KR20240167143A - System for reading prescription images - Google Patents

Abstract

A prescription image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized by including a user terminal for taking a picture of a user's prescription, a server for receiving the user's prescription image from the user terminal, extracting prescription data from the received prescription image, and transmitting the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug, and a pharmacy terminal for obtaining the user's prescription data from the server and guiding preparation of a drug corresponding to the obtained prescription data.

Description

{System for reading prescription images}

The present invention relates to a system for reading a user's prescription image to extract prescription data required to remotely request a pharmacy to dispense a medication.

Due to recent advancements in digital technology, non-face-to-face services via the Internet are rapidly expanding. Accordingly, in the medical field, there is an increasing desire to minimize unnecessary face-to-face contact and reduce on-site waiting times through these non-face-to-face situations, thereby achieving efficient time management.

In response to these users’ needs, a movement toward non-face-to-face services is also taking place in the medical field. In particular, there is a high level of public interest in methods for purchasing medicines prepared and sold at pharmacies without face-to-face contact. However, in the case of non-face-to-face services for receiving medicines, there are concerns about the confusion that will arise in the process of providing new services at pharmacies, as well as concerns about side effects such as abuse cases, as much as the convenience that will be provided to the public.

And these concerns are soon becoming the main cause of the delay in commercialization of the service. Therefore, in order to minimize the confusion that may arise during the process of establishing this non-face-to-face service and overcome the side effects, countermeasures such as technology for reading prescription data such as drugs from prescription images transmitted remotely, and technology for managing the read prescription data and preventing forgery are required.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0875093 (Automatic pharmaceutical packaging device with prescription recognition function, prescription management system and prescription management method thereof)

The present invention is designed to automatically extract prescription-related data from a prescription image taken by a user during the process of remotely requesting a drug sold at a pharmacy.

In addition, various embodiments of the present invention are designed to produce and utilize various statistical data, such as a pharmacy's expected sales schedule, based on data extracted from a prescription.

The purposes of the present disclosure are not limited to the purposes mentioned above, and other purposes and advantages of the present disclosure which are not mentioned can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it will be easily understood that the purposes and advantages of the present disclosure can be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

A prescription image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a user terminal for taking a picture of a user's prescription, a server for receiving the user's prescription image from the user terminal, extracting prescription data from the received prescription image, and transmitting the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug, and a pharmacy terminal for obtaining the user's prescription data from the server and guiding preparation of a drug corresponding to the obtained prescription data.

In addition, the server can identify text included in the prescription image received from the user terminal and extract the prescription data based on the identified text. At this time, the prescription data can be configured to include at least one item from among a disease classification code, a drug code, a dosage, a number of administrations, a number of administration days, and a weight.

And the server, based on the identified text, can perform a validity judgment on whether the received prescription image corresponds to a pharmacy prescription or whether the expiration date has expired, and if it is determined to be an invalid prescription, can re-request the prescription image.

In addition, the server can extract a numeric string that satisfies a preset condition from the identified text and determine it as a issuance number, classify previously registered prescriptions that include the same issuance number but have different prescription data as the same prescription, and merge and store each prescription data extracted from prescription images determined to be the same prescription.

In addition, the server can classify the prescription data into items according to the description position, number, and arrangement status of the identified text. At this time, the arrangement status can be selected as any one of a number arrangement, a character arrangement, and a combination arrangement of numbers and characters. That is, the server can classify and determine the items of the prescription data into disease classification codes, drug codes, dosage, number of administrations, number of administration days, weight, etc. according to the description position of the identified text, the number of number strings, or the combination of numbers and alphabets.

In addition, the server records information about the time and shooting tool used to shoot the prescription image together with the captured prescription image, and can restrict the use of prescription images that have passed a preset period of time from the shooting time or prescription images that were not shot with a preset shooting tool. This operation can be performed to prevent forgery of prescription images using an editing program, etc. after shooting the prescription in advance.

And the server records the extracted prescription data, and generates statistical data for each pharmacy on drugs sold based on the prescription data, and obtains inventory data for major drugs for each pharmacy from the pharmacy terminal, and compares the expected sales speed of major drugs sold confirmed through the statistical data with the inventory data to calculate the expected stocking schedule for each drug.

A method for reading a prescription image according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a step of a user terminal taking a picture of a user's prescription, a step of a server receiving the user's prescription image from the user terminal and extracting prescription data from the received prescription image, a step of the server transmitting the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug, and a step of the pharmacy terminal obtaining the user's prescription data from the server and guiding the pharmacy terminal to prepare a drug corresponding to the obtained prescription data.

The present invention enables a user to easily transmit a prescription request for a drug to be purchased to a pharmacy, and easily perform the operations of scanning a prescription and extracting prescription data from the scanned prescription required in the process.

Additionally, the present invention can help utilize prescription data extracted from prescription images in various ways.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a prescription image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the configuration of a reception support unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a prescription registration book according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a situation guidance unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the sequence of a prescription image reading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The advantages and features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them, will become clear with reference to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and the present embodiments are provided only to make the disclosure of the present invention complete and to fully inform a person skilled in the art of the scope of the present invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments only and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. The terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" as used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components. Like reference numerals refer to like components throughout the specification, and "and/or" includes each and every combination of one or more of the mentioned components. Although "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various components, it is to be understood that these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one component from another. Therefore, it should be understood that a first component mentioned below may also be a second component within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries shall not be ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly specifically defined.

The term “part” or “module” as used in this specification means a software or hardware component such as an FPGA or ASIC, and the “part” or “module” performs certain functions. However, the “part” or “module” is not limited to software or hardware. The “part” or “module” may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute one or more processors. Thus, by way of example, the “part” or “module” includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided in the components and “parts” or “modules” may be combined into a smaller number of components and “parts” or “modules” or further separated into additional components and “parts” or “modules.”

The spatially relative terms "below," "beneath," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like can be used to easily describe the relationship between one component and other components as depicted in the drawings. The spatially relative terms should be understood to include different orientations of the components when used or operated in addition to the orientations depicted in the drawings. For example, if a component depicted in the drawings is flipped over, a component described as "below" or "beneath" another component may be placed "above" the other component. Thus, the exemplary term "below" can include both the above and below orientations. The components may also be oriented in other directions, and the spatially relative terms may be interpreted accordingly.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a prescription image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a prescription image reading system (hereinafter, “system”) according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a server (100), a user terminal (200), and a pharmacy terminal (300).

The server (100) performs communication between the user terminal (200) and the pharmacy terminal (300), confirms the prescription and medicine preparation request signal received from the user terminal (200), and transmits the received prescription and medicine preparation request signal to the pharmacy terminal (300). In addition, the server (100) can obtain information on the preparation status obtained from the pharmacy terminal (300) (e.g., whether preparation is possible at the pharmacy, waiting number, preparation cost, expected preparation completion time, receipt completion, etc.) and transmit this to the user terminal (200).

The user terminal (200) can take a picture of the user's prescription in order to transmit the prescription required to remotely request a pharmacy to prepare a medicine to the server (100). In addition, the user terminal (200) can provide the prescription image generated by taking a picture of the user's prescription to the server (100).

At this time, the server (100) can support the execution of an application for remote dispensing request and prescription reading on the user terminal (200), and can automatically control an operation for taking a picture of a prescription in response to the remote dispensing request being performed on the user terminal (200). That is, the server (100) can receive a prescription image that the user has previously taken through the user terminal (200), and can control a camera operation for taking a picture of a prescription when the user requests a related operation after executing the target application on the user terminal (200).

And the server (100) extracts text based on OCR reading, etc. from a prescription image received from a user terminal (200), and can identify prescription data including values for items such as disease classification code, type of drug, dosage, number of administrations, number of administration days, weight, and self-payment symbol from the extracted text.

Additionally, according to various embodiments, the server (100) may capture a code (e.g., QR code) that stores an identification value of the prescription instead of the entire image of the prescription, and obtain data included in the prescription from this.

In addition to this, the user terminal (200) can receive various types of information required to remotely request the preparation of medicine (e.g., user personal information, payment method, and other information required for payment) from the user and transmit them to the server (100).

Preferably, the user terminal (200) may refer to a user's personalized device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, etc.). However, according to various embodiments of the present invention, the user terminal (200) is not limited thereto and may include various types of terminals capable of taking pictures. For example, the user terminal (200) may be understood as a device equipped with a camera. In this case, the user terminal (200) may be specifically interpreted as a photographing device equipped in a pharmacy, such as a pharmacy kiosk or a pharmacy scanner. Furthermore, the user terminal (200) is not limited to an installation location and may be interpreted as a photographing device equipped with a camera installed in various places, such as a hospital or a nursing home. In addition, the user terminal (200) may take a picture of a prescription held by the user to generate a prescription image and transmit the generated image to the server (100). In addition, the server (100) may perform a related operation for generating prescription data based on OCR reading for the received prescription image.

In addition, the user terminal (200) can receive and display on the screen, the preparation status information (e.g., expected completion time, waiting number, etc.) provided from the server (100), authentication information required for receipt of the prepared medicine, etc.

The above pharmacy terminal (300) can receive a user's prescription data and a request for preparation of a drug corresponding to the prescription data from the server (100). In addition, the pharmacy terminal (300) can receive statistical data generated based on the prescription data from the server (100) and various schedule notifications generated in response to the statistical data (e.g., expected depletion time of a specific drug and recommendation of a stocking schedule).

When the preparation of a medicine at a pharmacy is completed, the pharmacy terminal (300) can receive information from the pharmacy regarding the completion of the preparation of the medicine (e.g., selection of a completion button) and transmit this to the server (100).

According to FIG. 1, the user terminal (200) and the pharmacy terminal (300) according to the embodiment of the present invention can be understood as separate configurations, but are not limited thereto.

According to various embodiments, the user terminal (200) may be implemented in a form including a configuration of a pharmacy terminal (300). For example, the user terminal (200) may be implemented as a kiosk provided in a pharmacy. In this case, the pharmacy kiosk may perform an operation of receiving various information required to request a prescription from a user (e.g., a prescription image, user personal information, information required for payment, etc.) and may perform the role of a user terminal (200) that transmits the various input information to a server (100). At the same time, the pharmacy kiosk may receive prescription data and a prescription request signal corresponding to the prescription data from the server (100) and output (display) prescription data to be provided to a pharmacy staff member (e.g., a pharmacist) using a linked output (display) device (e.g., a monitor, a printer, etc.). In this way, the user terminal (200) according to various embodiments may be formed integrally with the pharmacy terminal (300).

Below, the configuration of the server (100) will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the server (100) may be configured to include a processor (110), a memory (120), and a communication unit (130).

And the processor (110) may be configured to include a reception support unit (140), a situation guidance unit (150), and a data management unit (160). A description of the processor (110) will be provided later.

Among the configurations of the server (100), the memory (120) can store various information required for a prescription reading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the memory (120) can store a prescription image obtained from a user terminal (200), a user's prescription history, etc. In addition, the memory (120) can store a program for performing an operation of extracting text from the prescription image and identifying prescription data for each item from the extracted text.

In addition, the memory (120) can store user account information. The memory (120) can store user information (e.g., age, gender) that is the target of the prescription data in order to efficiently record and manage the prescription data. The stored user information can be utilized when producing statistical data for each pharmacy based on the prescription data.

In addition, the memory (120) can store various information input from the pharmacy. For example, the memory (120) can store the pharmacy's operating hours, pharmacy location information, hospital field information (e.g., dermatology, orthopedics, etc.) around the pharmacy, information on the pharmacy's stock of medicines, etc., obtained from the pharmacy terminal (300).

In addition, the above memory (120) can acquire and store various information required for reading a prescription image and requesting remote medication preparation from a pharmacy.

Among the components of the server (100), the communication unit (130) can perform transmission and reception operations of various data and commands required in the process of a user sending a request for preparation of medicine to a pharmacy from the user terminal (200) and the pharmacy terminal (300) and receiving the prepared medicine.

The above processor (110) can control the overall operation of recommending a pharmacy to the user based on the information stored in the memory (120), transmitting the user's medication preparation request to a designated pharmacy according to the user's selection, and transmitting information on the medication preparation status obtained from the pharmacy that received the medication preparation request to the user terminal.

The above processor (110) may include a reception support unit (140), a situation guidance unit (150), and a data management unit (160) as mentioned above to perform an operation of remotely transmitting the user's prescription to a pharmacy and requesting the preparation of the medicine.

Below, each component of the processor (110) will be described in detail.

First, among the configurations of the processor (110), the reception support unit (140) can control a series of processes for performing an operation of selecting a pharmacy on the user side (user terminal), an operation of remotely transmitting the user's prescription to the selected pharmacy, and an operation of paying the cost of dispensing the medicine for the prescription.

The configuration of the above reception support unit (140) will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 3.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the configuration of a reception support unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the reception support unit (140) may be configured to include a pharmacy designation unit (141), a prescription registration unit (142), and a payment support unit (143).

The above pharmacy designation unit (141) can support the actions required for a user to select a pharmacy from which to request preparation of a medication from the user terminal (200).

The above pharmacy designation unit (141) receives regular pharmacy information from the user, and when the user requests display of a regular pharmacy, it can provide a list of the regular pharmacies of the registered user.

The above pharmacy designation unit (141) can support a pharmacy search operation according to a user's search word input. At this time, the pharmacy designation unit (141) can extract a pharmacy corresponding to the user's search word from a pre-stored list based on the name of the pharmacy, the address of the pharmacy, the type of hospital around the pharmacy, whether or not a specific drug is in stock, etc. entered by the user, and provide the pharmacy to the user terminal (200).

And the above pharmacy search unit (141) can provide pharmacy information to the user in various ways. The pharmacy selected by the user from the pharmacy information recommended to the user or the pharmacy information provided as a result corresponding to the user's search action, etc., can be designated as the pharmacy to which the user's prescription will be delivered.

Next, the prescription register (142) can perform an action to deliver the prescription to a designated pharmacy selected by the user. First, the prescription register (142) can request the user to take a picture of the prescription and register an image of the prescription.

And the prescription registration unit (142) can register a prescription image obtained from a user and determine the degree of identifiability of the image. For example, if it is determined that it is difficult to identify text in a prescription image due to out-of-focus or illuminance, the prescription registration unit (142) can request the user to retake the prescription image.

In addition, if the prescription registration unit (142) determines that a prescription image with identifiable text has been entered, the prescription registration unit (142) can register the corresponding prescription image. The prescription registration unit (142) can transmit the registered prescription image to the terminal (300) of the designated pharmacy.

At this time, the prescription registration unit (142) can extract information about the user's name and age from the prescription image and determine whether the user of the application that supports the prescription to pick up the prescription is the same person. For example, if the age information written on the prescription is for a child below the standard, the prescription registration unit (142) can confirm whether the user of the application is the guardian of the prescription subject, and can additionally provide guidance on preparing pediatric medicine when the prescription is delivered to the pharmacy later. Accordingly, the pharmacy can confirm once again that even if the user information based on the user account is an adult, the pediatric medicine must be prepared according to the prescription and the medicine must be packaged, including a pediatric medicine bottle.

The above payment execution unit (143) can inform the user of the cost of dispensing the drug when the pharmacy transmits the dispensing cost after transmitting the prescription to the pharmacy terminal (300) and request the user to pay the corresponding amount.

Alternatively, the payment execution unit (143) may automatically calculate the cost of preparation for the medicine recorded in the prescription based on the pre-registered cost judgment criteria. At this time, the cost judgment criteria may be information registered by each pharmacy, and whether or not to register may also be selected by the pharmacy.

And the payment execution unit (143) can support the cost notified to the user to be paid through the application. The payment execution unit (143) can transmit payment information so that a payment screen that supports payment of the cost can be displayed while notifying the user terminal (200) of the preparation cost.

The payment execution unit (143) above can transmit a request to the pharmacy terminal (300) to prepare medicine according to the prescription when the preparation cost corresponding to the prescription is paid by the user terminal (200). At this time, the payment execution unit (143) can transmit information about the time of receipt of the medicine desired by the user, previously selected by the user terminal (200), to the pharmacy terminal (300). Accordingly, the pharmacy terminal (300) can confirm that the medicine preparation task is assigned, and can also confirm information about the time when the preparation of the medicine must be completed. The situation guidance unit (150) among the components of the processor (110) can perform an operation of guiding the pharmacy's medicine possession status, medicine preparation status, and medicine receipt status to the user terminal (200).

Below, a more specific description of the above prescription registration book (142) will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a prescription registration book according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the prescription registration unit (142) may be configured to include a string reading unit (142a), a validity verification unit (142b), and a prescription data verification unit (142c).

The above string reading unit (142a) can perform an operation of extracting text from the acquired prescription image. At this time, the text can include a string and a number string. At this time, the above string reading unit (142a) can perform an operation of extracting text from the prescription image by utilizing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reading technology.

The above validity verification unit (142b) can recognize the content of the extracted text and perform an operation to determine the validity of the prescription based on the content.

First, the validity verification unit (142b) can identify validity by recognizing the content of the extracted text and determining whether it corresponds to a prescription for pharmacy submission based on the content. If the validity verification unit (142b) determines that the acquired prescription image is not for pharmacy submission, it can identify it as an invalid prescription and request the user terminal (200) to re-upload a prescription for pharmacy submission.

And the validity verification unit (142b) can identify the validity period of the prescription based on the text extracted from the acquired prescription image, and can recognize it as an invalid prescription even if the identified validity period is determined to have expired. Likewise, the validity verification unit (142b) can request the prescription image again from the user terminal (200) if the acquired prescription image is determined to be an invalid prescription. In this way, the validity verification unit (142b) can prevent illegal acts of repeatedly receiving drugs with prescriptions that are not for pharmacy submission and dangerous acts of receiving drugs with a prescription whose validity period has expired through the operation of verifying the validity of the prescription.

In addition, the validity verification unit (142b) can perform an operation to limit forgery of a prescription even at the stage of photographing the prescription. For example, when the validity verification unit (142b) stores a prescription image photographed at a user terminal (200) through an app, it can store the photographing tool (e.g., photographing device model, app information used for photographing) and photographing date and time information as metadata.

In addition, the above validity verification unit (142b) can check the shooting tool and shooting date information stored together with the prescription image, and can determine a prescription image for which a preset period of time has passed from the shooting time or a prescription image that was not shot with a preset shooting tool (e.g., a specific camera app) (e.g., an image edited with an editing app) as an invalid prescription.

In addition, the validation unit (142b) can identify the issuance number, which is confirmed as a sequence of 5 to 6 consecutive numbers, based on the extracted text. According to various embodiments, the validation unit (142b) can identify not only the issuance number but also the license number through similar criteria conditions.

The above validity verification unit (142b) can determine whether a prescription with the same issuance number has been previously registered after identifying the issuance number of the prescription, and if a prescription with the same issuance number and content has been registered, it can determine that the prescription is invalid. At this time, the validity verification unit (142b) can determine that the prescription has the same content as a previously registered prescription, for example, if the consistency rate of the text written in the prescription is above a standard value.

The above prescription data verification unit (142c) can perform an operation of extracting prescription data based on the text extracted from the acquired prescription image. In addition, the above prescription data verification unit (142c) can perform an operation of transmitting the acquired prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user.

More specifically, the prescription data verification unit (142c) can generate prescription data including values for multiple items from the extracted text. Items included in the prescription data may include, for example, at least one of a disease classification code, a drug code, a dosage, a number of administrations, a number of administration days, a (drug) weight, and a patient burden symbol. In addition, the prescription data verification unit (142c) can obtain various types of data (e.g., hospital name, prescription date, patient information, etc.) that can be verified from text included in a prescription image, as well as prescription data.

And the above prescription data verification unit (142c) can perform an operation of classifying the prescription data by item based on the text description location, the number of texts (digits), and the arrangement status of the text extracted through OCR. For example, the above prescription data verification unit (142c) can identify data consisting of 9 numbers as a drug code, and can identify a combination of a specific alphabet and a specific number of digits as a disease classification code.

However, without being limited thereto, the prescription data verification unit (142c) can additionally determine the description location coordinate information in addition to the above characteristics to identify the items of the prescription data (e.g., number of administrations) and the values corresponding to the items (e.g., 3 times).

In addition, the above prescription data verification unit (142c) can perform an operation of classifying and mapping previously registered prescriptions with the same issuance number and different prescription data as the same prescription. Accordingly, the above prescription data verification unit (142c) can merge and store each prescription data extracted from multiple prescription images classified as the same prescription.

The above prescription data verification unit (142c) can transmit prescription data extracted from the prescription image through this process to the pharmacy terminal (300).

Next, the configuration of the situation guidance unit (150) among the configurations of the processor (110) of the above-described Fig. 2 will be described. The description of the situation guidance unit (150) will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a situation guidance unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the situation guidance unit (150) may be configured to include a possession situation guidance unit (151), a preparation situation guidance unit (152), and a receipt confirmation unit (153).

It can be configured to include the above-mentioned possession status guidance section (151), preparation status guidance section (152), and receipt confirmation section (153).

The above-mentioned inventory status guidance unit (151) determines whether the pharmacy has the drug corresponding to the user's prescription requested for transmission based on the inventory information registered in advance by the pharmacy, and can determine which drug can be used as a substitute for the corresponding drug.

According to various embodiments, the stock status guidance unit (151) may provide the user terminal with at least one of a first countermeasure for providing guidance on whether there is a substitute drug for the drug not in stock at the pharmacy and information on the substitute drug when it is determined that the pharmacy selected by the user does not have the drug corresponding to the user's prescription, and a second countermeasure for providing guidance by setting a schedule for receiving the compounded drug according to the schedule for receiving the drug not in stock at the pharmacy.

At this time, in providing the second countermeasure, the stocking schedule of the drug not in stock at the pharmacy may be compared with the expiration date of the user's prescription to calculate the possible receipt schedule. For example, if the stocking of the drug written in the prescription not in stock at the pharmacy is 4 days later, the stocking status guidance unit (151) may determine that the compounded drug cannot be received at the pharmacy by comparing it with the expiration date of the prescription (e.g., 3 days) and may not calculate the possible receipt schedule for the compounded drug. On the other hand, if the stocking status guidance unit (151) confirms that the drug can be received within the expiration date of the prescription, it may generate a possible receipt time of the compounded drug after the time of the stocking of the drug and provide it to the user terminal (200).

In addition, since the validity period of a prescription issued by a large hospital may be about 7 days, which may be different from the validity period of a general prescription of 3 days, the possession status information section (151) may obtain the validity period of a prescription by inputting it from the user or checking the validity period indicated on the prescription and then compare it with the drug stocking schedule of the pharmacy.

The above-mentioned preparation status guidance unit (152) can obtain information about the preparation status, such as the user's waiting number and expected time of receipt entered in the pharmacy terminal (300), and transmit this to the user terminal (200).

The above receipt confirmation unit (153) can inform the pharmacy terminal (300) of the status of the preparation work waiting at the pharmacy terminal and the completion of the preparation and the completion of the user's receipt. Accordingly, the pharmacy using the pharmacy terminal (300) can easily check how many users are left to visit the pharmacy and receive the medicine in the future.

Among the configurations of the above processor (110), the data management unit (160) can record prescription data extracted from the acquired prescription image according to requirements and generate statistical data from a plurality of recorded prescription data.

Specifically, the data management unit (160) can determine the expected sales speed of major sales drugs for each pharmacy by linking with the inventory data of major drugs for each pharmacy obtained from the pharmacy terminal (300).

First, the data management unit (160) can produce a list of major drugs sold by each pharmacy.

The above data management unit (160) can compare the number of sales of each drug confirmed for a specific pharmacy with the number of sales of each drug confirmed for all prescription data transmitted to all pharmacies, and can calculate a list of major sales drugs based on this. Alternatively, the data management unit (160) can extract a list of drugs with the largest proportion from the prescription data received for each pharmacy to determine it as a list of major sales drugs in order to calculate a list of major sales drugs for each pharmacy.

And the above data management unit (160) can determine the sales volume increase/decrease characteristics (trend sensitivity) of each pharmacy in order to determine the sales speed of the main sales drugs of each pharmacy.

The above data management unit (160) can calculate the number of prescriptions and the increase/decrease figures for each drug from the prescription data transmitted to all linked pharmacies, and compare them by calculating the number of prescriptions and the increase/decrease figures for each drug from the prescription data transmitted to each individual pharmacy. At this time, the increase/decrease figures for each drug can be calculated at intervals of a preset period (e.g., one week), and the increase/decrease figures can be calculated by ingredient type instead of individual drugs.

Accordingly, the data management unit (160) can determine whether a specific disease is prevalent and the intensity of the prevalentness through the increase/decrease figures confirmed for all pharmacies. In addition, the data management unit (160) can determine the prevalent sensitivity to the specific disease at the target pharmacy through a comparison of the increase/decrease figures confirmed for a specific pharmacy with the increase/decrease figures for all. For example, the data management unit (160) can evaluate the prevalent sensitivity to the disease corresponding to the drug as a proportionally larger value when the increase/decrease figures for the sales of the drug at a specific pharmacy are larger than the increase/decrease figures for the sales of the drug confirmed for all pharmacies, and conversely, when the increase/decrease figures are smaller than the average by a reference value (when similar sales volumes are consistently shown), the prevalent sensitivity to the disease can be evaluated as a smaller value.

In addition, the data management unit (160) can determine the basic sales characteristics (basic sales volume) of a pharmacy in order to determine the sales speed of the pharmacy's main sales drugs.

The above data management unit (160) can measure the number of prescription requests (prescription delivery) per period delivered to a pharmacy and determine the basic sales volume of the pharmacy based on this.

And, the data management unit (160) can calculate the sales speed at a pharmacy by considering the 'basic sales volume' and the 'popular sensitivity for major sales drugs' at the pharmacy. For example, the data management unit (160) can calculate the sales speed for a specific drug at a pharmacy in proportion to the 'basic sales volume', and, during a period when a disease corresponding to a specific drug is prevalent, can calculate the expected sales speed (or expected sales volume) by applying a weight proportional to the popular sensitivity for the drug. And, at this time, the prevalent period of the disease corresponding to a specific drug can be determined based on prescription data (e.g., drug code, etc.) transmitted to all pharmacies.

In addition, the data management unit (160) can compare the expected sales speed of major drugs for each pharmacy confirmed through the statistical data with the inventory data of the pharmacy to predict the appropriate stocking schedule for the corresponding drug. In addition, the data management unit (160) can provide a notification to the pharmacy terminal (300) that the time for stocking the corresponding drug has arrived according to the predicted appropriate stocking schedule.

According to various embodiments, the data management unit (160) may perform statistics on prescription data for each user and manage information on medications taken by each user accordingly. Accordingly, the data management unit (160) may calculate and provide guidance on the dosage or use ratio for each drug by period for users who have a history of receiving medicines (or pharmacy-sold items) by sending a prescription image through the application. Specifically, the data management unit (160) may calculate and provide guidance on the period during which the dosage or use ratio of drugs is higher than a reference value, the ingredient names of drugs taken for a certain period (e.g., 1 year) higher than a reference value, etc.

Hereinafter, the sequence of a prescription image reading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the sequence of a prescription image reading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a prescription image reading operation can be performed on a system including a user terminal, a server, and a pharmacy terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the server (100) can perform operation 605 of acquiring a user prescription image from the user terminal (200). At this time, the server (100) can control the user terminal (200) to take a picture of the user's prescription image. In other words, at this time, the user can access the prescription request application supported by the server (100) and use the prescription picture taking function for requesting the preparation of medicine. Accordingly, the server (100) can acquire a prescription image taken by using the camera function of the user terminal (200) from the user terminal (200).

Alternatively, according to various embodiments, the server (100) may receive a prescription image that is captured before the user terminal (200) accesses the app and stored in advance in the user terminal (200).

The above server (100) can perform operation 610 of extracting text from the acquired prescription image. At this time, the text can include a character string and a number string. At this time, the operation of extracting text from the prescription image can be performed using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reading technology.

And the server (100) can recognize the content of the extracted text and perform operation 615 to determine whether the prescription is correct for pharmacy submission based on the content. In this case, if it is determined that it is not a prescription for pharmacy submission, the server (100) can re-perform operation 605 to obtain a user prescription image. For example, the server (100) can display a request phrase such as 'Please take a picture of the prescription for pharmacy submission' on the user terminal (200) to request the user to take a picture of a valid prescription. The operation 615 is an operation to determine whether the prescription that the user took a picture of and sent to the server (100) is a valid prescription. In addition to the operation to confirm whether it is a prescription for pharmacy submission, various operations for determining the validity of the prescription can be performed. For example, the server (100) may identify the expiration date of a prescription based on text extracted from the acquired prescription image, and may perform operation 605 again to request the user's prescription image even if the identified expiration date is determined to have expired.

Thereafter, the server (100) may perform operation 620 of determining a code-related string based on the extracted text. For example, the code may refer to a prescription issuance number generated when a hospital issues a prescription. The server (100) may identify a code-related string among the extracted texts according to a preset specific criterion. For example, the server (100) may set the number of texts, the type of text (character string, number string), the description location of the text (e.g., upper left), etc. as criteria for determining a code-related string, and may determine that the target code (e.g., issuance number) is based on these.

The server (100) that has determined the code-related string can perform operation 625 to check whether there is a previously registered prescription with the same code as the code identified through operation 620. At this time, if the server (100) determines that there is a previously registered identical prescription, it can perform operation 630 to map the previously registered prescription with the same code and determine prescription data from the mapped multiple prescriptions. For example, if there are two received prescription images and it is determined that the codes (issuance numbers) for them are the same, the server (100) can merge the respective prescription data extracted through each prescription image and create one data, even if there are two prescription images.

Meanwhile, if the server (100) determines in operation 625 that a prescription identical to the identified code has not been previously registered, it may perform operation 635 of determining prescription data corresponding to the acquired prescription.

Specifically, the server (100) can identify data for each item that satisfies preset criteria from text data acquired through a text extraction operation and generate prescription data including the identified values. For example, the server (100) can configure the prescription data to include at least one of a disease classification code, a drug code, a dosage, a number of administrations, a number of administration days, a weight, and a self-pay symbol.

And when identifying the data values for each item, the server (100) can identify based on preset criteria such as the location of text description, the number of texts (number of digits), the text combination form (e.g., composed of only numbers, composed of only alphabets, composed of a combination of numbers and alphabets, etc.). For example, the server (100) can identify text composed of a 9-digit number string as a drug (medicine) code.

The above server (100) can perform operation 640 of transmitting prescription data extracted from a prescription image to a pharmacy terminal after operations 630 and 635.

In short, a prescription image reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a user terminal for taking a picture of a user's prescription, a server for receiving the user's prescription image from the user terminal, extracting prescription data from the received prescription image, and transmitting the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug, and a pharmacy terminal for obtaining the user's prescription data from the server and guiding preparation of a drug corresponding to the obtained prescription data.

In addition, the server can identify text included in the prescription image received from the user terminal and extract the prescription data based on the identified text. At this time, the prescription data can be configured to include at least one item from among a disease classification code, a drug code, a dosage, a number of administrations, a number of administration days, and a weight.

And the server, based on the identified text, can perform a validity judgment on whether the received prescription image corresponds to a pharmacy prescription or whether the expiration date has expired, and if it is determined to be an invalid prescription, can re-request the prescription image.

In addition, the server can extract a numeric string that satisfies a preset condition from the identified text and determine it as a issuance number, classify previously registered prescriptions that include the same issuance number but have different prescription data as the same prescription, and merge and store each prescription data extracted from prescription images determined to be the same prescription.

In addition, the server can classify the prescription data into items according to the description position, number, and arrangement status of the identified text. At this time, the arrangement status can be selected as any one of a number arrangement, a character arrangement, and a combination arrangement of numbers and characters. That is, the server can classify and determine the items of the prescription data into disease classification codes, drug codes, dosage, number of administrations, number of administration days, weight, etc. according to the description position of the identified text, the number of number strings, or the combination of numbers and alphabets.

In addition, the server records information about the time and shooting tool used to shoot the prescription image together with the captured prescription image, and can restrict the use of prescription images that have passed a preset period of time from the shooting time or prescription images that were not shot with a preset shooting tool. This operation can be performed to prevent forgery of prescription images using an editing program, etc. after shooting the prescription in advance.

And the server records the extracted prescription data, and generates statistical data for each pharmacy on drugs sold based on the prescription data, and obtains inventory data for major drugs for each pharmacy from the pharmacy terminal, and compares the expected sales speed of major drugs sold confirmed through the statistical data with the inventory data to calculate the expected stocking schedule for each drug.

A method for reading a prescription image according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a step of a user terminal taking a picture of a user's prescription, a step of a server receiving the user's prescription image from the user terminal and extracting prescription data from the received prescription image, a step of the server transmitting the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug, and a step of the pharmacy terminal obtaining the user's prescription data from the server and guiding the pharmacy terminal to prepare a drug corresponding to the obtained prescription data.

A server (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a processor (110), a memory (120), a communication unit (130), etc.

Memory can store various programs and data required for the operation of electronic devices. Memory can be implemented as nonvolatile memory, volatile memory, flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD), or solid state drive (SSD).

The communication unit can perform communication with an external device. In particular, the communication unit can include various communication chips such as a WiFi chip, a Bluetooth chip, a wireless communication chip, an NFC chip, a low-power Bluetooth chip (BLE chip), etc. At this time, the WiFi chip, the Bluetooth chip, and the NFC chip perform communication in the LAN mode, the WiFi mode, the Bluetooth mode, and the NFC mode, respectively. In the case of using a WiFi chip or a Bluetooth chip, various connection information such as an SSID and a session key are first transmitted and received, and then communication is connected using this, and then various information can be transmitted and received. The wireless communication chip refers to a chip that performs communication according to various communication standards such as IEEE, Zigbee, 3G (3rd Generation), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), and LTE (Long Term Evolution).

The processor can control the overall operation of the user device using various programs stored in the memory. The processor can be composed of RAM, ROM, a graphics processing unit, a main CPU, first to n interfaces, and a bus. At this time, the RAM, ROM, graphics processing unit, main CPU, first to n interfaces, etc. can be connected to each other via a bus.

RAM stores the O/S and application programs. Specifically, when an electronic device boots up, the O/S is stored in RAM, and various application data selected by the user can be stored in RAM.

The ROM stores a set of commands for system booting, etc. When a turn-on command is input and power is supplied, the main CPU copies the O/S stored in the memory (200) to the RAM according to the commands stored in the ROM, and executes the O/S to boot the system. When booting is complete, the main CPU copies various application programs stored in the memory to the RAM, and executes the application programs copied to the RAM to perform various operations.

The main CPU accesses the memory and performs operations including booting and execution using the OS stored in the memory. In addition, the main CPU performs various operations using various programs, contents, and data stored in the memory.

The first to n interfaces are connected to the various components described above. One of the first to n interfaces may be a network interface that connects to an external device via a network.

Meanwhile, furthermore, the processor can control the artificial intelligence model. In this case, the control unit can of course include a graphics-only processor (e.g., GPU) for controlling the artificial intelligence model.

A processor may include one or more cores (not shown) and a graphics processing unit (not shown) and/or a connection path (e.g., a bus) for transmitting and receiving signals with other components.

A processor according to one embodiment performs a method described in connection with the present invention by executing one or more instructions stored in memory.

Meanwhile, the processor may further include a RAM (Random Access Memory, not shown) and a ROM (Read-Only Memory, not shown) that temporarily and/or permanently store signals (or data) processed within the processor. In addition, the processor (130) may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SoC) that includes at least one of a graphics processing unit, a RAM, and a ROM.

The memory can store programs (one or more instructions) for processing and controlling the processor. The programs stored in the storage unit can be divided into multiple modules according to their functions.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented directly in hardware, implemented in a software module executed by hardware, or implemented by a combination of these. The software module may reside in a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a Flash Memory, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable recording medium well known in the art to which the present invention pertains.

The components of the present invention may be implemented as a program (or application) to be executed by combining with a computer as hardware and stored on a medium. The components of the present invention may be executed as software programming or software elements, and similarly, the embodiments may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, assembler, etc., including various algorithms implemented as a combination of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming elements. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms that are executed on one or more processors.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above examples, those skilled in the art can make modifications, changes, and variations to the examples without departing from the scope of the present invention. In short, it should be noted that in order to achieve the intended effect of the present invention, it is not necessary to include all the functional blocks depicted in the drawings separately or to follow all the orders depicted in the drawings in the exact order depicted, and even if not, it can fall within the technical scope of the present invention described in the claims.

100 : Server
140: Reception Support Department
141 : Pharmacy Designation Department
142 : Prescription Register
143 : Payment Support Department
150 : Situational Information Department
160 : Data Management Department
200 : User terminal
300 : Pharmacy terminal

Claims (8)

In the prescription image interpretation system,
A user terminal that takes a picture of the user's prescription;
A server that receives a user's prescription image from the user terminal, extracts prescription data from the received prescription image, and transmits the prescription data to a terminal of a pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of a drug; and
A system including a pharmacy terminal that obtains a user's prescription data from the server and guides the preparation of a medicine corresponding to the obtained prescription data. In the first paragraph
The above server is
Identifying text included in the prescription image received from the user terminal and extracting the prescription data based on the identified text;
A system in which the above prescription data comprises at least one of a disease classification code, a drug code, a dosage, a number of administrations, a number of days of administration, and a weight. In the second paragraph
The above server is
A system for evaluating the validity of the received prescription image based on the identified text, whether the prescription is a pharmacy prescription or has expired, and if the evaluation result determines that the prescription image is invalid, re-requesting the prescription image. In the second paragraph,
The above server is
A system that extracts a numeric string satisfying a preset condition from the identified text and determines it as a issuance number, classifies previously registered prescriptions that include the same issuance number but have different prescription data as the same prescription, and merges and stores each prescription data extracted from prescription images determined to be the same prescription. In the second paragraph,
The above server is
Classify prescription data by item based on the description location, number, and arrangement status of the identified text above,
A system, characterized in that the above array state is selected as one of a number array, a character array, and a combination array of numbers and characters. In the first paragraph,
The above server is
A system that records information about the time and shooting tool used to shoot a prescription image together with the captured prescription image, and restricts the use of prescription images that have passed a preset period of time from the shooting time or prescription images that were not shot with a preset shooting tool. In the first paragraph
The above server is
Record the above extracted prescription data and create statistical data for each pharmacy on the drugs sold based on the above prescription data.
A system that obtains inventory data of major drugs for each pharmacy from the above-mentioned pharmacy terminal, compares the expected sales speed of major sales drugs confirmed through the above-mentioned statistical data with the above-mentioned inventory data, and calculates the expected stocking schedule. In the method of reading prescription images,
A step in which the user terminal takes a picture of the user's prescription;
A step in which the server receives a user's prescription image from the user terminal and extracts prescription data from the received prescription image;
The step of the above server transmitting the prescription data to the terminal of the pharmacy designated by the user to request preparation of the medicine; and
A method comprising: a step of allowing a pharmacy terminal to obtain a user's prescription data from the server and to guide the preparation of a medicine corresponding to the obtained prescription data.