JP2010204872A - Authentication apparatus, authentication system, authentication method, medication administration system, and medication administration method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fully automate combination authentication for determining whether a combination is appropriate. <P>SOLUTION: An authentication apparatus includes an identification information automatic acquisition unit 3, a combination ID tag detection unit 4, and a combination confirmation unit 5. The identification information automatic acquisition unit 3, from an ID tag 2 located in a predetermined monitoring area Z, automatically acquires identification information held by the ID tag 2 through communication. The combination ID tag detection unit 4 monitors whether the ID tags 2 (2a, 2b) have approached in a predetermined state in the monitoring area Z. If the combination ID tag detection unit 4 has detected the approached ID tags 2a, 2b, the combination confirmation unit 5 determines whether the combination of the approached ID tags 2a, 2b is appropriate on the basis of automatically acquired identification information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an authentication apparatus, an authentication system, an authentication method, a medication management system, and a medication management method for performing authentication using a tag with a communication function.

  As a medication management system using an authentication system, for example, the one shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 7, the proposed medication management system 50 includes a patient RF (Radio-Frequency) tag 51, a medicine RF tag 52, and a handy terminal 53.

  The patient RF tag 51 is provided on a wristband 54 worn by the patient. The patient RF tag 51 has a storage unit (not shown), and patient-specific identification information is registered in the storage unit. The patient RF tag 51 is a so-called passive RF tag, and wirelessly transmits the identification information when a reading unit described later approaches.

  The medicine RF tag 52 is provided on a medicine label 56 attached to a medicine bag 55 or a medicine container. In a storage unit (not shown) provided in the medicine RF tag 52, identification information of a patient to be administered is registered. The medicine RF tag 52 is also a passive RF tag similar to the patient RF tag 51, and when a reading unit described later approaches, identification information registered in the storage unit is wirelessly transmitted.

  The handy terminal 53 is a small one that is easy to carry. The handy terminal 53 includes a reading unit 57. The reading unit 57 has a configuration for reading identification information from the approaching patient RF tag 51 and medicine RF tag 52. The handy terminal 53 collates the identification information read from the patient RF tag 51 with the identification information read from the medicine RF tag 52, determines whether or not they match, and responds to the result of the comparison. Sound is emitted from the speaker 58.

  In this medication management system 50, for example, a medical worker such as a nurse or a doctor brings the handy terminal 53 close to the patient RF tag 51 of the patient wristband 54 and provides the identification information of the patient RF tag 51 to the handy terminal 53. Let me read. Further, the medical worker brings the handy terminal 53 close to the medicine RF tag 52 of the medicine bag 55 containing the medicine to be administered to the patient, and reads the identification information of the medicine RF tag 52. Then, the medical staff causes the handy terminal 53 to collate the read identification information of the patient RF tag 51 with the identification information of the medicine RF tag 52. When the identification information of the patient RF tag 51 and the identification information of the medicine RF tag 52 coincide with each other as a result of this collation, a sound that informs the coincidence (that is, collation permission) is emitted from the speaker 58 of the handy terminal 53. Then, the drug is administered to the patient.

  On the other hand, when the identification information of the patient RF tag 51 and the identification information of the medicine RF tag 52 do not match as a result of collation, a sound (warning sound) notifying the mismatch is emitted from the speaker 58 of the handy terminal 53. . This allows the health care worker to notice that the drug does not match the patient, thus avoiding erroneous medication to the patient.

JP 2002-109070 A JP 2006-126930 A JP 2007-73074 A Japanese Patent No. 3967151

  In the medication management system 50, as described above, authentication work is performed to determine whether the combination of the patient and the medicine is appropriate. In the medication management system 50 that performs authentication of such a combination, the operation of selecting each patient and medicine to be authenticated is a manual operation. That is, in the medication management system 50, a medical worker must bring the handy terminal 53 close to each of the patient RF tag 51 to be authenticated and the medicine RF tag 52. For this reason, there is a problem that the authentication work is troublesome.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an authentication apparatus capable of fully automatic combination authentication for determining whether or not a combination of an object and an object is appropriate. It is to provide an authentication system, an authentication method, a medication management system, and a medication management method.

The authentication device of the present invention is
An identification information automatic acquisition unit that automatically acquires identification information held by an ID (identification) tag with a communication function in a predetermined monitoring area by communication from the ID tag;
A combination ID tag detector that detects that the ID tags that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring area are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether a combination of the approaching ID tags is appropriate;
Is provided.

The authentication system of the present invention includes:
An ID tag with a communication function that holds identification information;
An identification information automatic acquisition unit that automatically acquires the identification information by communication from the ID tag in a predetermined monitoring area;
A combination ID tag detector that detects that the ID tags that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring area are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether a combination of the approaching ID tags is appropriate;
Is provided.

The authentication method of the present invention includes:
Identification information held by an ID tag with a communication function in a predetermined monitoring area is automatically acquired from the ID tag by communication,
Monitoring whether or not the ID tags approaching a predetermined state in the monitoring area,
When it is detected that the ID tags that are close to each other are detected, it is determined whether or not the combination of the ID tags that are close is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information.

The medication management system of the present invention comprises:
A patient ID tag with communication function that holds patient identification information;
A medicine ID tag with a communication function that holds medicine identification information;
An identification information automatic acquisition unit for automatically acquiring the identification information by communication from the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag in a predetermined monitoring area;
A combination ID tag detection unit that detects that the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring region are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether the combination of the approached patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate,
It has.

The medication management method of the present invention comprises:
The patient identification information held by the patient ID tag with communication function in the predetermined monitoring area, and the medicine identification information held by the medicine ID tag with communication function in the monitoring area are automatically acquired by communication,
Monitoring whether there is the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag approaching a predetermined state in the monitoring area;
If it is detected that the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag that are approaching are present, whether or not the combination of the approaching patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information Judging.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve full automation of combination authentication for determining whether or not a combination is appropriate.

It is a figure for demonstrating 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation example of the medication management system of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the other example of a form regarding the position detection of an ID tag. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the medication management system shown by patent document 1. FIG.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1A shows the configuration of the authentication system of the first embodiment. The authentication system 1 according to the first embodiment includes an ID (identification) tag 2, an identification information automatic acquisition unit 3, a combination ID tag detection unit 4, and a combination confirmation unit 5. The ID tag 2 is a tag with a communication function that holds identification information. The identification information automatic acquisition unit 3 has a function of automatically acquiring the identification information of the ID tag 2 from the ID tag 2 located in the predetermined monitoring area Z by communication. The combination ID tag detection unit 4 has a function of detecting the presence of ID tags 2 (2a, 2b) that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring area Z. The combination confirmation unit 5 has a function of determining whether or not a combination of the approaching ID tags 2 (2a, 2b) is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information.

  This authentication system 1 can be configured using an authentication device 6 having an identification information automatic acquisition unit 3, a combination ID tag detection unit 4, and a combination confirmation unit 5 as shown in FIG.

  In the authentication system 1, the identification information automatic acquisition unit 3 automatically acquires the identification information of the ID tag 2 from the ID tag 2 located in the predetermined monitoring area Z (see step S101 in FIG. 1C). . The combination ID tag detection unit 4 monitors whether or not there are ID tags 2 that are close to each other. Then, it is assumed that the combination ID tag detection unit 4 detects that there is an approaching ID tag 2 (2a, 2b) (step S102). In this case, the combination confirmation unit 5 determines whether the combination of the ID tags 2 (2a, 2b) is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information of the approaching ID tags 2 (2a, 2b). (Step S103).

  In this authentication system 1, acquisition of identification information from the ID tag 2, selection of the ID tag 2 (2a, 2b) that requires combination authentication, and, of course, the combination of the selected ID tag 2 (2a, 2b) Confirmation (authentication) is also performed automatically. For this reason, it is possible to achieve full automation of combination authentication for determining whether or not the combination of the ID tags 2 is appropriate.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 2 (a) shows a medication management system 10 of the second embodiment. The medication management system 10 of the second embodiment is an application of the authentication system 1 of the first embodiment to medication management. That is, the medication management system 10 includes a patient ID tag 11, a medicine ID tag 12, an identification information automatic acquisition unit 13, a combination ID tag detection unit 14, and a combination confirmation unit 15.

  The patient ID tag 11 is a tag with a communication function that holds identification information of the patient 16. The medicine ID tag 12 is a tag with a communication function that holds identification information of the medicine 17. The identification information automatic acquisition unit 13 automatically acquires each identification information held by the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 by communication from the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 located in the predetermined monitoring area Z, respectively. It has the function to do.

  For example, in the monitoring area Z, it is assumed that the medical staff approaches the patient 16 with the medicine 17 to administer and thereby the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 approach a predetermined state. The combination ID tag detection unit 14 has a function of detecting the approach between the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12. Based on the identification information automatically acquired by the identification information automatic acquisition unit 13 and the detection information of the combination ID tag detection unit 14, the combination confirmation unit 15 determines whether the combination of the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 that are approached is appropriate. It has a function to determine whether or not.

  In the medication management system 10, the identification information automatic acquisition unit 13 automatically acquires the identification information held by the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 from the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12 in the monitoring region Z by communication. (See step S201 in FIG. 2B).

  The combination ID tag detection unit 14 monitors whether or not there is a patient ID tag 11 and a medicine ID tag 12 that have approached a predetermined state in the monitoring region Z. Then, it is assumed that the combination ID tag detection unit 14 detects that there is an approaching patient ID tag 11 and medicine ID tag 12 (step S202). In this case, the combination confirmation unit 15 determines whether or not the combination of the approached patient ID tag 11 and medicine ID tag 12 is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information (step S203).

  In the medication management system 10, identification information is automatically acquired from the patient ID tag 11 and the medicine ID tag 12. In addition, the operation of selecting the patient ID tag 11 (that is, the patient 16) and the medicine ID tag 12 (that is, the medicine 17) that require combination confirmation is automatically performed. Further, it is automatically determined whether or not the combination of the patient 16 and the medicine 17 is appropriate. That is, in the medication management system 10 according to the second embodiment, the combination authentication for determining whether the combination of the patient and the drug is appropriate is fully automated.

(Third embodiment)
The medication management system of the third embodiment basically has the medication management system of the second embodiment. In the medication management system of the third embodiment, combination authentication for determining whether or not a combination of a patient to be administered and a drug is appropriate in a hospital room 36 that is a monitoring region as shown in FIG. Fully automated. That is, the medication management system 20 of the third embodiment includes a patient ID tag 21, a medicine ID tag 22, an authentication device 23, a storage device (storage unit) 24, a tag reader 25, and a notification unit 26. Configured.

  The patient ID tag 21 is an active RF tag that holds patient-specific identification information. Since the active RF tag has a built-in power supply, the communication capability is higher than that of a passive RF tag that does not have a built-in power supply, such as enabling communication over a distance of several meters to several tens of meters. Is. In the third embodiment, the patient ID tag 21 is provided on an object worn by the patient (for example, a wristband).

  The medicine ID tag 22 is an active RF tag that holds medicine identification information. The medicine ID tag 22 is provided, for example, in a container that contains a medicine to be administered.

  In the third embodiment, the identification information includes the identification information of the patient and the medicine, for example, the patient and the medicine are distinguished by the first digit of a six-digit number. Information to determine whether it is a medicine is included.

  The tag reader 25 has a function of receiving identification information wirelessly transmitted from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 located in the monitored room 36. In the third embodiment, a plurality of tag readers 25 (25A, 25B) are installed in a hospital room 36 at a predetermined interval. Both of these tag readers 25 </ b> A and 25 </ b> B can receive identification information wirelessly transmitted from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 located in the hospital room 36. In other words, identification information wirelessly transmitted from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 located in the hospital room 36 is received by both the tag readers 25A and 25B.

  The notification unit 26 has a function of performing a notification operation in accordance with a command output from the authentication device 23. The notification unit 26 has a configuration capable of notifying the content according to the command of the authentication device 23 audibly, visually, or audibly and visually. Examples of the notification unit 26 include a notification buzzer, a notification lamp, a liquid crystal screen device, a speaker, and a combination of these. Note that the notification unit 26 may be an accessory of the authentication device 23.

  The storage device 24 is connected to the authentication device 23 via an information communication network such as a LAN (Local-Area-Network). In the storage device 24, information on an appropriate combination of a patient to be administered and a medicine is stored as a combination of patient identification information and medicine identification information. Further, the storage device 24 stores a medication history file of the patient in association with the patient identification information.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the authentication device 23 includes an automatic identification information acquisition unit 30, a combination confirmation unit 31, a notification control unit 32, a combination ID tag detection unit 33, and a medication history writing unit (authentication). A result history writing unit) 34.

  The identification information automatic acquisition unit 30 automatically acquires the identification information received by the tag reader 25 (25A, 25B), for example, every predetermined sampling time interval (for example, every second).

  The combination ID tag detection unit 33 has a function of detecting the positions of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 located in the hospital room 36 which is a predetermined monitoring area. There are various methods for detecting the position of the ID tag, and either method may be adopted. Here, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 uses the reception strength of the identification information to identify the ID tag. Detect position. For example, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 takes in the identification information automatically acquired by the identification information automatic acquisition unit 30 and detects the reception intensity of the identification information. The combination ID tag detection unit 33 is preliminarily given relationship data between the reception strength of the identification information and the distance from the tag reader, and the position information of the tag readers 25A and 25B. The combination ID tag detection unit 33 detects the position of the ID tag by applying a three-side surveying method based on the detected reception strength of the identification information, the relation data, and the position information.

  The combination ID tag detection unit 33 further has the following functions. That is, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines the distance between all the patient ID tags 21 and the medicine ID tags 22 located in the hospital room 36 (between the tags) based on the position information of the ID tags detected as described above. Distance). Then, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 compares the calculated inter-tag distance with a predetermined distance (threshold value Ps (for example, 50 cm)). The threshold value Ps is a value for determining whether or not the medicine has approached the patient for medication.

  When the combination ID tag detection unit 33 detects that there is an inter-tag distance equal to or less than the threshold value Ps as a result of the comparison between the inter-tag distance and the threshold value Ps, the combined patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 is determined. That is, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 has a function of detecting the presence of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 that are close to a predetermined distance or less.

  Further, when the combination ID tag detection unit 33 detects that there is a patient ID tag 21 and a medicine ID tag 22 that are close to each other, the combination confirmation unit 31 sends a signal (authentication start signal) to that effect. It has a function to output toward. At the time of this signal output, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 also sends the identification information automatically acquired from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 whose approach has been detected to the combination confirmation unit 31 together with the authentication start signal. Output toward.

  Upon receipt of the authentication start signal, the combination confirmation unit 31 stores information on the patient to be administered and the drug from the storage device 24 based on the patient identification information and the drug identification information transmitted together with the authentication start signal. Read the appropriate combination of information (matching information). Furthermore, the combination confirmation unit 31 collates the combination (authentication target combination) of the patient identification information and the medicine identification information transmitted from the combination ID tag detection unit 33 with the collation information in the storage device 24. Then, the combination confirmation unit 31 determines whether or not the authentication target combination matches the verification information in the storage device 24. That is, the combination confirmation unit 31 determines whether or not the combination of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 that are close to each other (the combination of the patient and the medicine) is appropriate. Furthermore, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs a medication permission signal to the notification control unit 32 when determining that the combination is appropriate. At the same time, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs the identification information of the patient and the identification information of the medicine whose combination is determined to be appropriate to the medication history writing unit 34 together with the medication permission signal. Further, when the combination confirmation unit 31 determines that the combination is inappropriate, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs a medication non-permission signal to the notification control unit 32.

  When the medication permission signal is applied, the notification control unit 32 controls the notification unit 26 to perform a predetermined notification operation for notifying medication permission. In addition, when a medication disapproval signal is added, the notification control unit 32 controls the notification unit 26 so as to perform a predetermined notification operation for warning that the patient to be administered or the medicine is incorrect. . As a result, a warning from the notification unit 26 can prevent a serious medical error that wrong medication is performed.

  When a medication permission signal and patient identification information and medicine identification information are added, the medication history writing unit 34 stores the medication history in the medication history file in the storage device 24 associated with the patient identification information. A medication record based on the identification information is written.

  This medication management system 20 is configured as described above. An example of the operation of the medication management system 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the medication management system 20, the identification information automatic acquisition unit 30 of the authentication device 23 identifies identification information from all the patient ID tags 21 and medicine ID tags 22 located in the hospital room 36 at predetermined sampling time intervals. Is automatically acquired (step S301).

  In the third embodiment, the identification information includes information indicating whether the identification information belongs to a patient or a medicine. Thus, each time the identification information is automatically acquired, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines whether there are both a patient and a medicine in the hospital room 36 based on the automatically acquired identification information (step S302). ). When the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines that there is no patient or medicine in the hospital room 36, it is not necessary to perform combination authentication between the patient and the medicine (combination authentication cannot be performed). Prepare for (become dormant).

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3A, it is assumed that a medical worker brings a medicine 38 into a hospital room 36 where a patient 37 is present. In this case, the identification information automatic acquisition unit 30 automatically acquires the identification information of the medicine ID tag 22 in addition to the identification information of the patient ID tag 21. By the way, in the example of FIG. 3A, there are a plurality of patients 37 in the hospital room 36. For this reason, it is not known to which patient 37 the medicine 38 brought into the hospital room 36 is about to be administered only by automatically acquiring the identification information. That is, it is not known which combination authentication with which patient 37 and medicine 38 may be performed. Therefore, the medication management system 20 performs the following operation.

  That is, when the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines that both the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 (patient and medicine) are in the hospital room 36, all of the patient ID tags 21 and the medicine ID tags 22 in the hospital room 36 are included. The position is detected (step S303 in FIG. 4).

  Then, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 calculates the distances (inter-tag distances) between all the patient ID tags 21 and the medicine ID tags 22 in the hospital room 36 based on the detected position information (step S304). . Thereafter, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 compares all the calculated inter-tag distances with a predetermined threshold value Ps, and determines whether the inter-tag distance is equal to or less than the threshold value Ps. Further, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines whether or not the hospital room 36 has an inter-tag distance equal to or less than the threshold value Ps (step S305). In other words, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines whether there is a combination of the medicine 38 and the patient 37 that are close enough to be administered. If there is no combination of drug 38 and patient 37 that are close enough to be administered, it is unclear to which patient 37 drug 38 is being administered. For this reason, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 enters a dormant state and prepares for automatic acquisition of the next identification information.

  On the other hand, for example, a medical worker carries the medicine 38 to the side of the patient 37 (37A) to be administered, so that the medicine ID tag 22 becomes the patient ID as shown by the dotted line in FIG. It is assumed that the tag 21 (21A) is approached. In this case, by detecting the approach of the medicine 38 to the patient 37A, the patient 37 to which the medicine 38 is to be administered (that is, the patient 37A) can be specified. Therefore, when the combination ID tag detection unit 33 determines that there is a distance between the tags equal to or less than the threshold value Ps, that is, there is a combination of the medicine 38 and the patient 37 that are close enough to be administered, an authentication start signal is output. The result is output to the combination confirmation unit 31. At the same time, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 outputs the identification information of the patient 37A approaching the distance equal to or less than the threshold value Ps and the identification information of the medicine 38 to the combination confirmation unit 31. Thereby, the authentication operation | movement of the combination confirmation part 31 is started.

  That is, when receiving the authentication start signal, the combination confirmation unit 31 receives appropriate combination information (for matching) between the patient and the drug from the storage device 24 based on the identification information of the patient 37A and the identification information of the drug 38 received together with the authentication start signal. Information). And the combination confirmation part 31 collates the combination (authentication object combination) of the received identification information, and the information for collation of the memory | storage device 24, and an authentication object combination (combination of the patient 37A and the medicine 38) is appropriate. Is determined (step S306).

  When the combination confirmation unit 31 determines that the combination to be authenticated is appropriate, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs a medication permission signal to the notification control unit 32. At the same time, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs the medication permission signal, the identification information of the patient 37A, and the identification information of the medicine 38 to the medication history writing unit 34.

  The notification control unit 32 receives the medication permission signal and controls the notification unit 26 according to the medication permission signal, whereby the notification unit 26 performs a notification operation to notify the medication permission. Upon receiving the medication permission signal, the medication history writing unit 34 stores the medication medication based on the added medicine identification information in the medication history file of the storage device 24 associated with the added patient 37A identification information. A history is written (step S307).

  On the other hand, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs a medication non-permission signal to the notification control unit 32 when determining that the combination is inappropriate. The notification control unit 32 receives the medication non-permission signal and controls the notification unit 26 according to the medication non-permission signal. Thereby, the alerting | reporting part 26 performs alerting | reporting operation | movement which alert | reports that medication is incorrect (step S308). Accordingly, it is possible to notify the medical staff or patient who was trying to take medication that the medication is inappropriate. For this reason, erroneous medication is prevented.

  In addition, when the notification unit 26 notifies the result of the appropriate / inappropriate determination of the authentication target combination, not only the determination result but also the name or the like of the authentication target patient based on the identification information is also voiced or written. You may alert | report by a display. In this case, the following effects can be obtained. For example, when medication for a plurality of patients is about to be performed at the same time in the hospital room 36, a plurality of combinations of patients to be authenticated and drugs exist in the hospital room 36, and combination authentication is performed respectively. Will be. In such a case, not only the authentication result but also the name of the patient to be authenticated is notified, and it becomes clear which patient and medicine combination is the authentication result. Thereby, an authentication result can be smoothly and correctly transmitted to a medical worker or the like. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the authentication result is erroneously transmitted and the medication work is hindered.

  Since this medication management system 20 has the above-described configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in the medication management system 20, active RF tags are used as the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22. The active RF tag is capable of communicating at a distance of several meters to several tens of meters, for example. Therefore, identification information can be acquired from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 without bringing the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 close to the tag reader 25. In other words, the identification information of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 in the hospital room 36 can be automatically acquired.

  When the active RF tag is used as described above, the identification information of all the patient ID tags 21 and medicine ID tags 22 in the hospital room 36 is acquired via the tag reader 25. For this reason, when there are a plurality of patients and a plurality of medicines in the hospital room 36, it is unclear which combination of patients and medicines may be subjected to the combination authentication only by acquiring the identification information. On the other hand, in this medication management system 20, a combination of a patient and a drug to be subjected to combination authentication is automatically selected using a positional relationship between a patient (patient ID tag 21) and a drug (medicine ID tag 22). . Then, it is automatically determined whether or not the combination of the automatically selected patient and medicine is appropriate.

  That is, in the medication management system 20 of the third embodiment, all of the combination authentication steps from the acquisition of the identification information to the combination authentication based on the acquired identification information can be automated.

  As described above, since the automation of the combination authentication of the medicine and the patient is achieved, the labor of the medical staff for the combination authentication of the medicine and the patient is eliminated.

  Moreover, when the identification information of a medicine and a patient is read by the manual work of a medical worker and the combination authentication of the medicine and the patient is performed, a situation where the medical worker forgets the authentication is assumed. On the other hand, in this medication management system 20, since it is fully automated as described above, such forgetting of authentication can be avoided.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the first to third embodiments, and various embodiments can be adopted. For example, in the third embodiment, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 detects the positions of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 using the reception intensity of the identification information received by the tag reader 25. On the other hand, the positions of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 may be detected as follows. For example, the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 have a function of transmitting identification information with a transmission intensity weaker than the communication in addition to a communication function of transmitting identification information toward the tag reader 25. . That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 store the output strong side transmitting unit 40 and the output weak side transmitting unit 41 having different transmission strengths and identification information. And a storage unit 42. The strong output side transmission unit 40 has a function of transmitting identification information toward the tag reader 25. The weak output side transmission unit 41 has a function of transmitting identification information with a transmission intensity weaker than that of the high output side transmission unit 40. Note that the high-power side transmission unit 40 and the low-power side transmission unit 41 may have different transmission frequencies as well as transmission strength.

  Further, on the floor and ceiling of the hospital room 36, as shown in FIG. 5B, it is assumed that a plurality of identification information sensing units 43 are arranged in a matrix, for example, with a space therebetween. The identification information sensing unit 43 has a function of receiving identification information output from the weak output side transmission unit 41 of the patient ID tag 21 or the medicine ID tag 22. The identification information sensing unit 43 is used for position detection of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22. For example, the identification information from the weak output side transmission unit 41 is received by only one or two identification information sensing units 43, and the transmission strength of the weak output side transmission unit 41 and the adjacent identification information sensing unit 43 are received. The interval between them is set in association with each other. The interval between adjacent identification information sensing units 43 is set in consideration of the ID tag position detection accuracy based on the threshold value Ps.

  In the case of having the above-described configuration, the combination ID tag detection unit 33, for example, a patient having identification information based on position information given in advance of the identification information sensing unit 43 that has received the identification information. The position of the ID tag 21 or the medicine ID tag 22 is detected. Thus, also when detecting the position of the ID tags 21 and 22, the same effect as the third embodiment can be obtained.

  As described above, there are various methods for detecting the position of the patient ID tag 21 or the medicine ID tag 22, and the present invention is not limited to the position detection method shown in the third embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, the approach between the patient and the medicine is detected based on the position information by detecting the position of the patient and the medicine. On the other hand, for example, each of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 is provided with a transmission unit and a reception unit for radio waves and ultrasonic waves for proximity detection. Then, by detecting that the approaching patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 are able to transmit and receive radio waves and ultrasonic waves for proximity detection to each other, it is detected that the approaching patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 are present. it can. As described above, the approach between the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 may be detected without detecting the positions of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22. In this case, the same effect as that of the third embodiment can be obtained.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the number of tag readers 25 installed in the hospital room 36 is two. However, the number of tag readers 25 is determined based on the approach detection method (including the position detection method) of the ID tags 21 and 22. Therefore, it can be set as appropriate, and is not particularly limited. Further, the installation position of the tag reader 25 is also set as appropriate, and is not limited to the illustrated example.

  Furthermore, in 3rd Embodiment, the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 transmit identification information using an electromagnetic wave. On the other hand, for example, the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 may transmit identification information using, for example, light or ultrasonic waves other than radio waves. Of course, the tag reader 25 has a function of receiving identification information such as an optical signal and an ultrasonic signal transmitted from the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22.

  Further, in the third embodiment, the medicine ID tag 22 holds medicine identification information. For example, the medicine ID tag 22 identifies the patient to whom the medicine is administered in addition to the medicine identification information. Information may also be held. In this case, for example, by automatically acquiring the medicine identification information and the identification information of the patient to be administered from the medicine ID tag 22 in association with each other, the combination authentication can be simplified. That is, when the approaching patient ID tag 21 and medicine ID tag 22 are detected, the identification information automatically acquired from the patient ID tag 21 and the identification information of the administration target patient automatically acquired from the medicine ID tag 22 Whether or not is consistent. When it is determined that they match, it is determined that the combination of medicine and patient is appropriate. Thus, combination authentication can be performed. In this case, when determining whether or not a combination of a patient and a drug (a combination to be authenticated) is appropriate, patient identification information held by the patient ID tag 21 and a drug ID tag 22 are held. It is only necessary to compare with the identification information of the patient to be administered. That is, it is not necessary to collate the automatically acquired identification information with the information stored in the storage device 24. For this reason, the process regarding collation can be simplified.

  Furthermore, in 3rd Embodiment, when the combination of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 which approached is detected, combination authentication which judges immediately whether the combination is appropriate is performed. On the other hand, for example, when it is detected that the approaching state of the patient ID tag 21 (patient) and the medicine ID tag 22 (medicine) has continued for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds), You may make it perform the combination authentication of a medicine. In this case, for example, the combination ID tag detection unit 33 monitors the approaching state of the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22, and the approaching state has continued for a predetermined time (predetermined number of times of identification information sampling). It has the function which can detect. And combination ID tag detection part 33 may judge that there exists patient ID tag 21 and medicine ID tag 22 which are approaching, when it can detect that an approach state is continuing.

  As described above, by providing the function of monitoring the continuation of the approaching state, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the approaching of the ID tags 21 and 22 due to, for example, an abnormal communication of identification information. The following effects can also be obtained. For example, the approach between the patient ID tag 21 and the medicine ID tag 22 is not only for medication, but may be merely passing, for example. In spite of the simple passing, if the combination authentication is performed and the authentication result is notified, there is a risk that the medical staff will be confused or uncomfortable that the medical staff or the patient will be bothered. On the other hand, since the approaching state does not continue for a simple passing, the above-described problem can be avoided by providing a function for monitoring the continuation of the approaching state as described above.

  Furthermore, in 3rd Embodiment, the authentication apparatus 23 was an apparatus which performs the combination authentication of the patient and medicine in one hospital room 36. FIG. In contrast, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the authentication device 45 may be a device that performs combination authentication of a patient and a medicine in a plurality of hospital rooms 36. In this case, for example, a tag reader 25 and a notification unit 26 are provided for each hospital room 36. The authentication device 45 performs combination authentication of a patient and a medicine for each hospital room 36 as described above. In such a case, the authentication device 45 may be connected to the tag reader 25 and the notification unit 26 in each hospital room 36 via an information communication network (LAN), for example. In addition, when there is a server device that centrally manages a plurality of hospital rooms 36, the server device may function as the authentication device 45. In this case, since it is not necessary to provide an authentication device for each hospital room 36, it is not necessary to secure an installation space for the authentication device. In FIG. 6, one tag reader 25 is installed in each hospital room 36. However, as described above, the number of tag readers 25 installed in each hospital room 36 is appropriately set. The number is not limited to one. Further, the installation position of the tag reader 25 is also set as appropriate, and is not limited to the illustrated example.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the authentication device 23 is provided with the medication history writing unit 34, and the authentication device 23 writes the medication history in the medication history file of the storage device 24. On the other hand, for example, when a server device separate from the authentication device 23 is provided, a medication history writing unit 34 is provided in the server device instead of the authentication device 23, and the server device is the storage device 24. You may write to the medication history file. Furthermore, the medication history writing function may be omitted from the medication management system. In this case, the medication management system can be simplified.

  Furthermore, in addition to the third embodiment, the following configuration may be provided. For example, it is assumed that the medicine 38 may approach where a plurality of patients 37 are approaching. In this case, since the medicine 38 approaches a plurality of patients 37, a plurality of inter-tag distances equal to or less than the threshold value Ps are detected. In this case, since the medicine 38 may be administered to the wrong patient 37, the combination confirmation unit 31 outputs a medication non-permission signal. Thereby, a warning is issued from the notification unit 26.

  Furthermore, the authentication system of the present invention can be applied not only to authentication related to medication management but also to other combination authentication. For example, the present invention can also be applied to combination authentication of a vehicle such as a train or an airplane, a reserved seat such as a movie theater, and the reservation person.

  Furthermore, the authentication system of the present invention can be applied not only to authentication of a combination of two ID tags but also to combination authentication of three or more ID tags. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a plurality of types of products are packaged and shipped in one box according to an order from a customer. In other words, a shipping label indicating the customer's destination is affixed to the packing box, and an ID tag holding customer identification information is provided on the shipping label. Each product is provided with an ID tag that holds identification information according to the type. Then, when a plurality of types of products according to the customer's order are prepared and packed in a packing box, the ID tag of the shipping label and the ID tag of the plurality of products approach. When the approach of these three or more ID tags is detected, the combination of identification information held by these ID tags is collated with information of an appropriate combination given in advance, and whether or not the combination is appropriate You may judge. In this case, not only a combination of products but also a combination of the products and a destination can be authenticated.

  As described above, the authentication system of the present invention can be used in various fields.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Authentication system 2 ID tag 3,13,30 Identification information automatic acquisition part 4,14,33 Combination ID tag detection part 5,15,31 Combination confirmation part 6,23,45 Authentication apparatus 10,20 Medication management system 11,21 Patient ID tag 12, 22 Medicine ID tag 24 Storage device 25 Tag reader 26 Notification unit 34 Medication history writing unit 40 Power strong side transmission unit 41 Power weak side transmission unit 43 Identification information sensing unit

Claims (25)

An identification information automatic acquisition unit that automatically acquires identification information held by an ID (identification) tag with a communication function in a predetermined monitoring area by communication from the ID tag;
A combination ID tag detector that detects that the ID tags that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring area are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether a combination of the approaching ID tags is appropriate;
An authentication device comprising:   The combination ID tag detection unit detects the position of the ID tag in the monitoring area, and detects the presence of the ID tags that are close to a predetermined distance or less based on the detected position information. The authentication device according to claim 1.   The authentication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication result history writing unit that writes information about the combination to a predetermined storage unit when the combination is determined to be appropriate.   The authentication device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a result of the determination.   The combination ID tag detection unit detects that the ID tags that are close to each other have been detected when detecting that the approaching state between the ID tags continues for a predetermined time. Item 5. The authentication device according to any one of items 4 to 6. An ID tag with a communication function that holds identification information;
An identification information automatic acquisition unit that automatically acquires the identification information by communication from the ID tag in a predetermined monitoring area;
A combination ID tag detector that detects that the ID tags that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring area are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether a combination of the approaching ID tags is appropriate;
An authentication system comprising:   The combination ID tag detection unit detects the position of the ID tag in the monitoring area, and detects the presence of the ID tags that are close to a predetermined distance or less based on the detected position information. The authentication system according to claim 6.   The authentication system according to claim 7, wherein the combination ID tag detection unit detects the position of the ID tag based on the reception intensity of the identification information automatically acquired. A plurality of identification information sensing units arranged at intervals in the monitoring area;
The ID tag includes an output weak side transmission unit and an output strong side communication unit having different transmission strengths of the identification information,
The identification information output from the output strong side communication unit is automatically acquired by the identification information automatic acquisition unit,
The identification information output from the output weak side communication unit is automatically acquired by the identification information sensing unit,
8. The authentication system according to claim 7, wherein the combination ID tag detection unit detects a position of the ID tag based on position information given in advance of the identification information sensing unit that has automatically acquired the identification information. .   10. The authentication result history writing unit that writes information about the combination to a predetermined storage unit when the combination is determined to be appropriate, according to claim 6. Authentication system.   The authentication system according to claim 6, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the result of the determination.   The combination ID tag detection unit detects that the ID tags that are close to each other have been detected when it is detected that the approaching state between the ID tags continues for a predetermined time. Item 12. The authentication system according to any one of Items 11. Identification information held by an ID tag with a communication function in a predetermined monitoring area is automatically acquired from the ID tag by communication,
Monitoring whether or not the ID tags approaching a predetermined state in the monitoring area,
An authentication method for determining whether or not a combination of the approaching ID tags is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information when it is detected that the approaching ID tags are present.   The authentication method according to claim 13, wherein the ID tags that are close to each other are the ID tags that are close to each other at a predetermined distance or less.   Furthermore, the authentication method of Claim 13 or Claim 14 which writes the information regarding the combination in a predetermined memory | storage part, when it is judged that the said combination is appropriate.   Furthermore, the authentication method of Claim 13 or Claim 14 or 15 which alert | reports the result of the said judgment. Furthermore, when it is detected that the ID tags that are close to each other are detected, before determining whether the combination of the ID tags is appropriate, the proximity state between the ID tags is monitored,
The determination as to whether or not the combination of the ID tags is appropriate is made after detecting that the approaching state continues for a predetermined time by the monitoring. Authentication method. A patient ID tag with communication function that holds patient identification information;
A medicine ID tag with a communication function that holds medicine identification information;
An identification information automatic acquisition unit for automatically acquiring the identification information by communication from the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag in a predetermined monitoring area;
A combination ID tag detection unit that detects that the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag that are close to a predetermined state in the monitoring region are present;
Based on the automatically acquired identification information, a combination confirmation unit that determines whether the combination of the approached patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate,
A medication management system.   19. The medication management according to claim 18, further comprising a medication history writing unit that writes a record of administration of the medication to the patient as a medication history in a predetermined storage unit when the combination is determined to be appropriate. system.   The medication management system according to claim 18 or 19, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying a result of the determination.   The combination ID tag detection unit has the approached patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag when it detects that the approaching state of the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag continues for a predetermined time. The medication management system according to claim 18, wherein the medication management system is detected. The patient identification information held by the patient ID tag with communication function in the predetermined monitoring area, and the medicine identification information held by the medicine ID tag with communication function in the monitoring area are automatically acquired by communication,
Monitoring whether there is the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag approaching a predetermined state in the monitoring area;
If it is detected that the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag that are approaching are present, whether or not the combination of the approaching patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate based on the automatically acquired identification information The medication management method to judge.   Furthermore, the medication management method according to claim 22, wherein when it is determined that the combination is appropriate, a record of administration of the medicine to the patient is written in a predetermined storage unit as a medication history.   Furthermore, the medication management method of Claim 22 or Claim 23 which alert | reports the result of the said judgment. Further, when it is detected that the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag that are approached exist, before determining whether the combination of the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate, the patient ID tag And monitoring the approaching state of the medicine ID tag,
The determination as to whether or not the combination of the patient ID tag and the medicine ID tag is appropriate is made after detecting that the approaching state continues for a predetermined time by the monitoring. The medication management method according to claim 24.

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