JP2002251459A - Medical treatment support system and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a third person to confirm and approve an order prepared by a doctor for diagnosis of a patient. SOLUTION: A medical treatment support system is provided with a means to input at least either of an order pertaining to an examination and a medical treatment for the patient or identification information of the order, a means to instruct an application for approval for the above order, a means to display the order applied for approval for the above order, a means to input that the order applied for approval has been approved, and a means to store the information pertaining to the contents of the approved order and the order.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical support system for creating, storing, and browsing medical information in a hospital.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-55742 or the like that the processing of orders issued by a doctor, such as medication and examination, is performed using a communication network. The medical terminal is a hospital LAN (local area network)
Is configured so that doctors can enter orders for medication, tests, etc. into medical care terminals, and check and execute orders issued by doctors at the terminals of the drug department and testing department. Have been.

[0003]

However, the conventional medical care support system is configured to flow orders placed by the doctor directly to each department, and the contents of the orders placed by the doctor are transmitted to a third party before order execution. Was difficult to confirm and approve. In addition, when a medical accident occurs, it is necessary to keep a record of who judged the medical practice based on what data in order to verify the medical accident.
In recent years, the ISO 9000 series, which is an international standard that has been created by summarizing 20 items required for a “quality system” required for suppliers from the viewpoint of customers, has been widely introduced. It is being introduced not only in large-scale manufacturing but also in service industries such as small and medium-sized enterprises, hospitals, and city halls. ISO9 in the hospital
When introducing a quality management system such as the 000 series, it is necessary to create a quality manual, create a manual for each department in accordance with the manual, perform approval procedures, store and manage materials according to the manual, and operate the hospital. There is. Attempting to perform these approval procedures and storage and management of materials on a paper medium has a problem that the work is complicated and difficult to execute.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a medical support system in which a third party can easily confirm and approve an order issued by a physician, and can reliably leave a record at the time of approval. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical support system comprising at least one computer. First means for inputting at least one of the order relating to the treatment or identification information of the order, second means for instructing an application for approval of the order, and a third means for displaying the order for which approval has been applied. Means, a fourth means for inputting that the order for which approval has been applied has been approved, and a fifth means for storing information on the contents of the approved order and approval. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical support system, comprising: means for receiving an order application for examination and treatment of a patient sent via a communication network; Means for receiving a notification of approving the received order application, storage means for storing information on the contents of the approved order and approval, and a communication network via which the approved order is executed. And a means for issuing a notification. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a medical support system, comprising the steps of: receiving at least one of an order or identification information of an order for examination and treatment of a patient on a computer; A second step of accepting the order approval request on a computer, a third step of displaying the order for which approval has been requested, and accepting, on the computer, information indicating that the order for which approval has been requested has been approved. A fourth step, and a fifth step of storing information on the contents of the approved order and the approval on an electronic storage medium.
Characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an in-hospital information processing system according to the present invention. The hospital LAN 1 is a communication line for performing data communication, and is a medical image diagnostic apparatus 2, an image diagnostic terminal 3, an image diagnostic department server 4, a ward terminal 5, a ward department server 6, a medical accounting terminal 7, a medical affairs terminal. The department server 8, the medical affairs terminal 9, the medicine department server 10, the medical care terminal 11, the medical care department server 12, the approval terminal 13, the approval department server 15, the router 15, and the like are connected. The medical image diagnostic apparatus 2 is an apparatus that collects medical image data on a human body, and includes, for example, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus, a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus, and an endoscope. Device. The image diagnosis terminal 3 performs image processing and display of a medical image collected by the medical diagnosis apparatus 2, and creates a doctor's diagnosis report for the image,
This is for displaying and the like. Image diagnostic department server 4
Stores data such as medical images and diagnostic reports output from the medical diagnostic apparatus 2, the image diagnostic terminal 3, and the like.
Further, the diagnostic imaging department server 4 searches and outputs an image and a diagnostic report in response to a request from each terminal.

The ward terminal 5 is for performing processing such as preparation and display of a nursing care plan, a nursing record, and the like for an inpatient. The ward section server 6 stores data such as nursing plans and nursing records output from the hospital terminal 5 and the like, and searches and outputs the data. The medical accounting terminal 7
This is for performing patient reception processing, accounting processing, and the like. The medical department server 8 stores basic patient information such as a patient's name, age, gender, insurance card number, medical history information, and the like. The regulatory terminal 9 displays a prescription order issued by a doctor,
The order execution completion input is performed. The pharmaceutical affairs department server 10 stores prescription order data output by a medical terminal described later, and searches and outputs the data. The medical care terminal 11 is used for inputting medical information, displaying medical records, inputting orders, and the like. The medical department server 12 stores the medical information output by the medical terminal 11,
Stores data such as orders, and retrieves and outputs such data. The approval terminal 13 is for displaying the order output by the medical care terminal 11 and performing an approval operation. The approval section server 14 saves the order output by the medical care terminal 11, saves the approval information related to the approval performed by the approval terminal 13, and searches and outputs them. The router 15 connects the hospital LAN 1 and a wide area communication network 16 such as the Internet.
6 in the hospital by a computer 17 connected via
Enables access to devices connected to AN1.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a computer used for each terminal and server described above. Computer 18
A general PC (personal computer), work station, or the like, a bus 19 for transmitting and receiving data between components, a microprocessor 20 for executing processing in accordance with a program, and a program and data for processing by the microprocessor 20 are stored. Semiconductor memory 21,
HDD (hard disk drive: magnetic storage device) 2 as a mass storage means for storing programs and data
2. An image processing unit 24 for generating a signal for displaying an image on a monitor 23 for displaying an image, and an external interface 25 for transmitting and receiving data to and from an external device. The computer 18 also has a keyboard 26 and a mouse 2 as input means for the operator to input instructions or data via the external interface 25.
7. It is connected to a communication line 28 for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices via a hospital LAN. In addition, an external HDD, an optical disk changer, or the like may be connected to the computer 18 as a large-capacity storage means as needed.
When used as a server, HDD 22, external HD
D. The function as a database is realized by storing data in a predetermined data structure on the optical disk in the optical disk changer.

Next, the operation of the medical care terminal 11 according to the present invention will be described. The diagnosis support program stored in the HDD 22 of the medical care terminal 11 is executed. By executing this program, the medical care terminal 11 displays medical care items such as “diagnosis” and “conference” on the monitor 23. When the operator selects any one of the medical care items, the medical care terminal 11 enters a mode corresponding to the selected medical care item. FIG. 3 is a screen displayed on the monitor 23 by the medical care terminal 11 in the consultation mode. The screen 100 includes a mode display area 101 and a patient information display area 1
02, date and time display area 103, button display area 104, window display area 105, window display area 106,
Window display area 107, filler name display area 108,
Approver information display area 109, approval button display area 11
0, a status display area 111 is provided. The mode display area 101 includes the name of the currently selected medical care item. The patient information display area 102 displays patient information such as a patient's name, identification ID, gender, and age. The date and time display area 103 displays the current date and time. The button display area 104 displays button icons for selecting contents to be displayed in the window area 105. Specifically, the medical information button 104A, the medical record button 104
B, inspection result button 104C, image information button 104
D, patient information button 104E, nursing record button 104
F, an order button 104G is provided. By operating the mouse 27 and moving over a button icon for selecting the cursor icon 112 on the screen and pressing a button switch provided on the mouse 27, each button icon can be pressed and selected.

[0010] Window area 105, window area 1
06, the window area 107 is the button display area 104
Displays the content corresponding to the button icon selected from. The fill-in-name display area 108 displays the name of the doctor who is examining, the identification ID of the doctor, and the department name. The doctor's name, the doctor's identification ID, and the department's name indicate the one corresponding to the user ID input when the medical care terminal 11 is started. Note that the medical care terminal 11 is configured to input a password when inputting a user ID, and is configured so that an unauthorized user cannot use it. Approver information display area 109
Displays the name of the approver who approves the requested order and the ID of the approver. The approver may use the one set on the medical care terminal 11 or may read and use the approver set in the approval section server 14. The button display area 110 displays a button icon 110A for applying for approval and a button icon 110B for interrupting the work. The status display area 111 displays the progress of an order such as “inputting an order”, “waiting for order approval”, and “order approved”. The cursor icon 112 is for performing operations such as selection of a button icon and scrolling of a screen displayed in a window area. When the operator operates the mouse 27, the cursor icon 112 moves on the screen.

When the operator presses the medical care information button 104A, an entry field for inputting a disease name, a serious injury degree, a doctor's comment, and the like is displayed in the window area 105. The medical terminal 11 transmits the medical information input by the operator to the medical department server 1.
2 and stored in the medical department server 12. When the operator presses the medical care history button 104B, the medical care terminal 11
Requests the medical affairs department server 8 to transmit the medical treatment information of the patient, the medical history such as the biochemical examination, the image examination, and the conference,
A list of medical histories answered from the medical department server 8 is displayed in the window area 105. When the operator presses the examination information button 104C, the medical care terminal 11 requests the medical department server 8 to transmit a biochemical examination history of the patient, and displays a list of medical histories answered from the medical department server 8 in a window. It is displayed in the area 105. When the operator selects a desired result from the list of biochemical tests, the medical care terminal 11 requests the medical department server 8 to transmit the test result details, and receives a reply from the medical department server 12. The detailed information of the inspection result is displayed in the window area 105. When the operator presses the image information button 104D, the medical care terminal 11 requests the medical department server 8 to transmit the image inspection history of the patient, and displays a list of the image inspection history answered from the medical department server 8 in a window. It is displayed in the area 105. When the operator selects a desired result from the list of image examinations, the medical care terminal 11 requests the image diagnosis section server 4 to transmit the image and report information for the image. The image and report information returned from 8 are displayed in the window area 105.

When the operator presses the patient information button 104E, the medical care terminal 11 requests the medical department server 8 to transmit patient information such as an insurance card number and allergy, and the medical department server 8 responds. The displayed patient information is displayed in the window area 105. The operator enters the nursing record button 104
When F is pressed, the medical care terminal 11 is moved to the ward section server 6.
Requesting the transmission of the patient's nursing record, and displaying the nursing record returned from the ward department server 6 in the window area 105. Next, an operation when ordering, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow at the time of order creation. Steps S101 to S107 are operations of the medical care terminal 11, steps S201 to S207 are operations of the medical care department server 12, and steps S301 to S301.
Reference numeral 304 denotes an operation of the approval terminal 13.
When placing an order for medication, examination, treatment, nursing, etc., the operator operates the medical care terminal 11 and presses the order button 104G (S101). Order button 104G
Is pressed, the medical care terminal 11 requests the medical department server 8 to transmit the medical history via the hospital LAN 1 (S1).
02). The medical care terminal 11 creates a check list of medical care information to be confirmed at the time of order creation based on the medical care history answered from the medical department server 8 (S103). The check list includes information such as item names of biochemical tests, image information, reports, and the like, and identification IDs for specifying them. The check list may display all of the medical history, or may be filled out and created by the operator without performing the check list creation support as described above. In addition, search conditions such as item names to be described in the checklist and the date and time of creation of the material may be registered in advance, and those that match the search conditions may be extracted and created from the medical history.
The search condition may be arbitrarily changed by the operator by operating the medical care terminal 11.

Next, the medical care terminal 11 is placed in the window area 1
A screen for inputting an order 05, a list of selectable order items such as a medication request, an examination request, and a surgery request in the window area 106, and S103 in the window area 107
The check list of the medical care information created in step (1) is displayed (S104). When the operator selects an item displayed on the checklist, the medical care terminal 11 displays examination information, image information, a report, and the like corresponding to the selected item in the window area 105 (S105). This allows
The operator can check the contents of each item of the checklist. The checklist in the window area 107 is configured so that the operator can edit it, and items can be added to or deleted from the checklist as needed. After checking the medical information displayed on the checklist, the operator sequentially selects order items from those displayed in the window area 106. The medical care terminal 11 displays a list of orders sequentially selected by the operator in the window area 105 (S106).
The operator is able to write a comment on the order displayed in the window area 105 as necessary. After the input of the order is completed, the operator presses the approval request button 110A. When the approval application button 110A is pressed, the medical care terminal 11 displays the contents of the order, order information such as the order destination, the examiner's name, the examiner's information such as the examiner's ID, the approver's name, and the identifier of the approver. And the like, and transmits a checklist of medical information to the medical department server 12 and the approval department server 12 (S107). The approver information is set to be an approver corresponding to the input examiner based on a correspondence table between the examiner information and the approver information stored in advance.

Medical department server 12 and approval department server 1
4 receives an order approval application from the medical care terminal 11,
The received medical terminal 11 stores the order information, the examiner's name, the examiner's information, the approver's information, and the checklist of the medical information in the HD of the medical department server 12 and the approval department server 14
It is stored as a database on D22 (S201).
Next, the approval section server 14 sends a notice to the approver that the approval application has been made (S202). The notification may be sent by sending an e-mail to an e-mail address registered in advance corresponding to the identification ID of the approver, or a message or the like may be displayed on the approval terminal 13 to be notified. You may do it. Next, the operation of the approval terminal 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The description of the same parts as in FIG. 3 is omitted. FIG. 5 is an approval screen displayed on the monitor 23 by the approval terminal 13. The button display area 104 of the approval screen newly has an order waiting list button 104H. The button display area 113 displays an approval button icon 113A and a denial button icon 113B. The filler name display area 108 displays the name of the approver and the identification ID of the approver. The one corresponding to the user ID and password input at the time of activation of the approval terminal 11 is displayed.

The approver presses the approval waiting list button 104H of the approval terminal 13 upon receiving the notification that the approval application has been made. When the approval waiting list button is pressed, the approval terminal 1
No. 3 displays a list of orders waiting for approval in the window area 105 (S301). When the approver selects one of the items displayed in the approval waiting list, the approval terminal 13 displays the order of the approval application, the order creator, and the order creation date in the window area 105, and displays the medical information in the window area 106. Are displayed in the window area 107 (S302). When the approver selects an item displayed on the checklist, the approval terminal 13 displays examination information, image information, a report, and the like corresponding to the selected item in the window area 105. The approver sequentially selects each item and confirms the contents such as the disease name, the severity, and the test result (S
303). The approver checks the contents of each item of the order and the checklist, judges whether the applied order is proper, and approves the approval button 1 according to the result.
13A or the denial button 113B is pressed. The approval terminal 13 is provided with an approval button 113A or a denial button 11
When 3B is pressed, approver information such as approval name and approver identification ID, approval date and time, approver comment, and approval result indicating approval or denial are transmitted to the approval section server 14 (S30).
4).

The approval section server 14 stores the approval information such as approver information, approval date and time, approver comment, and approval result received from the approval terminal 13 on the database (S2).
03). When the approval result is stored indicating that the approval result is approval, the approval section server 14 receives the order information, the examiner name, the examiner information, the approver information, the approver information, the checklist of the medical care information, the approver information, and the approval related to this order. It is configured such that data on the database, such as date and time, approver comments, and approval results, cannot be changed by at least a general user.
Next, the approval section server 14 determines whether the approval result is approval or rejection.
5. In the case of denial, execute step S207 (S20).
4). If approved, the approval section server 13 sends the order to the server of each section and requests execution of the order (S205). The server of each department receiving the order prompts the implementer to execute the order, and the implementer executes the order based on the prompt. If the approval department server 14 determines that the request is denied in step 204 or step S20
After transmitting the order of No. 5, the approval result is sent to the approval terminal 11 via the medical department server 12 (S206). Also, at this time,
At the same time, an electronic mail or the like may be transmitted to the approval applicant to notify the approval result.

The medical department terminal 11 is connected to the approval department server 14.
, The approval result is displayed in the status display area 111. The operator can confirm the approval status of the order by looking at the display of the status display area 111. If information of another patient is displayed on the medical care terminal 11 when the approval result is received from the approval section server 14, the approval terminal 11 determines whether the approval result is approval or rejection, and rejects. Only when it becomes, the order application is rejected is displayed on the screen. According to the embodiment of the first invention described in detail above, the medication issued by the doctor,
Approval of orders for examinations and treatments can be performed reliably and promptly, thereby preventing doctors from making mistakes in order and providing good medical services. When creating a checklist, the medical care terminal creates a checklist proposal based on the medical history and edits it. Thus, the work of the operator can be reduced. Since a list of materials confirmed at the time of order creation and approval is displayed, the basis of order creation and approval can be grasped well, and it can be easily and reliably determined whether or not an order is appropriate. . A record of the approver at the time of approval, the date and time of the approval, and the material on which the approval was based can be left, and such information can be easily browsed as needed. The approval department server can send notification of the approval request and notification of the approval result etc. to each person in charge by e-mail. Can be notified. When the approval result is received during the examination of a different patient, a message is displayed only when the approval result is rejection, so that it is difficult to hinder the doctor's consultation, and it is possible to promptly respond when the order application is rejected.

A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. The second embodiment relates to an order at the time of a conference. In a conference, a plurality of doctors, technicians, and the like in different departments gather to determine a medical treatment policy for a patient. When conducting a conference,
The medical treatment item of "conference" is selected by the medical treatment terminal 11, and the medical treatment terminal 11 is set to the conference mode. FIG. 6 is an example of a screen displayed on the monitor 23 by the medical care terminal 11 at the time of a conference, and a portion different from FIG. 3 which is a screen in the medical care mode will be described below. When the operator presses the conference button 104A, the medical care terminal 11 displays a comment entry field for the conference in the window area 105 and an entry field for the names of doctors who participated in the conference in the window area 106. The operator enters information such as opinions given by doctors and technicians at the conference of the conference, the patient's disease name determined at the conference, the degree of serious injury, and the like in this comment entry column. Further, the operator inputs the name of the attending doctor in the entry field of the doctor name in the window area 106. A plurality of doctors may be stored in advance in association with the group names, and the names of the plurality of doctors may be input by selecting the group names at the time of input. By storing a group for each group that performs a conference such as a brain surgery group or an internal medicine group, the doctor's name can be easily set.

When placing an order for medication, surgery, nursing and the like determined at the conference, the operator presses the order button 104G. As a result, the window area 105 displays a screen for inputting an order, a list of order items in the window area 106, and a checklist of medical information in the window area 107, as in the medical mode. The operator inputs an order in this window area 105 as necessary. When the operator presses the medical treatment plan button 104I, the medical care terminal 11 displays the medical treatment plan table and the window area 106 in the window area 105.
, And a checklist of medical information is displayed in the window area 107. The medical treatment plan table shows the medical treatment progress and medical treatment plan of the patient,
The horizontal axis is a date, and the vertical axis is a tabular list of medical care items such as diet information, examination information, observation information, oral information, injection information, and treatment information. The medical care plan table is created by the medical care terminal 11 inquiring the medical history of the patient to the server of each department and sorting the answered information in a table format. At this time, when the operator selects an order item from the window area 106, the medical care terminal 11 displays the contents of the order on the medical care plan table. The contents of the order are displayed in such a manner that the color is changed and the font is changed according to the status such as input, waiting for approval, and approval completed, so that the operator can identify each of them. The contents of the order input performed by pressing the order button 104G and the contents of the order input performed by pressing the medical care plan table button 104I are mutually linked, and when the order input is performed on one side, the content is reflected on the other.

After inputting the order, when the applicant presses the approval application button 110A, the medical care terminal 11 displays the order information, the name of the examiner, the examiner information, the approver information, the checklist of the medical information, the comment of the conference, the conference comment, and the conference. Is transmitted to the medical department server 12 and the approval department server 12. Approval department server 12
After that, the order application transmitted to is transmitted in the same flow as in the medical examination mode, and approval, rejection determination, order request to each department, and the like are performed. The description is omitted because it is the same as in the diagnosis mode. According to the above-described second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to perform an approval procedure including recording of a comment on the conference, a list of participants in the conference, and the like, and recording of their data. In addition, since the status of the order is displayed on the medical treatment schedule table so as to be identifiable, the status of the order can be easily confirmed. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and used. In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the servers of each department are configured in a distributed manner. However, a configuration in which data of each department in the entire hospital is managed by one server may be employed. In addition, a part of the processing performed by the medical care terminal and the approval terminal may be performed on the server, or a part of the processing on the server may be performed on the medical terminal and the approval terminal. You may do it. Further, instead of performing the input by selecting the button icon with the mouse, the input operation may be performed by using other input means of the keyboard.

In order to cope with an emergency in which there is no time to wait for approval, an emergency order button is provided on the medical treatment terminal in addition to the order application button. The server may place an order and execute the order. or,
In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the dedicated client software is installed and executed in the medical care terminal and the approval terminal. However, the function of the web server for realizing the functions of the medical care terminal and the approval terminal on the server side is described. In the medical care terminal and the approval terminal, the same functions as those described in the embodiment may be realized by accessing the above-mentioned web server using generally used web browser software. good. In this case, the medical care terminal and the approval terminal need only be computers on which general browser software is installed, and the installation of dedicated software is not required. or,
In the above-described embodiment, the approval department server sends the approved order to the server of each department and requests execution of the order. However, the approval department server only notifies that the order application has been approved. The configuration may be such that the content is transmitted to the department server and the content of the order application is executed after each department receives the approval notice.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the detailed contents of information such as examination results, examination images, medical care comments, orders, nursing records, and the like are configured to be displayed on the screen of a computer. Instead, only the item name, date, and identification ID for identifying them may be input and displayed, and the approval procedure may be performed. in this case,
Confirmation of the detailed information may be performed by browsing the materials and the like corresponding to the identification IDs using an information system provided separately, or by circulating and browsing through a medium such as paper. If the diagnosed physician has the authority to determine the medical practice and does not need to be approved by a third party, the physician may be able to approve the order by himself.

[0023]

According to the present invention, a third party other than the order creator can confirm and approve the order related to the patient's medical treatment, and can reliably and easily leave a record of the information related to the approval. As a result, it is possible to clarify who determined the medical practice based on what data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an in-hospital information system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a server and a terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a screen example of a medical care menu displayed by the medical care terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow at the time of order dispatch according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a screen example of an approval menu displayed by an approval terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example of a conference menu screen displayed by the medical care terminal according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hospital LAN 11 Medical treatment terminal 12 Medical treatment department server 13 Approval terminal 14 Approval department server

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A medical support system system comprising at least one computer, wherein the computer inputs at least one of an order or identification information of a patient examination and treatment. Second means for instructing an approval request for the order, third means for displaying the order for which approval has been requested, and fourth means for inputting that the order for which approval has been requested has been approved. And a fifth means for storing information on the content of the approved order and approval. 2. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the computer has a sixth means for creating a list of materials on which the order is created.
2. The medical support system according to claim 1, wherein the fifth means stores at least one of the material or the identification information of the material on which the order was created. 3. The medical support system according to claim 2, wherein the sixth means creates the list of the materials based on medical treatment history information of the patient. 4. A first computer comprising the fifth means, and a first computer comprising the first means and the second means, the first computer being connected to the first computer via a communication network so as to be capable of data communication. And a third computer comprising the third computer and the fourth means, and a third computer connected to the first computer so as to be able to perform data communication via a communication network. The medical support system according to claim 1. 5. A means for receiving an order application for examination and treatment of a patient sent via a communication network, and a means for receiving a notice of approving the order application sent via a communication network. A medical support system comprising: storage means for storing information on the contents of an approved order and approval; and means for issuing a notification via a communication network so that the approved order is executed. 6. A first step of receiving, on a computer, at least one of an order or identification information of an order for examination and treatment of a patient, a second step of receiving, on a computer, an application for approval of the order, A third step of displaying an order for which approval has been requested, a fourth step of receiving, on a computer, information indicating that the order for which approval has been requested has been approved, and electronically transmitting information on the contents of the approved order and approval. A method for controlling a medical support system, comprising: a fifth step of storing on a temporary storage medium.