. For example, it is also useful for managing queues at banks and government offices, and managing queues of tickets and other popular products.

As still another modification, the reservation table 1
6 has various configurations. FIG. 7 shows such another configuration. The difference from FIG.
8, there is no report margin column 110 and report timing column 1
12 is defined by the number of patients, not the time. The margin is specified in the form of "three before the user's own reservation number", such as the patient with the reservation number "5". Accordingly, the notification timing of the patient is when the patient who has the reservation number of “2”, which is obtained by subtracting the margin “3” from his / her own reservation number “5”, enters the examination, as indicated by “NO.2”. . In the case of FIG. 7, the concept of the scheduled start timing is unnecessary, and therefore, the start timing prediction unit 24 of FIG. 1 is also unnecessary.

[0037]

According to the present invention, a user of a face-to-face job can relatively easily know the start timing of a job for himself / herself. From another viewpoint, it becomes easy for the user to arrive at the service providing place at the same time as the start of the service for the user. From still another viewpoint, the business progress can be promoted even for the business provider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a reservation management device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a reservation table.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing internal data of a patient database.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by a guidance unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another screen displayed by the guidance unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure by the reservation management device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is another configuration diagram of a reservation table.

[Explanation of symbols]

16 reservation table, 18 guidance section, 20
Reservation input section, 22 preliminary setting section, 24 start timing prediction section, 26 report timing management section, 28 report section, 30 report completion detection section, 38 arrival confirmation section,
44 Premise calling unit.

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for supporting a user to perform face-to-face tasks in the order of reservation, comprising: a reservation input unit for receiving a reservation of the user and recording the reservation in a reservation table; and a face-to-face task for the user. In the case where a report is issued to the user prior to the scheduled start timing of the scheduled start timing, a margin for the reported timing with respect to the scheduled start timing is individually set for the user, and the spare setting unit stores the margin in the reservation table. By referring to the reservation table, a report timing management unit that specifies the report timing for each of the users based on the scheduled start timing and the margin, and when the specified report timing arrives, A notification unit that sends a notification to the user. 2. The reservation management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a start timing predicting unit that individually calculates the scheduled start timing for each of the users. 3. The reservation management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guidance unit that provides a progress status of the face-to-face business in a form that can be individually inquired from the user. . 4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a report completion detecting unit for confirming that the report to the user has been completed, wherein the completion of the report is reflected in the reservation table. The reservation management device according to any one of the above. 5. The reservation management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the report unit refers to the reservation table and issues the report only to users who have not yet completed the report. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an arrival confirmation unit for confirming that the user has arrived at the place where the face-to-face business is performed, wherein the arrival is reflected in the reservation table. 6. The reservation management device according to any one of 1 to 5. 7. By referring to the reservation table, a call is made to a user who has already arrived at a place where the face-to-face business is performed among users whose face-to-face business has actually reached the start timing. The reservation management device according to claim 6, further comprising a calling unit. 8. The reservation management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the guidance unit further gives an instruction regarding an action to be taken by the user for performing the face-to-face business. 9. The spare setting unit according to claim 1, wherein the spare setting unit sets a difference between the scheduled start timing and the notification timing generated when the notification timing is converted into time as the margin. The reservation management device described. 10. The spare setting unit according to claim 1, wherein when the scheduled start timing and the notification timing are expressed by a reservation number of the user, a difference between the two is set as the margin. The reservation management device according to any one of the above. 11. An apparatus for assisting a user in performing a face-to-face task, a reservation input unit for receiving the user's reservation and recording the reservation in a reservation table, wherein the user performs the face-to-face task. When the user arrives at the place, the arrival confirmation unit reflects the information in the reservation table, and by referring to the reservation table, among the users whose face-to-face business has come to a start timing, the line of the face-to-face business is already A calling unit for calling a person arriving at a place to be called.