Live Synchronous e-Learning

Welcome to the first issue of our
e-Newsletter—
The first of an
on-going series of communications from IMS Learning Services!

Consider for a moment that the most efficient, productive, and economical place to receive instructor-led training may just be right on your desktop. Not too long ago the concept of instructor-based, real-time learning via the Internet without ever having to leave your office was simply impossible. Now, synchronous e-Learning enables instructors/facilitators to replicate much of the live, in-person classroom experience, providing a rich and convenient learning environment for participants. IMS has secured a license for the use of one such tool, WebEx™ Meeting Center, for the scheduling and delivery of online training/learning events and online meetings. In addition to our customary instructor-led training (ILT) classroom sessions, we now offer e-Learning for anyone with an Internet connection.

Synchronous training events led by an experienced IMS Training Consultant are 100% browser-based. Best of all, WebEx™ automatically downloads the necessary software on each participant's machine just prior to the event.

IMS e-Learning provides many benefits to participants, including:

Fast performance, even when accessing via modem dial up
No requirements for special firewall security software
24-hour/7-day availability

Using the WebEx™ tool, the IMS instructor schedules and leads interactive events remotely, to guide the visual aspects associated with the event. A simultaneous audio conference also allows participants to speak with the instructor and each other.

Using the tool, the IMS instructor can:

Present Microsoft PowerPoint^® slides
Show and share desktop applications with participants
Lead software demos and Web tours for participants
Share a "Virtual Whiteboard" with participants
Open up a chat session for participants to post questions

Thinking about IMS training, but can‘t afford the time out of your office? E-mail us at training@us.imshealth.com today to find out more about this exciting learning experience!

Training Survey Prizes

Many thanks to all of you who recently participated in our online training survey! We enjoyed an excellent response when we asked 1,000 clients to tell us about their IMS training needs. You told us what course topics you would like us to add to our offerings and how you would most like IMS to deliver that training.

To show our appreciation, participants were included in a drawing to win great prizes. And the winners are…(drum roll please)…

The iPAQ Color Pocket PC ($600 value) was awarded to a
Janssen employee.
The five hands-free headsets (valued at $65 each) were awarded to
employees of Ortho McNeil, MedPointe, Forest Labs, Takeda, and Amgen.

Congratulations to our winners! And thanks again for helping us help you!

Training Survey Results

Your response rate to our online training survey was excellent as were the results that we compiled and analyzed. The course idea you selected most often was Mining the Data, Drawing Conclusions, and Reporting Results. The second most requested course idea was Pharmaceutical Industry Overview. Third choice was Navigating the Numbers.

You also reported an increased need for Internet-based learning. We now offer live synchronous instructor-led training over the Internet! (See e-Newsletter main article called Live Synchronous e-Learning.)

In 2003, IMS Training has already been busy working on developing new courses, and we will continue to do so based on these findings. Let us tell you about our newest course offerings to date…

Our Newest Course Offerings

We are pleased to announce three (3) new courses available beginning this summer. Maximizing Launch Effectiveness uses IMS' broad array of products and services to answer questions that arise during the planning stages of a product launch. This workshop allows learners to participate in pre-launch planning decisions and launch monitoring activities.

Our new class, The Impact of Patent Expiration, examines how patent expirations impact both branded pharmaceutical companies and the competitive generic companies. Concepts, strategies, and real examples of recent expirations will be examined from all viewpoints.

DDD™ Integrated Views™ is the first "organizational" view of healthcare delivery networks and affiliates aligned with their sales dollar volumes. Come learn all about this highly streamlined and powerful product.

Look for these new classes soon on our Client Training calendar. To view the calendar and register for classes online, click www.imshealth.com/training/.

Renovation of a Familiar Course

We're improving our ever popular In Search of Solutions class by adding hands-on access to specific IMS decision support tools, including our new IMS Marketing Effectiveness Suite™ and investigator.web^®. These additions to the course will provide a more comprehensive look at how clients access our data beyond the data books. In Search of Solutions will remain a two-day program.

We fully expect this up-to-the-minute revision of the program to be highly praised both internally and externally!

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

SEPTEMBER
2003

Dataview™: Building and Downloading Data from IMS

9/25

Dataview™ Analyzer: Database Analysis

10/22

DDD™ Integrated Views™

12/18

Dataview™ Analyzer: Database Analysis

10/30

DDD™ Integrated Views™

For more information or to register, call 1-800-467-2638 ext. 5363. Or go to www.imshealth.com/training/.

Tips & Clicks

Xplorer.Web™

Did you know you can add the Xplorer.Web page to your desktop as a shortcut? Begin on whatever page you want to send to your desktop, i.e., the Xplorer.Web login screen. Select the "File" menu, then "Send," and then select "Shortcut to Desktop." To add Xplorer.Web to your list of Internet Explorer Favorites, begin on whatever page you want to add to Favorites, and click "Ctrl+D."

IMS Marketing Effectiveness Suite™

Ever wonder what your daily prescription activity is, compared to the competition over an extended time period? If you've been searching for an answer to this question, your solution is only a click away. You asked for it, and IMS delivered by adding this new question to IMS Early Insight™. All you need to do is select the question, and click "Go." When your report appears, click the "Reprompt" button, and you will have access to 365 days of daily prescription data at your fingertips.

Mentor™

The Instant View Reports (IVR) application accesses elements from many of the data services included in the Mentor system and provides preformatted reports for your use. IVR provides the quickest way to pull standard reports on your plans. The output of the graphs will have a better look if you right-click in the graph, select "Location" and select "As New Sheet."

Dataview™

Adding the Automatic Product Summarization element to the row layout of your Dataview query enables you to print one-row summaries of products having exactly the same name, without having to manually group or redefine the products. With this element in a row hierarchy, Dataview automatically summarizes all identically named products in the market and prints one summary (total) row for these products, providing a more concise, easy-to-read report.

IMS Training Consultant Alica Stanford has been with IMS for 16 years in a variety of roles within Sales and Training. During her years at IMS, she has been awarded the D&B Customer Focus Award, the IQ Customer Focus Award, and the IMS Health U.S. Rewards and Recognition Achievement Award.

Alica graduated from Seton Hall University, Magna Cum Laude with an M.A. in School and Community Psychology. She has earned the following Langevin training certifications: Training Generalist, Master Trainer, Training Manager & Director. She has earned the Myers Briggs Type Indicator Qualification. She is a member in the following organizations: ASTD—American Society of Training and Development, and HBA—Healthcare Business Women.

IMS classes Alica teaches include:

Presentation Skills
Working with Type (Myers Briggs Type Indicator - MBTI)
Xplorer.Web™
Mentor™
DDD™ Integrated Views™
Introduction to IMS Products & Services
MasterPlanner
Xplorer^®
DSS™ Overview
The Impact of Patent Expiration

On a more personal note, Alica lived in England for 10 years, and is now an active member of two New Jersey volunteer organizations: Jersey Cares and Essex County.

Managing Your Subscription

To contact the IMS Learning Services team, change or add your e-mail address, or unsubscribe from this e-Newsletter, click here: training@us.imshealth.com

Regards,
The IMS Learning Services Team

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