NEW ELECTRONIC AND WEBBASED APPLICATIONS, SITES, AND TECHNOLOGIES
RapidTrials.com, launched by PCRS Inc., is the first Webbased platform to provide realtime bench mark metrics on trial progress for research centers. The pro gram helps drive revenue, study programs, and marketing research projects for healthcare providers. RapidTrials.com is an inter active researchperformance management service that inte grates technology with PCRS’ access to thousands of health care providers nationwide. “RapidTrials.com is expect ed to create revenuegenerat ing opportunities for healthcare providers that leverage their sci entific expertise, for the benefit of the development of new pharmaceutical products,” says Tracy Blumenfeld, president of PCRS. “RapidTrials.com inte grates technology and service solutions, which will optimize the appropriate patient accrual andsponsor review of research center performance.” By quickly identifying critical “bottlenecks” at individual research sites during the clini caltrial process — and allowing PCRS and project managers to provide, in realtime, suggestions for fix ing any problems — RapidTri als.com provides both spon sors and sites powerful tools to ensure successful trial perfor mance. Through realtime bench marking of metrics and data updates, coupled with the assurance of working with highly qualified investigators and sites, trial sponsors and pharmaceutical developers can continually build knowledge of their trials at the site level. RapidTrials.com then allows both sponsors and sites to share data; sponsors, if neces sary, can then use Rapid Trials.com to implement and disseminate changes that will improve performance at all participating research sites. “RapidTrials.com appeal to pharma companies and others who wish to shorten research timelines — and enhance investigator relationships dur ing and after their clinicaltrial programs,”Ms.Blumenfeld says. Pharma COMPANIES and PHYSICIANS Are Brought TOGETHER for Research Through NewOnline Site, RAPIDTRIALS.COM WEBBASED Marketing and Sales Process MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IndustrySuite Inc. has launched a new Web based, realtime software solution to optimize man agement of the entire sales and marketing process. “Competition favors the efficient,” says Dan Krantz,IndustrySuite CEO and founder.”We’re show ing companies how they can reduce cost and increase revenue by eliminat ing process roadblocks and increasing the capacity, pro ductivity and effectiveness of their marketing and sales staff.” Executive, marketing, and sales managers can access IndustrySuite 24/7 for realtime maintenance and control of marketing strategy, budgets,project execution,cam paign and sales promotion calendars, portfolio man agement, lead management, and sales prospecting. . Strategic planning and budgeting capabilities enable marketers to react immediately to dynamic market conditions while maintaining precise budget control. . Project management features — including automatic email notification to appropriate users of pertinent project activity,milestone dates, and dead lines — improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of project workflow and enable fewer employees to handle more projects with greater accuracy and timeliness. . Leadmanagement and analysis functions allow accurate measurement of campaign effectiveness by project, medium,audience, and more. IndustrySuite doesn’t substitute for thought pro cesses or human interaction; rather it facilitates and monitors the entire marketing process, proactively communicating with system users according to rules established by management. EduNeering Inc., an online compliance and risk management education solutions company, in an alliance with the FDA has launched a virtual univer sity that provides Webbased training to thousands of FDA, state, and local inspectors nationwide and to employees in regulated companies worldwide. The virtual university comprises a robust curricu lum of interactive, stateoftheart compliance train ing courses.The university will ensure that everyone in industry and government has access to the same tools and core knowledge,with the goal of enhanc ing uniformity in inspection performance by FDA staff, as well as compliance efforts by regulated com panies. ATour of the FDA,the virtual university’s flagship course, is offered by the agency’s Office of Regulato ry Affairs and can be accessed via theFDAWebsite at www.fda.gov, by selecting “About FDA” and clicking on the “New Item”link.This online course provides an indepth and comprehensive overview of how the agency works,how it is organized,how each depart ment operates, and much more. The virtual tour is useful for new FDA inspectors, as well as new employees in regulated industries needing to know more about the agency. In addition to A Tour of the FDA, the virtual uni versity offers curriculum, which includes core and advanced Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP),Good Laboratory Prac tices (GLP), and Quality Systems Regulations (QSR). The online courses initially will train 3,200 FDA inspectors and ORA employees, and will expand to more than 50,000 regulators at all levels in district and local offices, as well as state inspectors who con duct local inspections. Some 30 courses in the curriculum address FDA regulations, and more than 100 courses focus on compliance. The curriculum will expand with new functionality and additional courses on a quarterly basis. The FDAEduNeering alliance enables the agen cy to take advantage of the most advanced elearn ing technology. It also allows EduNeering to market the same online training courses to companies in such regulated industries as the pharmaceutical, biotech,medical device,and food industries. EDUNEERING in Alliance With FDA Launches a VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY for Online Compliance Training Competition favors the efficient. Dan Krantz Online access to new research opportunities for physicians that allows for more effective research planning Online research site capabilities and performance assessments allows sponsors to make more informed “Go/NoGo” decisions for strategic site selection Online physician registration and qualification for research projects provides sponsors with a dynamic data source for potential new investigators Online targeted marketing research surveys allow physi cians to log on and receive pay ment in a secure environment Secure, interactive information exchanges directly between participating clinicians and trial sponsors enhances site/sponsor relationships and improves per formance KEY BENEFITS OF RAPIDTRIALS.COM Emedia 80 S e p t e m be r / O c t o b e r 20 01 PharmaVOICE As part of its service designed to assist clinical research professionals in finding job candidates, CenterWatch has launched a search able onlineresume database that focuses specifically on the clinicaltri als industry. Human resource profes sionals, business executives, and per sonnel recruitment service providers can search The JobWatch Resume Service, which is located in the “Careers & Education” section on www.centerwatch.com. “The clinicaltrials industry is growing rapidly,” says Sally Memmolo, JobWatch manager. “At the same time, the industry faces high turnover and a shortage of qualified personnel.We created this ser vice to give employers and personnel recruitment companies access to a resume exchange based on our extensive reach throughout the clinical research community.” Research professionals and health professionals looking to change career paths may post a resume and curriculum vitae on the JobWatch Resume Service. Employ ers and personnel recruitment ser vice providers may then privately search and review resumes online. Once a potential candidate has been identified, employers can contact candidates via email. Com panies can search resumes in a variety of ways, including geographic location,position type,degree, and levels of experience. CENTERWATCH Launches Online RESUME SERVICE for Clinical Research Professionals CMEweb,theworld’s largest online medical educa tion service, has joined with MedCases to jointly mar ket and distribute casebased content through the CMEweb physician portal. MedCases creates online simulated patientencounter medical education sys tems for physicians,residents, and medical students. CMEweb offers physicians, via its site, access to MedCases’ database of simulated patient encoun ters for CME credits. The agreement expands Med Cases growing Education Partners Program, a net work of healthoriented Web organizations focused on providing topquality professional information and services to physicians. OperatedbyThomsonHealthcare,the publishers of the Physicians’Desk Reference and several health care journals and newsletters, CMEweb has become a leading producer of online CME with more than 3,000 hours of credit in virtually every medical spe cialty.The site offers AMA Category 1 CME credits as well as credits from individual medical specialty associations.CMEweb offers physicians the option to purchase individual courses, groups of courses or a subscription service for as low as $5 per credit hour. CMEweb is also available for site licenses to hospitals and other healthcare facilities as an integrated part of their education programs. CME tests are scored automatically online and certificates emailed to the physician instantly. CMEWEB and MEDCASES Join Forces to EXPANDWorld’s Largest Medical Education INTERNET SITE Building and Implementing PHYSICIAN PRACTICE WEBSITES The American Medical Association (AMA) has released Building and Implementing P hysician Practice Websites, a resource guide explaining how physi cians can launch an effective Website.This book can help physicians learn about the technical aspects of Website development to communicate more effi ciently with their patients. The book comes at a time when online physician patient and physicianbusi ness communication is becoming commonplace. Findings from the 2001 AMA Study of Physicians’ Use of the World Wide Web reveal that 79% of physicians sur veyedused theWeb for com munication in 2000. The research study also reveals that 21% of physicians practice marketing on theWeb.The AMA concludes that the percentage of online physicians that con sider the Web a useful resource for drug information, business,and patient education has increased signif icantly since 1997. The stepbystep guide was written by a physi cian who uses a Website for his own medical prac tice.The reference source provides an explanation of the Internet, and the technical aspects of Webpage design. Good communication and the importance of tailored Websites to the online physicianpatient relationship are explored.One focus of the book also discusses how the value of a good marketing name can successfully promote a physician’s Website. “I have broadened the scope of information to cover a wider range of topics related to the design and development of an Internet presence for indi vidual physicians and medical group practices,”says Michael A. Rothschild, MD, author of Building and Implementing Physician Practice Web Sites. The book offers a basic overview of marketing practices as well as the history and functions of the Internet. It also reviews the roles of online health related entities, Internet journals, and privacy con cerns as they relate to daily practice. The author explores evolving technical aspects of creating a medical Website such as domain regis tration,linkage, and marketing of the site to search engines and directories.The book also covers quality assurance of medical content on the Internet and the ethical and legal aspects of the online doctor patient relationship. The AMA Building and Implementing P hysician Practice Web Sites is the latest in the AMA’s line of resource books for physicians. Other titles from the AMA press include Using the Internet for Health Infor mation, Marketing the Physician Practice, Smart Prac tices:Success in a Changing Environment, Communi cating with Your Patients, and PhysicianPatient Relations. Anew resource guide provides information on how physicians can launch an effective Website. from the AMA JobWatch Resume Service located on centerwatch.com THE AMERICANMEDICAL ASSOCIATION is based in Chicago.For more information, visit amaassn.org. CENTERWATCH is a Bostonbased information services company that focuses on the clinical trials industry. For more information, visit centerwatch.com. CMEWEB,based in Atlanta, is a division of ThomsonHealthcare,which provides information,drug databases and communications to pharmaceutical companies,hospitals, physicians, and managedcare organizations.For more information, visit cmeweb.com. EDUNEERING INC., located in Princeton, N.J.,offers online compliance and risk management education solutions to meet the growing needs of the world’s regulated industries. For more information, visit eduneering.com. INDUSTRYSUITE INC. is based in Warren, N.J. For more information, call Dan Krantz at 9082266738,or email Dan@Industry Suite.com. MEDCASES INC.,based in Philadelphia, delivers innovative Webbased learning products to the healthcare industry. For more information, visit medcases.com. PCRS INC. is a national pharmaceutical researchsolutions firm based in Wayne,Pa. For more information visit, rapidtrials.com. Follow up
