JP2007141040A - Prescription receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and properly perform setting and addition to a character string replacement table by noticing the specificity of the names of medicines. <P>SOLUTION: About a numerical value included medicine name "Kefral capsule 250mg" included in a medicine master, a rearranged medicine name "250mg Kefral capsule" is automatically generated by rearranging the order of a non-numerical part "Kefral capsule", a numerical value "250" and a unit part "mg" into the order of the numerical part, the unit part and the non-numerical part, and they are automatically set in the character string replacement table. In addition, summary medicine names "Kefral capsu 250mg" and "250mg Kefral capsu" obtained by omitting characters of the last portion of the non-numerical part of the numerical value included medicine name and its rearranged medicine name are automatically set in the character string replacement table. Then, in a postprocessing of character recognition processing, the rearranged medicine name and the summary medicine name are converted into proper medicine names of medicine master regulation on the basis of association in the character string replacement table to thereby improve character recognition rate and receiving work efficiency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a prescription receiving apparatus used for automatic reception of prescriptions at pharmacies, hospitals, and the like, and more specifically, internal format electronic data (prescriptions) such as character data and binary data by character recognition of prescription image images (prescription images). The present invention relates to a prescription receiving apparatus that acquires prescription description information by converting the data into (data).

  In order to automate prescription acceptance work and save labor, various prescription acceptance devices have been proposed. Specifically, a medication processing system that reads prescription data and issues a voucher (see, for example, Patent Document 1), or a medical system that captures a patient's face image at a reception and stores it in a database (see, for example, Patent Document 2) Prescription reading management system that images both sides of the prescription and identifies the prescription notation surface (see, for example, Patent Document 3), prescription by reading the two-dimensional code written in the prescription to automate and save prescription data input work Examples include a prescription reading device that converts information (for example, see Patent Document 4).

  In addition, a prescription image registration method (see, for example, Patent Document 5) is also known in which a prescription image is subjected to character recognition to obtain character data of a receipt number so that the prescription image can be handled as an image instead of inputting the prescription data as character data. As for the character recognition processing, an information processing device that executes character recognition after correcting the position of the original image data (image image) based on the position difference obtained by performing character recognition on the template image data ( For example, see Patent Document 6), and an optical character reader (see Patent Document 7, for example) that performs character recognition after extracting and erasing ruled lines from an image of a form is also known.

  Furthermore, prescription reception devices are installed at both hospitals and pharmacies, prescriptions are read as image data (image images) at hospital prescription reception devices, and the image is sent to the pharmacy via the public network. A drug administration system has been known that receives a fax receiver (facsimile receiver) and prints out a prescription, and stores the prescription image by reading the prescription with a prescription reception device of a pharmacy. (For example, refer to Patent Document 8). The prescription receiving apparatus is the same for hospitals and pharmacies, and reads prescriptions on paper media, inputs image images, and prints and issues reception slips.

In this way, by sending the prescription from the hospital to the pharmacy by FAX (facsimile), the pharmacist at the pharmacy dispenses while moving to a pharmacy such as an insurance dispensing pharmacy that receives the prescription drug from the medical institution where the patient consulted Therefore, the waiting time of the patient can be reduced.
In addition, if the patient takes the prescription out of the hospital with a paper medium from the hospital to the pharmacy, the prescription may become dirty or wrinkled, ink may be stained, and in severe cases the prescription may be damaged, and written on the prescription. However, the occurrence of such an inconvenient event can be avoided and suppressed by FAX transmission of a prescription.

  In addition, the recognition result is improved by performing a certain post-processing on the result of the character recognition process (see, for example, Patent Document 9), and for similar characters, character recognition is performed by performing determination and conversion using the left and right character types as keys. There are known ones that improve the accuracy of results (for example, see Patent Document 10) and those that improve the recognition rate by using different character-limited dictionaries according to word attributes (for example, see Patent Document 11).

JP 10-207949 A (first page) JP 2003-271733 A (first page) JP 2001-188881 A (first page) JP 2004-046486 A (first page) JP 2001-134698 A (first page) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-043995 (first page) JP 2002-366900 A (first page) JP 2001-31560 A (first page) JP 05-282484 A (first page) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-342415 (first page) JP 09-305714 A (first page)

[Unpublished Patent Application] Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-257252 However, in such a conventional prescription receiving apparatus, various modifications are performed separately, and each has advantages and disadvantages.
Specifically, for prescription data input that converts prescription description information into prescription data in an internal format such as character data or binary data, in the case of a device that converts a two-dimensional code into prescription data, the two-dimensional code is printed on the prescription If so, the system that prints the two-dimensional code on the prescription is still only prevalent in some large hospitals, and many general pharmacies can become a fortune.

  In addition, in the case of a conventional device that obtains character data by performing character recognition on a prescription image, the recognition rate of the OCR program or the like is not 100%, and the prescription form, that is, the prescription form differs from hospital to hospital. Since multiple prescription forms can be used together, the prescription forms are diverse, so it can only be applied to extremely limited parts such as reception numbers, so it is necessary to input prescription data such as drugs and doses. Sometimes you have to do it manually while looking at the prescription or its image.

  Further, when an image image of a prescription is transmitted / received by facsimile, the image quality of the conventional system is severely deteriorated because the prescription received and printed is imaged again and the image image is input. Also, if the prescription feeding state is distorted on the facsimile transmission side, the distorted prescription is captured as an image image as it is, so that it becomes difficult for the facsimile receiving side to see the prescription due to crushed characters or undesired shadows. May occur. In the dispensing pharmacy dispensing fee request business, the name, insurer information, prescription data, etc. are entered into the receipt computer based on the information described in the out-of-hospital prescription output from the medical institution. At this time, if the prescription is unclear, it is difficult to input data, whether it is manual operation or automatic input by character recognition.

Therefore, it is required to integrate these data input methods so that prescription data can be input efficiently.
Among these requests, both methods are used for incorporating facsimile transmission / reception methods to reduce patient waiting time and combining character recognition methods to promote automation of data input while preventing image quality degradation during facsimile transmission. (See above unpublished patent application).

  In addition, template information including position data in a prescription related to a designated character that is previously determined to be included in the prescription is stored, and a partial area of the image image based on the template information during character recognition processing The character recognition rate is improved by performing the specified character detection process on the image, performing the top-and-bottom reversal process and the position correction process on the image based on the detection result, and then processing the remaining area of the image image. It was possible to achieve and tolerate a reverse set of prescriptions (see above unpublished patent application).

  However, since the character recognition rate of the OCR program or the like still does not reach 100% even if such image quality deterioration prevention or position correction processing is performed, further improvement of the recognition rate is required. It is possible to combine technologies. For example, the pre-replacement character string and the post-replacement character string are associated with each other and a large amount of data is stored in the character string replacement table. When any of the pre-substitution character strings is included, it is conceivable to replace the corresponding part of the recognized character string with the corresponding one of the post-substitution character strings in the character string substitution table.

However, in the case of a prescription acceptance device, there are a wide variety of drug names that are stored in the drug master, and the prescription drugs may differ depending on the hospital or pharmacy. It is not easy to prepare a replacement table or properly maintain or expand a character string replacement table.
Therefore, it is an important technical problem to make it easy and appropriate to set and add to the character string replacement table by paying attention to the peculiarity of the drug name.

  The prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (Solution 1) was created to solve such a problem, and is an input means for inputting an image of a prescription, and performs character recognition processing on the image. In the prescription receiving apparatus comprising a data processing unit for obtaining prescription data from the image image, the data processing unit includes a drug master that holds data including various drug names, a pre-replacement character string, and a post-replacement character string. And a character string replacement table that holds a large number of data in association with each other, and a recognized character string obtained by the processing after the character recognition processing includes any of the character strings before replacement in the character string replacement table A character string replacement means for replacing a corresponding portion of the recognized character string with a character string corresponding to the character string before replacement in the character string after replacement in the character string replacement table Yes, a numerical value containing medicine name consisting of a character string in which a non-numeric part, a numerical part, and a unit part are connected in that order is included in the medicine name of the medicine master and the replaced character string of the character string substitution table as it is. In addition, it becomes a rearranged medicine name rearranged in the order of the numerical value part, the unit part, and the non-numeric part, and is included in the character string replacement table corresponding to the post-replacement character string. It is characterized by that.

  Further, the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (solving means 2) is the prescription receiving apparatus of the above-mentioned solving means 1, and the data processing unit sets the character string replacement table when the data processing unit sets the character string replacement table. The numerical drug name is extracted from the above, and the rearranged drug name is generated from the numerical drug name, and the data is stored in the character string replacement table by associating the rearranged drug name with the numerical drug name. It is made to let it be characterized by the above.

  Furthermore, the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (solving means 3) is the prescription receiving apparatus of the above-described solving means 2, wherein the data processing unit extracts the numerical value-containing drug name extracted when setting the character string replacement table And either or both of the rearranged drug names generated therefrom, an abbreviated drug name is generated by omitting the trailing character of the non-numeric part, and the abbreviated drug name is associated with the numerical value-containing drug name. In addition, data is held in the character string replacement table.

  Further, the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (Solution means 4) is the prescription receiving apparatus of the above-described solution means 1, wherein a normal-order abbreviated drug name in which the last letter of the non-numeric part is omitted from the numerical value-containing drug name, In addition, with respect to any one or both of the rearranged abbreviated drug names in which the numerical part, the unit part, and the non-numeric part are rearranged, the abbreviated drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name are associated with each other. Data is held in a column replacement table.

  Further, the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (solving means 5) is the prescription receiving apparatus of the above-mentioned solving means 1, wherein the data processing unit displays the recognized character string on the screen and accepts the character string correction. Then, it is searched whether or not the correction character string input at the time of the character string correction processing is included in the medicine name of the medicine master, and when it is included, the correction character string is immediately or after confirmation. And the character string corrected thereby, the data is stored in the post-replacement character string and the pre-replacement character string in the character string replacement table, and when the corrected character string corresponds to the numerical value-containing drug name, A rearranged medicine name is generated, and the rearranged medicine name and the numerical value-containing medicine name are associated with each other to store data in the pre-substitution character string and the post-substitution character string in the character string substitution table. It is characterized in.

In such a prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (Solution means 1), the character recognition rate is improved by performing post-processing using a character string replacement table on the recognized character string obtained by the character recognition process. In the character string replacement table, the numerical value-containing medicine name and its rearranged medicine name are stored in association with each other, and the rearranged medicine name in the recognition character string is automatically converted into the numerical value-containing medicine name.
Numeric-containing drug names consist of a string consisting of a non-numeric part, a numeric part, and a unit part in that order, and are written in the prescription with the reordered drug name sorted in the order of the numeric part, unit part, and non-numeric part. Occasionally, even in such a case, the character recognition rate and the reception work efficiency are further improved because the name is converted into an appropriate medicine name defined in the medicine master. In addition, since the relationship between the numerical value-containing drug name and the rearranged drug name is clear, it can be automatically set in the character string replacement table, for example, as in Solution 2 below.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to contribute to the realization of a prescription receiving apparatus that can be set and added to the character string replacement table easily and appropriately based on the peculiarity of the medicine name.

Further, in the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (Solution 2), a reordered drug name is automatically generated for the numerical value-containing drug name included in the drug master, and these are automatically converted into a character string replacement table. The data is held in
In this way, settings and additions to the character string replacement table are automatically performed from the drug master based on the characteristics of the numerical drug names, so that settings and additions to the character string replacement table are made based on the drug name specialities. Can be realized easily and appropriately.

  Further, in the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (Solution means 3), when a numerical value-containing drug name or a part of its rearranged drug name is omitted and entered in the prescription, the numerical part and the unit part are not omitted, and the numerical value is not a numerical value. In many cases, the abbreviations of chemicals are omitted, and such abbreviated chemical names are also converted into appropriate chemical names in the chemical master regulations in the post-processing of the character recognition process. Further improve. In addition, the setting and addition to the character string replacement table related to the abbreviated drug name is automatically performed from the drug master, making it easier and easier to set and add to the character string replacement table based on the peculiarity of the drug name. An appropriate prescription receiving apparatus can be realized.

Further, in the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (solution 4), the abbreviated drug name including the numerical value-containing drug name and the rearranged drug name is also converted into an appropriate drug name defined in the drug master rule in the post-processing of the character recognition process. Therefore, the character recognition rate and the reception work efficiency are further improved. Moreover, such an abbreviated drug name can be automatically set in the character string replacement table, for example, as in the above solution 3 as in the case of the numerical value-containing drug name.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to contribute to the realization of a prescription receiving apparatus that can be set and added to the character string replacement table more easily and appropriately based on the peculiarity of the medicine name.

Further, in the prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention (solution 5), additional settings can be made in the character string replacement table even when the character string of the recognized character string is corrected. When applicable, in addition to the association between the corrected character string and the character string corrected thereby, the association between the corrected character string and the replacement medicine name is automatically set accordingly.
In this way, the setting and addition to the character string replacement table based on the characteristics of the numerical drug names are not limited to the corrected character strings, but are also accompanied by the names of rearranged drugs. Thus, it is possible to realize a prescription receiving apparatus that can be set and added to the character string replacement table easily and appropriately.

  Several suitable forms for implementing such a prescription receiving apparatus of the present invention will be described.

The prescription receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment is a prescription receiving apparatus of the solving means described above, and when character recognition processing is performed on the image image, the medical institution that issued the prescription is identified and a corresponding prescription format is selected. The image image is divided based on the format.
In this case, at the time of character recognition related to the image of the prescription, the medical institution that issued the prescription is specified, a prescription format corresponding to the medical institution is selected, and the image image is further divided based on the format. In this way, the character image at the time of character recognition is obtained by dividing the image image by the division pattern corresponding to the item arrangement pattern of the prescription issued by each medical institution and performing character recognition on each divided image. Data candidates and item candidates at the time of conversion to prescription data are narrowed down, so that the accuracy of data conversion is improved.

The prescription receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment is the prescription receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment, and displays the divided image of the image image and the conversion field in which the divided image is converted into character data and displayed on the screen. It is characterized by.
In this case, at the time of character recognition related to the image image of the prescription, a divided image of the image image and a conversion column in which the image is converted into character data and displayed are compared and displayed on the screen. Thereby, the result of character recognition can be easily confirmed, and before the result is converted into prescription data, character recognition can be performed again or character data can be corrected.

The prescription receiving apparatus according to the third embodiment is the prescription receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment, in which the division field and the conversion are displayed in the proof column in which the prescription data is displayed so as to be calibrated with an item name for each item. It is characterized by being displayed on the screen in comparison with either or both of the columns.
In this case, at the time of character recognition related to the image image of the prescription, the proofreading column in which the prescription data is displayed with the item name for each item so that it can be proofread is also displayed on the screen in a state of being compared with the divided image. . Thereby, prescription data reflecting the result of character recognition can be easily confirmed, and proofreading that requires human assistance can be easily performed by comparing with divided images or the like.

The prescription receiving apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is the above-described solution means or the prescription receiving apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, and includes a facsimile receiving unit as the input means.
In this case, since the facsimile receiving unit is incorporated in the apparatus as an input means for the prescription image, the image image transmitted and received by the facsimile is directly subjected to the character recognition process. As a result, re-imaging after reception is avoided, prescription reading work on the pharmacy side is not necessary, and image quality deterioration is only required when imaging on the transmission side, so image quality is better than before. Maintained. Therefore, the character recognition rate is also improved. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize a prescription receiving apparatus that can reduce the waiting time of the patient by facsimile transmission and has a high data input efficiency for the pharmacy.

The prescription receiving apparatus of the fifth embodiment is the prescription receiving apparatus of the fourth embodiment, and is provided with a facsimile transmission unit connected to the same line as the facsimile reception unit, and receives the prescription via the facsimile reception unit. When accepted, the voucher is issued by generating an image image of the voucher and transmitting it from the facsimile transmission unit.
In this case, when the patient transmits the prescription by facsimile, the voucher can be received by facsimile on the spot, so that even the reception work at a remote place can be performed simply and accurately as in the pharmacy. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the waiting time of a patient by facsimile transmission, to receive a replacement ticket, which is convenient for receiving a voucher, and for a pharmacy to have a high efficiency of data input. Can be realized.

About the prescription acceptance apparatus of such this invention, the specific form for implementing this is demonstrated by the following Examples 1-2.
The first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 embodies the above-described solving means 1 to 5 (claims 1 to 5 at the beginning of the application) and the first to fourth embodiments. The embodiment shown in FIG. Example 2 embodies the fifth embodiment described above.

  A specific configuration of the prescription receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the prescription receiving apparatus 10, where (a) is a hardware configuration diagram and (b) is a flowchart of the receiving process. FIG. 2A shows an example of the arrangement of prescription information fields and examples of designated characters, and FIG. 2B shows an example of the data structure of template information. Further, FIG. 3A is an arrangement example of the prescription information column, FIG. 3B is another arrangement example, FIG. 3C is a data structure example of the hospital master, and FIG. 3D is a prescription data structure example. 4A is an example of a conversion field comparison display screen, FIG. 4B is an example of a calibration field comparison display screen, FIG. 5A is an example of a data structure of a medicine master, and FIG. Is an example of the data structure of the character string replacement table.

  The prescription receiving apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1A) includes a prescription scanning unit 20, a data processing unit 30, and a line connection unit 40. Both the prescription scanning unit 20 and the line connection unit 40 are provided as input means for inputting an image of the prescription to the data processing unit 30 and are connected to the data processing unit 30 by signal cables. The prescription scanning unit 20 directly captures a paper-based prescription at a pharmacy, whereas the line connection unit 40 receives a prescription image (prescription image image) captured at a remote place by facsimile transmission. The data is received and delivered to the data processing unit 30.

  Therefore, the line connection unit 40 may be connected to an external communication line such as a telephone line or a facsimile line network (not shown) so as to be able to receive a facsimile, and a commercially available so-called FAX modem or terminal adapter is sufficient. In this embodiment, it suffices as long as it can be received as a facsimile reception unit, but it may be combined with a facsimile transmission unit connected to the same line as this reception unit, or may be capable of making a voice call. An external type as shown in the figure or a computer built-in type not shown may be used.

  When the prescription is inserted into the insertion slot, the prescription scanning unit 20 feeds the prescription to the transfer path 24 and images the prescription, and a print head 25 that is provided facing the transfer path 24 and prints an acceptance number on the prescription. A voucher issuing unit 21 for issuing a voucher instead of accepting a prescription, an operation panel 26 provided with operation switches and status display members, and a local controller 23 for controlling the operation thereof. The image image taken by the scanner 22 is transmitted to the data processing unit 30 together with the reception number.

  The hardware of the data processing unit 30 may be a general-purpose computer such as a so-called desktop personal computer (not shown) or a notebook personal computer (not shown) in order to obtain prescription data from the image image sent from the prescription scanning unit 20 or the line connection unit 40. In addition, a reception routine and a replacement character string setting routine are installed in the program memory or the like of the data processing unit 30, and a character string replacement table, template information, hospital, etc. are stored in a built-in or external hard disk or the like in the data processing unit 30. Data groups such as a master, a patient master, an insurance master, a medicine master, a usage master, and an annotation master are divided into appropriate file formats and table formats or integrated into a database and stored.

A specific example will be given later in the character string replacement table, but a large number of paired data / combination data consisting of the corresponding pre-replacement character string and post-replacement character string is held. Used for character string replacement processing immediately after the recognition processing.
As will be described in detail later, the template information includes a code or pattern of a designated character that is previously known to be included in the prescription, and position data of the designated character in the prescription. This is used for character detection and image image top-and-bottom inversion and position correction processing based on the detection result.
As will be described later in detail, the hospital master includes prescription style data corresponding to each medical institution, and the hospital master is used to divide the image.

The patient master includes data such as the patient's name, date of birth, and patient code, and is used for confirmation of the patient name, clues for presenting past prescriptions, and the like. The insurance master includes data such as the type of insurance, and is used for checking the type of insurance and presenting candidates.
The drug master includes data such as drug codes in addition to various drug names, and is used for drug name confirmation and candidate presentation. The medicine name includes a general name, a product name, and the like, and a specific example will be described later regarding a data structure in which these are classified and stored.
The usage master includes data such as prescription units and dosage limits, and is used for confirmation of prescription contents and presentation of candidates. The annotation master can additionally write character string data such as special notes and comments.

The reception routine (see FIG. 1B) first checks whether the operation mode is set to the replacement character string setting mode or the reception mode (step S11), and is in the replacement character string setting mode. At times, the processing is left to a replacement character string setting routine described later (step S50). However, when the reception mode is set, the following reception processing is performed (steps S11 to S27).
That is, in the reception mode, the reception routine is performed by an external facsimile in addition to when the prescription scanning unit 20 reads the prescription and the image image is transmitted from the prescription scanning unit 20 to the data processing unit 30. When the prescription is read and the image is sent to the data processing unit 30 via the line connection unit 40, the image is first input (step S12).

  Then, in order to obtain prescription data from the image image, a character recognition process or the like is performed on the image image, and the process is performed in two stages. Specifically, a pre-processing stage (steps S13 to S15) for performing character recognition processing only on a partial area of the prescription image for calibration, and main processing for performing character recognition processing on the entire image image area. Steps (steps S21 to S27) are performed. In this case, the two steps of the pre-processing and the main processing are performed both when the image image is input by direct reading and when it is input by facsimile reception. However, it has been found that pre-processing is not necessary at the time of direct reading. If the image is read by the prescription scanning unit 20 and an image image is input, the process immediately proceeds to image division processing, character recognition processing, and data conversion processing for the entire image image area, and is received by facsimile reception via the line connection unit 40. Two-stage processing may be performed only when an image is input.

  First, the former preprocessing stage will be described in detail (steps S13 to S15). This preprocessing for calibration uses template information in order to perform adjustment easily and accurately, and is designated based on the template information. Characters are detected (step S13). As a result, when it is determined that the image image is upside down, the image image is rotated 180 ° to perform the upside down process, and it is determined that the image image is misaligned. In some cases, position correction processing is performed by moving the image image up, down, left, and right (step S14), and ruled line deletion processing is also performed to delete ruled lines from the prescription image (see step S15, Patent Document 7).

  For example, “medicine” of “insurance doctor name” in the medical institution information column is selected as the designated character No. 1 as the designated character that has been previously found to be included in the prescription (see FIG. 2A). Suppose that “telephone” of “telephone number” in the same medical institution information column is selected as the designated character No. 2. Also, assuming that the position in the prescription of “medicine” is the 1299th bit from the left, the 980th bit from the top, the 1332th bit from the right, and the 1014th bit from the bottom, for template information (see FIG. 2B) , Designated character No. Of the data items related to 1, the pattern is preset to “medical”, the reading left to “1299”, the reading to “980”, the reading to “1332”, and the reading to “1014”. Similarly, in the template information, the designated character No. In the data item relating to 2, the pattern is preset to “electric”, the reading left is “1168”, the reading is “884”, the reading right is “1480”, and the reading is “1066”. .

  When the reception routine detects a designated character by referring to such template information (step S13 in FIG. 1 (b)), the position in the prescription that is assumed when the template information is read left, read right, read above, and read. For example, the prescription partial area with 100 bits on the left and right and 100 bits on the top and bottom, and the prescription partial area centered on the second assumed position when the first assumed position is applied to an inverted prescription, Character recognition processing is applied to the image. And the designated character No. 1 character “medicine” and designated character No. If the second character “Den” is found in the first assumed position inclusion region, the position of the image is corrected so as to cancel the positional deviation between the designated character detection position and the first assumed position, but the top-and-bottom inversion process is performed. There is no such thing.

  On the other hand, the designated character No. 1 character “medicine” and designated character No. When the second character “Den” is found in the second assumed position inclusion region, first, the image image is subjected to the top / bottom inversion process, and the designated character detection position is also subjected to position conversion corresponding to the top / bottom inversion of the prescription. Then, the position of the image is corrected so as to cancel out the displacement between the designated character detection position after conversion and the first assumed position. Alternatively, the position of the image image is corrected so as to cancel the positional deviation between the designated character detection position and the second assumed position, and then the top-and-bottom inversion process is performed on the image image. After that, the reception routine performs ruled line erasure processing to erase ruled lines from the prescription image (step S15), and then the main processing of the two-stage processing, that is, image division processing / character recognition processing for the entire region of the processed image image The process proceeds to data conversion processing (steps S21 to S27).

  In the image division processing, character recognition processing, and data conversion processing for the entire image image area, the reception routine (see FIG. 1B), image division processing based on medical institution identification (steps S21 to 24), and prescription image image A character recognition process for obtaining character data by performing character recognition (step S25), and a data conversion process for converting the character data into prescription data (step S26) are performed. The character recognition process and the data conversion process can be repeated as many times as necessary to change or return the divided image until the prescription data is completed (step S27).

  Since the replacement character string setting routine will be described in detail later, this processing stage (steps S21 to S27) will be described in detail. In the image division processing, the image image is displayed as it is for visual confirmation, that is, the entire prescription is displayed on the screen. In addition (step S21), character recognition is performed on the entire image, and a character string search is performed on the recognition result to determine whether or not a character string that can specify a medical institution is included (step S22). If the determination result is affirmative ("Yes" in step S22), for example, when a medical institution name such as "XXX Hospital" or "XXX clinic" is found and held by the hospital master The name of the medical institution is automatically adopted.

  On the other hand, when the above determination result is negative (“No” in step S22), the names of medical institutions in the hospital master are listed as candidates on the screen and the reception worker selects them. The reception worker is requested to input the name of the medical institution in the input field and receives the designation of the medical institution (step S23). When the medical institution is specified, a prescription form corresponding to the medical institution is selected (step S24), and the image image is divided based on the form.

The prescription format (see FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b)) is important here as it relates to the division of the image image. Typical examples include the medical institution information column, patient information column, and dispensing shown in the figure. Information fields, insurance information fields, annotation fields (not shown), etc., and their prescription arrangements are prescribed for each medical institution and are often different among medical institutions.
The hospital master reflecting this (see FIG. 3 (c)) stores the data of the prescription format corresponding to each medical institution, that is, the basic information and the prescription column division information in association with each other. Yes.

Of these, the basic information (see FIG. 3C) is the medical institution information (FIG. 3 (FIG. 3)) which is electronic data of the items described in the medical institution information column (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). d) and the same as (see FIG. 3 (c)).
Further, the prescription column division information (see FIG. 3C) includes arrangement information regarding each of the above-described columns. For example, when the corresponding field is a rectangle, the arrangement information is defined by the position of the diagonal point of the corresponding field in the prescription. It is allowed to repeatedly define the arrangement information for the same column, and it is adapted to an information column having a shape dispersed in a plurality of rectangles or a combination thereof.

  The prescription data (see FIG. 3D) has a standard data structure in which the items described in such a prescription are obtained as electronic data. For example, a pharmacy host computer that uses the prescription data for drug history management, automatic dispensing, etc. The data structure is determined in advance in conformity with 50. In addition to the illustrated medical institution information, patient information, insurance information, and dispensing information, annotation information (not shown) is always or selectively included. The medical institution information includes the name of the medical institution, the patient information includes the patient name, etc., the insurance information includes the insurance type and insurance number, etc., and the dispensing information includes the prescription drug name and dose. The set data is included in one set or a plurality of sets / multiple sets.

  Further, when the prescription column division information corresponding to the specified medical institution is obtained (see step S24), the data processing unit 30 divides the image image for each column of the prescription based on the prescription column division information (step S24). Create several split images, for example, create a split image in the medical institution information column, a split image in the patient information column, a split image in the dispensing information column, a split image in the insurance information column, etc. In contrast, the character recognition process (step S25) and the data conversion process (step S26) are performed.

  In the character recognition process, conversion field comparison display is performed (see FIG. 4A), and a divided image 31 relating to the selected information field and a character data conversion field 33 obtained by performing character recognition on the divided image 31 are displayed. They are displayed on a single screen in a line-up state. In the conversion column 33, a reception worker can correct a character string at a portion selected by operating a mouse or a key. The selection of the information column can be switched by clicking the column designation tab 32, and the data conversion process, that is, the transition to the calibration column comparison display screen can be performed by clicking a specific button, for example, “display calibration column”.

Also, accompanying this character recognition process, two character string processes, that is, a character string replacement process (character string replacement means) and a replacement character string addition process (replacement character string setting) are performed (see FIG. 1 (b) Step S25).
The character string replacement process is performed immediately after the character recognition process is performed on the divided image 31 and before the conversion field 33 is displayed. In this process, when any of the character strings before replacement in the character string replacement table is included in the recognized character string obtained by the process after the character recognition process, the paired data in the pre-replacement character string and the character string replacement table -The corresponding part of the recognized character string is replaced with the replaced character string that forms the set data. As for the character string replacement, a specific example relating to a numerical value-containing drug name including a character string in which a non-numeric part, a numerical part, and a unit part are connected in that order will be described later.

  The replacement character string addition process is performed when a character string correction process is performed on the conversion field 33. In this process, it is searched whether or not the input correction character string is included in the medicine name of the medicine master. Immediately or when a confirmation message is displayed and a confirmation response is obtained, the modified character string and the modified character string are converted into paired data / combination data that conforms to the character string replacement table, and the modified character string is replaced with a character string. The corrected character string and the corrected character string are stored in the character string replacement table so that the corrected character string becomes the character string before replacement in the character string replacement table. It is supposed to be held.

  Further, in this replacement character string addition process, when the corrected character string corresponds to the name-containing drug name, the arrangement of the non-numeric part, the numerical part, and the unit part in the character string is arranged in the order of the numerical part, the unit part, and the non-numeric part. By changing the name, a rearranged medicine name is generated from the numerically contained medicine name. For this sort of chemical name and numerical value-containing drug name, the sort chemical name and numeric value-containing chemical name are converted into paired data / set data that conforms to the string substitution table, and the sort chemical name is the string substitution table. The replacement drug name and the value-containing drug name are stored in the character string replacement table so that the character string before replacement and the value-containing drug name become the character string after replacement in the string replacement table. It is also.

  In the data conversion process, the character data obtained by the conversion column comparison display is reflected in the prescription data, and the calibration column comparison display is performed (see FIG. 4B). In this calibration column contrast display, the divided image 31 relating to the selected information column and the calibration column 34 listing the items of the prescription data are displayed on one screen in a state where they are arranged side by side. Each item in the calibration column 34 includes an item name and a data value, and the data value can be selected and corrected by operating a mouse or a key for calibration.

Even on the calibration column comparison display screen, the selection of information column can be switched by clicking the column designation tab 32, and the character recognition processing, that is, the return to the conversion column comparison display screen, etc. can be performed by clicking a specific button, for example, “conversion column display”. It is like that. That is, transition between contrast display screens and selection switching of information columns can be freely performed at any time. Similarly, for example, by clicking a “replacement character string setting” button, it is possible to shift to the replacement character string setting process.
When a specific button such as “Prescription Complete” is clicked on the calibration column comparison display screen (see FIG. 4B), the reception routine (see FIG. 1B) determines that the prescription data is complete. (“Yes” in step S27), the prescription acceptance process is completed.

The replacement character string setting routine (FIG. 1 (b), step S50) is basically to make two character strings into paired data / combination data and hold the data in the character string before replacement and the character string after replacement in the character string replacement table. However, the character string acquisition method and the like are different between the correction accompanying mode, the individual setting mode, and the batch setting mode.
The correction accompanying mode is a case where the process proceeds to the replacement character string setting process in association with the above-described character string correction processing. In this mode, the input correction character string and the character string corrected thereby are described above. Perform replacement character string addition processing. In other words, the pair data / group data of the corrected character string and the corrected character string is set in the character string replacement table, and when the corrected character string corresponds to the numerical value-containing drug name, the rearranged drug name and the numerical value included Pair data / group data with drug names are also set in the character string replacement table.

  The individual setting mode is often used when shifting to the replacement character string setting process by clicking the replacement character string setting button, etc. In this mode, a pair of character strings for the pre-replacement character string and the post-replacement character string are used. It asks for input, and after they are entered, it sets the character string replacement table. Even in the individual setting mode, when the input text string after replacement corresponds to a numeric-containing chemical name, the paired data / combination data of the sorted chemical name and numeric-containing chemical name is also set in the string substitution table. Yes. In addition, about the setting of a rearrangement medicine name and a numerical value containing chemical | medical agent name, it may be made after taking confirmation, not immediately in either one or both of correction accompanying mode and individual setting mode.

  The batch setting mode is frequently used when the replacement character string setting routine is started in the replacement character string setting mode. In this batch setting mode, numerical values are sequentially set for various drug names included in the drug master. Search for contained chemical names and set in the character string replacement table. That is, it is checked whether the medicine name of the medicine master corresponds to the numerical name-containing chemical name regardless of whether it is a general name or a product name. If the numerical name-containing chemical name is found, it is extracted. Then, a rearranged medicine name is generated from the numerical value containing medicine name, and the rearranged medicine name and the numerical containing medicine name are associated with each other and stored in the character string replacement table. In order to prevent inadvertent duplicate settings even if the replacement character string setting process is repeated in the batch setting mode, such as when a drug name is added to the drug master, the paired data / set data already set in the character string replacement table will be displayed again. The setting of is also omitted.

  Further, the replacement character string setting routine generates a simplified drug name by omitting the trailing character of the non-numeric part of either or both of the numerical value-containing drug name and the rearranged drug name generated therefrom, The abbreviation drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name are associated with each other and data is held in the character string replacement table. Such a setting related to the abbreviated drug name is not limited to the batch setting mode, but also in the individual setting mode and the correction accompanying mode, as in the setting related to the rearranged drug name, immediately unconditionally or according to the sub operation mode setting or confirmation. Done selectively. Omitting the last character of the non-numeric part is usually the last character, but when the last character is an easily omitted character such as “-” or “n”, the last two characters are omitted. ing.

About the prescription acceptance apparatus 10 of this Example 1, the usage mode and operation | movement are demonstrated referring drawings.
For example, when the prescription receiving apparatus 10 is installed in a pharmacy (see FIG. 1A), the prescription scanning unit 20 is placed on a reception counter or the like, and the data processing unit 30 or the line connection unit 40 is installed on a work desk or the like in the counter. The data processing unit 30 is connected to the pharmacy host computer 50 if there is an in-station LAN or the like.

  In addition, the data processing unit 30 installs a reception routine and a replacement character string setting routine, and also performs data initialization. In other words, in the medicine master, usage master, and insurance master, data such as medicine names, prescription units, and insurance types that may be handled by the pharmacy are set. Also, the annotation master and patient master are cleared. Furthermore, the template information is set with designated characters that have been found to be included in the prescription in advance, position data of the designated characters in the prescription, etc. Set. The initial setting to the medicine master and the character string replacement table saves time and effort by downloading data that can be transferred from other machines or initialization tools.

For data that cannot be transferred, such as pharmacy-specific data, the drug name is manually set to complete the drug master. For example, “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” or “Dasene 10 mg Tablet” is set as a general name, and “Arinamin Dragee 25 mg” is set as a trade name, and a medicine master is completed (see FIG. 5A).
Then, when the data processing unit 30 is started in the replacement character string setting mode (see step S11 in FIG. 1 (b)), the replacement character string setting routine is started (step S50). Searching and setting in the character string replacement table are performed automatically. Then, every time a numerical value-containing drug name is found for the drug name in the drug master, the setting related to the rearranged drug name and the setting related to the abbreviated drug name are performed.

  For example, the name-containing drug name “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” is included in the drug master as a generic name (see FIG. 5A). The order of the numerical part “Kefler capsule”, numerical value “250”, and unit part “mg” is rearranged in the order of numerical part, unit part, and non-numeric part to automatically generate the rearranged medicine name “250 mg Kefler capsule”. The sorted drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name are converted into paired data / combination data, and the sorted drug name “250 mg kettle capsule” is stored in the pre-replacement character string in the character string replacement table. The numerical value-containing drug name “Kefler capsule 250 mg” is stored in the character string after replacement in the character string replacement table (see FIG. 5B).

  Furthermore, the setting relating to the abbreviated drug name is performed for the regular abbreviated drug name of the numerical value-containing drug name and the rearranged abbreviated drug name of the rearranged drug name. The chemical name “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” is automatically generated by omitting the last letter “Le” of the non-numeric part “Kefler Capsule” and automatically generating the normal order abbreviated drug name “Kefler Capse 250 mg”. And the numerical value-containing drug name are made into pair data / combination data, and the normal order abbreviated drug name “Kefler Capse 250 mg” is stored in the character string before replacement in the character string replacement table, and the numerical value-containing drug name “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” "Is held in the replaced character string in the character string replacement table (see FIG. 5B). Similarly, a rearranged abbreviated chemical name “250 mg kefler capsule” is generated from the rearranged medicinal name “250 mg kefler capsule”, and pair data / set data of the rearranged abbreviated drug name and numerical value containing drug name is also a character string. Data is held in the replacement table (see FIG. 5B).

  Thus, the data is initialized to the next state. In other words, a numerical value-containing drug name consisting of a character string in which a non-numeric part, a numerical part, and a unit part are connected in that order is included as it is in the chemical name of the chemical master and the replacement character string in the character string replacement table. Sorted medicine names sorted in the order of part, unit, and non-numeric part are included in the post-replacement character string corresponding to the original numerical value-containing chemical name in the pre-replacement character string in the character string replacement table. The normal order abbreviated drug name in which the trailing character of the non-numeric part is omitted from the drug name is stored in the character string replacement table in association with the numerical value-containing drug name, and the normal order abbreviated drug name is a numerical value. A data state is established in which the rearranged abbreviated drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name rearranged in the order of the part, the unit part, and the non-numeric part are associated with each other and stored in the character string replacement table.

When the prescription receiving apparatus 10 is ready for operation, when the data processing unit 30 is restarted in the receiving mode, the receiving routine is executed to accept the prescription (steps S11 and S12 in FIG. 1B). See S27).
Then (see FIG. 1 (a)), when a patient visiting the pharmacy sets a prescription to the scanner 22, the prescription scanning unit 20 takes the prescription from the outside of the counter to the inside and issues a voucher instead. The At that time, the receipt number is printed on the prescription and the prescription is imaged. The image image obtained by this imaging is sent from the prescription scanning unit 20 to the data processing unit 30 together with the reception number, and is used for prescription data creation by the data processing unit 30.

  In the data processing unit 30, first, calibration, which will be described in detail later, is performed on the image image by the processing of the reception routine (preprocessing of the two-stage processing). Then (this process in the two-stage process), the entire image of the prescription is displayed on the screen of the data processing unit 30, and the name of the medical institution is searched for the image image and the hospital master. If the name of the medical institution is found, it is automatically adopted to identify the medical institution, and if the name of the medical institution is not found, designation of the medical institution is prompted. In response to this, when the reception worker designates a medical institution, it is adopted to specify the medical institution by processing of the reception routine of the data processing unit 30.

When a medical institution is specified, either automatically or manually, the data processing unit 30 selects prescription format data that matches the name of the medical institution in the basic information from the hospital master by the processing of the reception routine. Specifically, prescription column division information associated with the basic information is read from the hospital master.
Further, the processing of the reception routine of the data processing unit 30 continues, and in the automatic processing, when the prescription field division information is obtained, the image image is divided into several divided images based on the prescription column division information. Recognition and conversion column comparison display (see FIG. 4A) and calibration column comparison display are performed (see FIG. 4B).

Therefore, the reception worker views the contrast display screens as appropriate, and also looks at the paper prescription if necessary to complete the prescription data. Then, after the completion is confirmed, the prescription acceptance process is terminated by the data processing unit 30 by, for example, clicking a prescription completion button.
In the data processing unit 30, at the end of the prescription receiving process, the completed prescription data is used for prescription management in a pharmacy. For example, it is sent from the data processing unit 30 to the pharmacy host computer 50 and used for drug history management for each patient, distribution to an automatic dispensing machine, and the like.

  In this way, electronic data prescription data is obtained from a paper prescription, and at that time, prescription data is input semi-automatically using character recognition. Moreover, in the character recognition, in addition to the image image division processing corresponding to the medical institution, a comparison display of the divided image 31 and the conversion column 33 and a comparison display of the division image 31 and the calibration column 34 are also performed. Prescription data can be input very efficiently.

  Also, when a patient reads a prescription on a hospital facsimile or home FAX telephone and sends the prescription to the pharmacy by facsimile before going to the pharmacy, the image image of the prescription is sent to the data processing unit via the line connection unit 40. 30. In this case as well, the image image is first calibrated (pre-processing of the two-stage processing), and then the image image after calibration is used for prescription data creation as described above (in the two-stage processing). (Pretreatment). Here, the previous calibration (pre-processing of the two-stage processing) will be described in detail. In the data processing unit 30, the template information is referred to by the processing of the reception routine (see step S13 in FIG. 1B) (see FIG. 2 (b)), designated characters such as “medicine” and “den” preset in the image are detected from a partial area of the image (see FIG. 2 (a)).

Based on the detection result, the top and bottom inversion processing and position correction processing are selectively performed on the entire prescription image (see step S14 in FIG. 1B), and ruled line erasing processing is also performed (FIG. 1 ( b) See step S15).
Then, prescription data is created from the prescription image image by the processing of the reception prescription routine of the data processing unit 30 in the same manner as when the image image is input by the prescription scanning unit 20 (FIG. 1B, steps S21 to S21). (See S27).

  That is, as described above, the entire image of the prescription is displayed on the screen of the data processing unit 30, and the medical institution is specified automatically by character recognition or manually by an operation input. Template information and corresponding records of the hospital master) are selected, and based on this, the image is divided into several divided images, and character recognition and conversion column comparison display are performed for each divided image (see FIG. 4A). Then, a calibration column comparison display is performed (see FIG. 4B). The reception worker corrects or supplements the data while appropriately switching the comparison display screens, thereby completing the prescription data.

  Thus, even when a prescription is transmitted to the prescription receiving apparatus 10 by facsimile, an image image of the prescription is received, and prescription data of electronic data is obtained from this image image. In this case as well, prescription data is input semi-automatically using character recognition, and character recognition is performed for a partial area of the image image prior to character recognition for the entire area of the image image. Since the designated character detection and top / bottom reversal processing and position correction processing are performed accurately and ruled line erasure processing is also performed, even if the character recognition method is combined with the facsimile transmission / reception method, the character recognition rate does not decrease. Prescription data can be input very efficiently.

  When the character string correction process is performed on the conversion field 33 in the conversion field comparison display after character recognition (see FIG. 4A) (see step S25 in FIG. 1A), the replacement character string is automatically accompanied. Additional processing is performed. For example, if the reception worker performs a correction process for changing the recognized character string “Kefler capsule 250 mg” before correction to the corrected character string “Kefler capsule 250 mg”, a replacement character string addition process is automatically executed. Then, since the corrected character string “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” is included in the medicine name of the medicine master, a confirmation message as to whether or not to set it in the character string replacement table is displayed. When the reception worker responds with a positive confirmation response, the corrected character string “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” and the corrected character string “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” are automatically converted into data / combination data and the character string. Data is held in the replacement table (see FIG. 5B).

  Further, if the reception worker wants to increase the number of character strings to be subjected to the character string replacement process at other times, whether the conversion field comparison display (see FIG. 4A) or the calibration field comparison display screen (FIG. 4). 4 (b)), the process proceeds to the replacement character string setting process when the replacement character string setting button is clicked. Then, since the replacement character string setting routine under the individual setting mode requires the input of a pair of character strings for the character string before replacement and the character string after replacement, the reception worker inputs a desired character string. For example, if a character string “Kefler Cap 250 mg” and a character string “Kefler Capsule 250 mg” are input, then the pair data / set data are automatically set in the character string replacement table (see FIG. 5B). ). In addition, since this “Kefler Cap 250 mg” and the above-mentioned “Kephra Capsule 250 mg” correspond to numerical value-containing drug names, it is confirmed whether or not the table setting related to the rearranged drug names is performed, but it is omitted here. (See FIG. 5 (b)).

  When such a setting is made in the character string replacement table, the character string replacement process based on the character string replacement table is performed immediately after the character recognition process for the recognized character string obtained by the subsequent character recognition. Done. Therefore, the recognition character string includes any of the pre-replacement character strings “250 mg Kefler Capsule”, “Kefler Capse 250 mg”, “250 mg Kefler Capse”, “Kefler Capsule 250 mg”, and “Kefler Cap 250 mg” in the character string substitution table. The corresponding part of the recognized character string is replaced with the regular drug name “Kefler capsule 250 mg” which is the post-replacement character string that forms the pair data / combination data in the pre-replacement character string and the character string replacement table. .

Therefore, even if the drug name is not rigorously replaced or abbreviated in the prescription, or if it has been entered a little wrongly, it will be automatically confirmed and displayed after the correct drug name, The recognition rate is improved and the work load of receiving the prescription is reduced.
In addition, the setting and addition to the character string replacement table required for such character string replacement processing are automated and semi-automated using the chemical master for the numerical value-containing chemical names, and can be easily and appropriately performed.

  A specific configuration of the prescription receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6A is a flowchart of the acceptance process, and FIG. 6B is an example of a voucher. In the flowchart of FIG. 6A, steps S13 to S27 and S30 are the same as those in FIG.

This prescription receiving apparatus is different from that of the first embodiment described above in that a facsimile transmission unit is required in addition to the facsimile reception unit, and a retransmission request in a high-definition mode and a replacement ticket issuance are transmitted by facsimile. It is a point that came to be done in.
The facsimile transmission unit only needs to be connected to the same line as the facsimile reception unit so that the facsimile can be returned to the patient who has transmitted the prescription by facsimile. If the above-described line connection unit 40 is a transmission / reception integrated type, the transmission unit is sufficient. Otherwise, it may be added separately, and may be an external type or a computer built-in type.

  The retransmission request and the issuance of the voucher in the high-definition mode are simply realized by extending the function of the reception routine of the data processing unit 30. Specifically (see FIG. 6A), when the prescription image is input by facsimile transmission / reception (“Yes” in step S12 and step S61), before detecting the designated character based on the template information ( In step S13), it is confirmed whether the prescription image is sent in the high-definition mode with a fine pixel pitch or in the normal mode with a coarse pixel pitch (step S62). (“Yes” in step S62) is used for character recognition processing (step S13), but if it is not in the high-definition mode (“No” in step S62), the text requesting retransmission in the high-definition mode is described. The image is transmitted by facsimile and the process is terminated (step S63).

  In addition, the reception routine of the data processing unit 30 transmits the image image of the voucher via the facsimile transmission unit when the conversion of the prescription image image input by facsimile transmission / reception into the prescription data is completed (step S27). (Step S64). In this voucher image (see FIG. 6B), in addition to the reception number and the reception date and time printed on the voucher issued by the voucher issuing unit 21, pharmacy information such as pharmacy name and telephone number , Pharmacy maps, and even reduced images of prescription images.

In this case, if the patient sends a prescription to the pharmacy by facsimile at home, etc., inadvertently sending the prescription in the normal mode, the re-transmission request in the high-definition mode will be received on the spot. Re-send in the appropriate high-definition mode. Moreover, the pharmacy prescription receiving apparatus 10 can avoid processing and work with low character recognition rate and low prescription data input efficiency.
Further, when the prescription transmitted by facsimile is accepted by the prescription acceptance device 10 of the pharmacy, the exchange ticket is immediately returned by facsimile, and the patient can receive it by FAX at home. Before you go to the pharmacy, you can get a voucher, and the voucher is also very convenient because it contains map information that helps you go to the pharmacy.

[Others]
In the prescription receiving apparatus of the above embodiment, the line connection unit 40 (facsimile receiving unit) and the prescription scanning unit 20 are provided as input means for inputting an image of the prescription. A dedicated prescription receiving apparatus may be used, or the prescription scanning unit 20 may be omitted and a prescription receiving apparatus dedicated to facsimile reception may be used.
Moreover, in the said Example, although the prescription scanning part 20, the data processing part 30, and the line connection part 40 were separate bodies, these are not necessarily restricted to a separate body and may be integrated. . Integration may be performed only for the prescription scanning unit 20 and the data processing unit 30, the prescription scanning unit 20 and the line connection unit 40, and the data processing unit 30 and the line connection unit 40.

Further, in the above embodiment, the comparison display of the calibration column 34 is performed side by side with the divided image 31, but the conversion column 33 and the calibration column 34 may be displayed side by side, and the divided image 31 and the conversion column 33 may be displayed. The calibration column 34 may be displayed on the screen in comparison.
Further, in addition to the character recognition function described above, a code conversion function is also provided to the data processing unit, and when a prescription image image has a code such as a two-dimensional code, the data processing unit converts it into prescription data. Only when there is no code, the data processing unit may perform character recognition on the image image and convert it into prescription data (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-308931).

Further, the application of the present invention is not limited to the numerical value-containing chemical names, and does not hinder the combined use of other techniques for improving the recognition rate. For example, it may be modified to automatically or manually set drug names and other character strings other than numeric-containing drug names in the character string replacement table. You may combine technologies.
In the above embodiment, the drug names are divided into general names and product names and stored in the drug master. However, the general names and the product names are not distinguished from each other, and data is stored as drug names in the same row. May be.

The structure of a prescription acceptance apparatus is shown about Example 1 of this invention, (a) is a hardware block diagram, (b) is a flowchart of an acceptance process. (A) is an example of arrangement of prescription information fields and examples of designated characters, and (b) is an example of the data structure of template information. (A) is an arrangement example of the prescription information column, (b) is another arrangement example, (c) is a data structure example of the hospital master, and (d) is a structure example of the prescription data. (A) is an example of a conversion column comparison display screen, and (b) is an example of a calibration column comparison display screen. (A) is a data structure example of a medicine master, and (b) is a data structure example of a character string replacement table. About Example 2 of the prescription acceptance apparatus of this invention, (a) is a flowchart of a reception process, (b) is an example of a voucher.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Prescription acceptance device,
20 ... Prescription scanning unit, 21 ... Exchange ticket issuing unit,
22 ... Scanner (imaging means), 23 ... Local controller,
24 ... transport path, 25 ... print head, 26 ... operation panel,
30 ... Data processing unit, 31 ... Divided image,
32 ... Column designation tab, 33 ... Conversion column (character recognition result), 34 ... Calibration column,
40 ... line connection part (facsimile reception part, facsimile transmission part),
50 ... Pharmacy host computer

Claims (5)

In a prescription receiving apparatus comprising input means for inputting an image image of a prescription, and a data processing unit for obtaining prescription data from the image image by performing character recognition processing on the image image,
The data processing unit includes a drug master that holds data including various drug names, a character string replacement table that holds a large number of data by associating a pre-replacement character string and a post-replacement character string, and the character recognition process. After the replacement character string of the character string replacement table is replaced with the corresponding part of the recognized character string when any of the pre-replacement character strings of the character string replacement table is included in the recognized character string obtained by the processing after A character string replacing means for replacing with a character string corresponding to the pre-replacement character string,
A numerical value-containing medicine name consisting of a character string in which a non-numeric part, a numerical part, and a unit part are connected in that order is included as it is in the medicine name of the medicine master and the replaced character string of the character string substitution table, And it is included in the one corresponding to the post-replacement character string in the pre-replacement character string of the character string replacement table, which is the rearranged medicine name rearranged in the order of the numerical part, unit part and non-numeric part.
A prescription receiving apparatus characterized by that.   When the data processing unit sets the character string replacement table, it extracts the numerical value-containing chemical name from the chemical name of the chemical master, generates the rearranged chemical name from the numerical value-containing chemical name, 2. The prescription receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name are associated with each other and data is held in the character string replacement table.   When the data processing unit sets the character string replacement table, either or both of the extracted numeric-containing drug name and the rearranged drug name generated therefrom, the trailing character of the non-numeric part 3. The prescription receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the abbreviation drug name is generated by omitting and the data is stored in the character string replacement table by associating the abbreviation drug name with the numerical value-containing drug name. .   Either a normal abbreviated drug name in which the trailing character of the non-numeric part is omitted from the numerical value-containing drug name, and a rearranged abbreviated drug name in which the numerical part, the unit part, and the non-numeric part are rearranged in this order. 2. The prescription receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, for one or both, the simplified drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name are associated with each other and are stored in the character string replacement table.   The data processing unit displays the recognized character string on the screen and accepts the correction of the character string, and the correction character string input at the time of the character string correction process is included in the drug name of the drug master. Whether or not it is included and immediately or after confirmation, the corrected character string and the character string corrected thereby are associated with each other and the character string after replacement and the character string before replacement in the character string replacement table When the corrected character string corresponds to the numerical value-containing drug name, the rearranged drug name is generated therefrom, and the character string is associated with the rearranged drug name and the numerical value-containing drug name. 2. The prescription acceptance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein data is held in a character string before replacement and a character string after replacement in the replacement table.

Images