JP2002297813A - Maintenance management system for home medical treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently carry out maintenance of a home medical treatment apparatus by reducing the dispersion of cumulative operating hours of an overhaul object apparatus and reducing excessive overhaul. SOLUTION: An operation monitoring means provided in the home medical treatment apparatus periodically sends operating hours of the apparatus to a maintenance management server 22, and the maintenance management server monitors the cumulative operating hours of the apparatus installed in a patient home. The maintenance management server specifies an apparatus with the cumulative operating hours within a certain period from a periodic inspection exceeding an overhaul period as an overhaul object apparatus from periodic inspection objective apparatuses 12. The maintenance management server determines a visiting date schedule of a periodic inspection to the overhaul object apparatus and notifies a branch office 30 in charge of the patient home. For example, when the periodic inspection is conducted every six months, an apparatus with the cumulative operating hours detected in real time exceeding the overhaul period within a periodic width of one month from a periodic inspection is specified as an overhaul object apparatus.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home medical device maintenance management system, and more particularly to a maintenance management system capable of performing maintenance such as overhaul accompanying periodic inspection of home medical devices at an appropriate timing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Home therapy refers to a therapy in which a patient whose condition is stable and satisfies certain conditions receives some therapy at home with the approval of a doctor. In order to perform such home treatment, a home medical device for receiving a treatment prescribed by a doctor is often installed in a patient's house. For example, for patients with advanced chronic respiratory failure, home oxygen therapy to avoid organ disorders associated with respiratory failure sucks a certain amount of oxygen in the body is widely used. Alternatively, for patients with sleep apnea syndrome, or continuous positive airway pressure to expand the patient's airway by applying a high pressure air, with respect to carbon dioxide tends to accumulate patient blood, the air pressure at intake Non-invasive home respiratory therapy, which promotes the emission of carbon dioxide over time, is one type of home therapy.

[0003] Taking home oxygen therapy as an example, an oxygen concentrator is installed in a patient's home to generate high oxygen concentration air from which nitrogen in the air has been removed and to inhale the air into the patient. Such an oxygen concentrator is usually rented to a medical institution by a medical device company and installed in a patient's home prescribed by a doctor. And
Maintenance of the oxygen concentrator is performed by a medical device company or its consignment company (hereinafter simply referred to as a medical device company).

In this maintenance, first, when the rental contract is completed, overhaul is carried out if the cumulative operation time is approaching a certain time together with the inspection of the equipment.
Secondly, for the equipment being rented, visit the patient's house for inspection every six months and check the equipment. In particular, at the time of a six-month inspection, the total operation time of the equipment is checked, and if it exceeds a certain time, it is brought back and overhauled. Since patients must continue to receive oxygen therapy, the medical equipment company estimates the current cumulative operating time from the previous cumulative operating time and expects to reach the overhaul time when visiting for a 6-month inspection. If this occurs, a replacement oxygen concentrator is brought to the patient's home and replaced if the actual cumulative operation time exceeds a certain time.

[0005]

The six-month inspection of home medical equipment requires that medical equipment company workers visit geographically dispersed patient homes. On the other hand, assuming that the home patient used the oxygen concentrator every day, about 700
Approximately 4,200 hours of operation time for 6 months, and the total operation time of equipment that reaches the overhaul time (for example, 15,000 hours) during a 6-month inspection is theoretically 15,000 to 15,000.
It will have a width of 9,200 hours.

[0006] The overhaul time is set so as not to cause a failure even if the overhaul target equipment is operated for the longest time (19,200 hours) in the above-mentioned cumulative operation time zone in view of safety.

[0007] However, in the case of home oxygen therapy, an oxygen concentrator is used while at home, but a portable oxygen cylinder is used when going out. Therefore, depending on the frequency of going out, long and short occurs in the operating time of the oxygen concentrator. Since the frequency of going out generally depends on the lifestyle of the patient, the operating time of the oxygen concentrator is fixed for each patient.
However, you can change the aspect of the patient, with the change of season,
If the frequency of going out changes, the operating time of the oxygen concentrator also changes accordingly. In that case, even if the cumulative time at the current periodic inspection predicted from the cumulative operating time at the previous six-month inspection has not reached the overhaul time,
Overhaul time was reached due to subsequent changes, and as a result of overlooking the overhaul in this periodic inspection,
At the time of the next 6-month inspection will exceed significantly the total operating time is overhaul time, so that the possibility of failure to come out.

In addition, since the cumulative operation time of the equipment to be overhauled theoretically has a range of 15,000 to 19,200 hours as described above, the overhaul time is set short so as not to cause a failure even at the longest. Overhauls tend to be over-provisioned, raising overall maintenance costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a home medical equipment maintenance management system capable of narrowing the range of the cumulative operation time of the equipment to be overhauled, preventing the occurrence of failures, and eliminating excessive measures. It is in.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, an operation monitoring means provided in a home medical device controls the operation time of the device at regular intervals in a maintenance management server. And the maintenance management server monitors the cumulative operation time of the equipment installed at the patient's home. The maintenance management server specifies, as a device to be overhauled, a device whose cumulative operation time exceeds the overhaul time within a certain period from the time of the periodic inspection, among the devices to be periodically inspected. And the maintenance management server
Determine the schedule of visit dates for periodic inspections of the equipment to be overhauled and notify the sales office in charge of the patient's home.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the periodic inspection is performed every six months, the cumulative operation time detected in real time within the period width of one month from the time of the periodic inspection is equal to the overhaul time. Devices that exceed the number are specified as overhaul target devices. Therefore, in the past, equipment that was slightly less than the overhaul time during the periodic inspection was not subject to overhaul, but in this embodiment, if the overhaul time exceeds one month after the periodic inspection, the equipment is overhauled. The number of cases in which the cumulative operation time greatly exceeds the overhaul time at the next periodic inspection can be reduced. In addition, since the cumulative operating time of home medical devices is monitored in real time, even if the operating time of the device suddenly increases due to changes in the patient's condition or environment, the device can be used as a target for overhaul and the next scheduled period. It is prevented that the total operation time becomes too long by the time of inspection.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the maintenance management server adjusts the schedule of visiting the patient's home for regular inspection of the overhaul target device according to the stock status of medical equipment at the business office and the busy situation at the maintenance base. I do.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.
The invention extends to the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a maintenance management system according to the present embodiment. The patient's home 10, 12 are installed (oxygen concentrator as an example below) home medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators. The oxygen concentrator 12
Is provided with operation monitoring means for sequentially storing the operation status and operation time of the device and checking whether the operation status is normal. Further, the oxygen concentrator 12 has a communication device 1 for communicating with the management server 22 of the management center 20.
4 are provided. Then, if it is in a normal state, the operation status and operation time data of the communication device 14 are transmitted to the management server 22 via the communication line 50 at regular intervals (for example, once a day). Further, when an abnormality occurs, the abnormality information and the immediately preceding operation status data are transmitted to the management server 22. Thereby, the management center 20 can monitor the operation of the home medical device, and can take appropriate measures in the event of an abnormality.

A sales office 30 of a medical equipment company is provided for each region of the patient's home, and the sales office 30 delivers the equipment to the patient's home 10 when a new contract is made, installs the equipment, and collects the equipment when the contract is canceled. , And periodic inspection is performed. Periodic inspection in the case of an oxygen concentrator is performed, for example, every six months. Also,
The area of the patient's home, medical equipment maintenance base 40 is provided,
Maintenance such as overhaul of home medical equipment is performed.

[0016] If the doctor recognizes the need for home oxygen therapy,
The oxygen concentrator 12 is rented from the medical equipment company to the medical institution, and the oxygen concentrator 12 that has been prepared is installed in the patient's home 10 from the sales office 30 of the medical equipment company. The communication device 14 provided in the oxygen concentrator 12 transmits the operation status and operation time data of the device to the management server 22 once a day, and the management server 22
The received operation status and operation time data are stored in 6 and the operation of the medical device is monitored.

The management server 22 calculates the total operation time from the operation time of the oxygen concentrator in real time or at a constant cycle, and refers to the total operation time of the equipment to be inspected for six months to specify the equipment to be overhauled. Do. The overhaul target device is specified as follows.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the six-month inspection and the overhaul timing. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents time (month), and the vertical axis represents cumulative operation time. FIG. 2 shows three examples of devices A, B, and C. The previous periodic inspection is scheduled to be performed in December, the current periodic inspection is scheduled to be performed in June, and the next periodic inspection is performed. An inspection is scheduled to take place in December. In the figure, the overhaul timing according to the conventional method is indicated by x, and the overhaul timing according to the present embodiment is indicated by o.

[0019] For example, the device A, remained in the operating time of the monthly 700 hours from the last time in December to the current June, the current 6
Assume that the cumulative operation time reaches over 15,000 hours per month. In this case, the overhaul time of 15,0 in this six-month inspection
Since it will exceed 00 hours, it will be subject to overhaul, and the business office will bring a replacement oxygen concentrator in advance and visit the patient's home for periodic inspection. Then, to recover the equipment in use, carry out the overhaul maintenance in the medical equipment maintenance base 40.

In the case of device B, the same as device A
The operation time is about 700 hours, but the total operation time in June this time has not reached 15,000 hours. In this case, since the cumulative operation time of this June, which is predicted from the previous inspection (December), does not reach 15,000 hours, the sales office 30 does not need to bring a replacement oxygen concentrator. ， Visit to periodic inspection. Then, as expected, it is confirmed that the overhaul time has not been reached, the inspection is completed, and the overhaul time is expected to be exceeded at the next periodic inspection (December). As a result, at the next periodic inspection (December), the total operation time of the equipment was about 19,000 hours, and the overhaul time
That is over 15,000 hours. Alternatively, depending on the worker of the sales office 30, even in the case of the equipment B, the oxygen concentrator for replacement may be used because the accumulated operation time is likely to reach 15,000 hours at the time of this periodic inspection (June). Bring your own and visit for regular inspections. Then, the cumulative operation time higher than expected is detected, and if the overhaul time has been reached, the device is replaced and the old device is collected. Or, even if the cumulative operation time is less than the overhaul time, the equipment may be replaced and the old equipment may be collected. In other words, bringing a replacement oxygen concentrator results in overhaul even though it is not a target for overhaul, resulting in an excessive response.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, for the device B, the cumulative operation time is monitored from the operation time data received by the management server 22, and the time of the current periodic inspection (June)
Between about one month, to check whether or not a reach to overhaul time (15,000 hours) in advance. If it is recognized that the overhaul time will be reached during the one month, the management server 22 sends the replacement oxygen concentrator to the office terminal 32 so that a replacement oxygen concentrator can be brought in at that time to visit for periodic inspection. Directive to. As a result, the device B, is replaced in the second half of this regular inspection period, it will be issued to the maintenance of the overhaul. As a result, it is possible to prevent the cumulative operation time from becoming abnormally long after the overhaul until the next periodic inspection (December).

Next, in the case of the equipment C, the actual operation time of each month is small. According to the forecast from the previous periodic inspection (December), the overhaul time of 15,000 hours at the current periodic inspection (June) is assumed. With the conventional method, overhaul was not performed this time, and the workers at the sales office visit the regular inspection without bringing a replacement oxygen concentrator. However, with such decreased going out frequently due to changes in the patient's manner, increased operating time of the oxygen concentrator is, in the example of FIG. 2, reaches the overhaul time during this periodic inspection (June), or in It's getting closer.
In this case, in the conventional method, can not be overhauled interest in this (June), it is subject to the next (May 12).

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the operation time data transmitted from the device C indicates that the current time (June)
Can be monitored almost in real time. Then, even if the operation time is longer than expected as in the case of the device C, it is detected that the overhaul time will be reached within one month from the current periodic inspection (June). Via device C
A periodic inspection command is issued to make the equipment subject to overhaul. In response, the worker can bring a replacement oxygen concentrator and visit the patient's home, and can collect and overhaul the device C. The workers
You will be notified that you are overhauled before your visit, so you can bring a replacement oxygen concentrator.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the maintenance management server 22. The management server 22
The communication device 14 of the oxygen concentrator 12 periodically (eg, once a day)
Then, the operation status (oxygen concentration and flow rate) and the operation time data are received and stored in the database 26 (S10). Then, the cumulative operation time of the oxygen concentrator 12 at the time of the next periodic inspection is predicted (S12). This predicted time is a predicted value based on the real-time cumulative operation time when compared with the predicted value based on the cumulative operation time at the time of the previous periodic inspection in the conventional example. Therefore, the predicted time becomes more accurate as the current periodic inspection time approaches. Become.

Further, the management server 22 has a business office terminal 32
From the stock information of the oxygen concentrator of the office 30 receives the maintenance congestion degree data maintenance centers, and stores in the database 26 (S14).

The management server 22 extracts a device to be inspected next month from the medical device database of the database 26 (S16). Since the periodic inspection is to be performed every six months, the equipment to be subjected to the periodic inspection from the previous periodic inspection month to the next month is extracted. Then, it is checked whether or not the extracted periodical inspection target equipment has a cumulative operation time predicted in step S12 that exceeds the overhaul time of 15,000 hours (S18). If exceeded, overhaul command for the oxygen concentrator is sent to the office terminal 32 of the charge (S20).

Even if the accumulated operation time does not exceed 15,000 hours in step S18, the same check step S18
The inspection is continuously performed until one month has passed since the periodic inspection of the equipment (S22). As described in FIG. 2, it is checked whether or not the accumulated operation time exceeds the overhaul time (15,000 hours) during a period of about one month from the current periodic inspection time. When it is detected that the oxygen concentration is exceeded for one month, the management server 22 sends an overhaul command for the oxygen concentrator to the sales office terminal 32 in charge (S20). However, if the cumulative operation time does not exceed the overhaul time even after waiting one month from the periodic inspection time, the management server 22
Sends a normal periodic inspection command to the sales office terminal 32 in charge (S24).

At the business office, in the periodic inspection of the oxygen concentrator for which the overhaul instruction has been issued, the patient visits the patient's home with a replacement oxygen concentrator. In regular inspections of oxygen concentrators for which a regular periodic inspection order has been issued, the patient visits the patient's home without bringing replacement equipment.

[0029] The management server 22, in step S14, is collecting inventory information of the oxygen concentrator of the sales office and the degree of congestion data maintenance base. The management server 22 finely adjusts the visit date of the periodic inspection attached to the overhaul command in step S20 according to the stock information and the congestion degree data. For example, if the replacement oxygen concentrator is out of stock at the business office 30, an instruction is given to delay the visit date accordingly. Also, if the maintenance base has many backlogs of overhaul-targeted equipment, instructions are given to delay the visit date accordingly.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the operation monitoring means of the oxygen concentrator and the operation of the communication device in this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 4, the oxygen flow rate, the oxygen concentration, and the operation time of the oxygen concentrator are stored every predetermined time, for example, every 6 minutes (S30) (S32). In the oxygen concentrator, when an abnormality occurs in the oxygen flow rate or oxygen concentration during operation (S34), the occurrence of the abnormality is transmitted to the management server 22 together with the history data of the oxygen flow rate and the oxygen concentration. Management server 2
Step 2 analyzes the occurrence of abnormalities from the received data and takes necessary measures such as contacting the patient's home. Further, the oxygen concentrator transmits the oxygen flow rate, the oxygen concentration, and the operation time data to the management server 22 every 24 hours (S40) even in the normal operation state (S40). As described above, the management server 22 determines the cumulative operation time of the oxygen concentrator according to the transmission data, and determines whether or not the device is a device to be overhauled at the time of periodic inspection.

The present invention can also be applied to home medical devices other than oxygen concentrators, the above-mentioned continuous positive pressure respiratory therapy, and non-invasive home respiratory therapy.

The above-mentioned embodiments are summarized as follows.

[0033] In (Supplementary Note 1) home medical equipment maintenance management system, the home care equipment that periodically stored operating time, can be connected via a communication line is transmitted from the home medical device at a fixed period The cumulative operating time of the home medical device is calculated from the operating time data, and the devices that exceed the overhaul time within a certain period from the time of the periodic inspection are excluded from the devices to be overhauled. A maintenance server that outputs a periodic inspection command including a list of overhauled devices that are to be periodically inspected.

(Supplementary note 2) The maintenance management system according to supplementary note 1, wherein the management server transmits the periodic inspection command to a terminal of a sales office in charge of the patient, which is connected via a communication line.

(Supplementary note 3) In Supplementary note 2, the management server tabulates inventory information of the replacement medical devices at the business office in charge of the patient, and sets a scheduled execution date included in the periodic inspection command to the inventory date. A maintenance management system, which is determined according to information.

[0036] In (Supplementary Note 4) note 2, the management server aggregates the congestion data in the maintenance offices of the patient in charge, the periodic inspection scheduled implementation date contained in the periodic inspection command, determined in accordance with the congestion degree data A maintenance management system.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the variation in the cumulative operation time of the equipment to be overhauled, and to reduce the excessive overhaul, thereby efficiently performing the maintenance of the home medical equipment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a maintenance management system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a six-month inspection and an overhaul timing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the maintenance management server 22.

It is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the communication device and the operation monitoring means of the oxygen concentrator in embodiment of Figure 4 embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Patient home 12 Home medical equipment, oxygen concentrator 22 Maintenance management server 32 Business office terminal 40 Maintenance base

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a home medical device maintenance management system, the home medical device that periodically stores an operation time is connectable via a communication line, and the operation transmitted from the home medical device at regular intervals. Aggregate the time data and calculate the cumulative operation time of the home medical device from the operation time data, and identify the devices that exceed the overhaul time within a certain period from the time of the periodic inspection as the devices to be overhauled. and maintenance management system, comprising a management server for outputting a periodic inspection command including a list of overhaul target device a periodic inspection target. 2. A according to claim 1, wherein the management server, a maintenance management system and transmitting the periodic inspection command, the sales office of the connected patient charge a communication line terminal.