To provide a doctor with an image for a patient's local region, that of his/her normal region and that of his/her affected region, as references to the doctor's diagnosis.

A remote host apparatus 10 is installed in a medical institution via a network 20 such as a LAN, the Internet or a GPRS. The remote host apparatus 10 is connected to medical equipment 30 and a computer 40, which is arranged in a consultation room of each doctor, via the network 20. A plurality of reference images for the patient's local regions are stored in a reference image database 11. Digital images for the patient's local regions, which are obtained by using the medical equipment 30, and basic information on the patient are connected together and stored in a patient database 12. The reference image database 11 is searched, and the reference images closely akin in the patient's sex and age, the local regions of the body, etc. are searched out.