Who are the top 25 providers of elearning solutions (i.e., online
courseware) for topics related to biotechnology, healthcare sciences,
and medical sciences? These should be providers of courseware targeted
to professionals and/or corporations rather than the general public. I
would expect GeneEd (www.geneed.com) and HealthStream
(www.healthstream.com) to be included in this list.

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Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 24 Dec 2002 19:19 PST

Hello Maia5044,

I have a start in garnering the relevant information, including
investment analysis reports of the elearning field and references to
others. Your examples of companies we expect to find in this industry
is a good help in making sure the focus is on track.

One point of clarification is are you interested in the top 25
providers globally or in the U.S.?
 
I appreciate your patience as I continue to research this question for
you.

vitalmed-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by vitalmed-ga on 26 Dec 2002 09:18 PST

Hello Maia5044,

The current status of my research is that I have found names of the
main e-learning providers among a wide variety of sources as well as
information about the industry, and am focusing on the biotechnology,
healthcare sciences, and medical sciences sectors. I am very close to
pinpointing the specific information you are seeking, and indeed have
begun to compile the list, but since I am finding that the persons who
can help to get to the last step are generally on vacation, this may
take several more days, perhaps until the beginning of next week.

I shall therefore leave this open for now, while intending to come
back to it as soon as I get through to contacts.

The only clarifications to ask you are whether the geograhical range
should be the U.S. and whether you wish to focus on corporate
providers such as the ones you note or on other public and private
educational institutions as well?

Regards,

vitalmed

---

Clarification of Question by maia5044-ga on 26 Dec 2002 16:02 PST

I'm interested in the top 25 global providers.
Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by maia5044-ga on 26 Dec 2002 16:04 PST

The providers should be private or publicly-held for-profit
corporations/companies, rather than public educational institutions. I
have no interest in e-learning providers that target degree-based
programs or those that originate from Universities or Colleges.

Hello maia5044-ga,

This turned into a very interesting research project as the whole
e-learning market place is volatile and continuing with the trend to
consolidation that has been in progress over the past two years. Even
defining the industry is open to quite a bit of interpretation. I’ve
included a selection of articles to help with a review of the elements
that need to be defined when thinking about e-learning.

The necessity for training/learning needs assessment and alignment of
goals for learning outcomes are the same as with non-electronic course
delivery. How to take advantage of the capabilities offered by
technology are major considerations in e-learning. How to blend
off-line and online techniques has to be addressed. Learning
management systems and learning content management systems are
necessary for e-learning implementation. Measuring competencies,
developing knowledge systems and a new learning culture all come into
play and have to be included in evaluating the ROI of e-learning. How
this is accomplished varies greatly depending on how the course is
developed, packaged, marketed and delivered.

The e-learning industry is very complicated. Content has to be
developed and packaged for electronic delivery. Technologies keep
growing and changing and offer a great variety of capabilities not
only for content management and presentation but also for tracking a
management systems. There are many overlapping partnerships in the
industry for bringing together content providers, technology vendors,
marketing and credentialing organizations. There is tremendous
opportunity in this industry and there are few barriers to entry so
there is a lot of activity in mergers and acquisitions. The articles
I’ve included should help with making sense of the general e-learning
market.

Healthcare e-learning solutions will usually cover four areas:
regulatory, administrative, service, and clinical content. Many
healthcare professionals need to keep up with their field not only to
maintain competence but to earn Continuing Education Units that are
required by their licensing organizations. Many healthcare, biotech,
and other medical science professions are heavily regulated and
employers must document that they have provided mandated training.
E-learning companies aimed at the healthcare/medical science
industries provide specialized offerings to meet these needs.

As the e-learning marketplace matures, the vertical markets get more
clearly identified and services are developed to address their special
needs.The smaller players drop out or are bought out. E-learning
companies are now beginning to get competition from bigger consulting
and technology companies who are now considering adding e-learning to
their portfolio of enterprise-oriented capabilities.

I’ve listed the companies I’ve found, followed by the e-learning
resources that I think you’ll find helpful. Finally, I’ve also
included some general resources for e-learning. I trust that you will
find this research helpful. Please don’t hesitate to ask for
clarification on any of the material I’ve furnished.

Wishing you success with your project.

czh


==================================================================
E-LEARNING COMPANIES IN HEALTHCARE/MEDICAL/SCIENCE VERTICAL MARKET
==================================================================

http://www.geneed.com
GeneEd develops and delivers Scientific E-Learning for the world's
largest Life Science (pharmaceutical, instrument and medical device,
and biotechnology) organizations. GeneEd is globally recognized as the
leading provider of both Life Science e-learning curricula and
client-proprietary Scientific E-Learning. GeneEd partners with a
variety of e-learning companies and course vendors (Docent,
Click2Learn, Biospace, GeoLearning etc.) to distribute its courses.

http://www.healthstream.com
HealthStream, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSTM), offers accredited educational and
training content for health care professionals in many different types
of settings (health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies,
medical device firms, etc.) with a wide range of responsibilities and
professional specialties. They partner with many training vendors and
other organizations to provide access to their course offerings.

http://www.elearning.worldmedic.com/about.html
WorldMedic offers a catalog of courses and a learning management
system for the healthcare industry. It includes learning materials for
nurses, physicians and non-clinical employees.

http://www.medsn.com/medsn/index.htm
Medsn creates customized, interactive training modules for sales force
training for the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech
industries.

http://www.pwpl.com/healthcare/
PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning's Healthcare Group provides for content,
delivery and training administration in an integrated solution,
accessible from any desktop.

http://www.cecity.com/execsumm.htm
CECity provides neutral platforms and integrated solutions that
automate the delivery, tracking and record-keeping of online
continuing medical education and training. …

http://www.kellyscientific.com/internet/ksr/job_seeker/elearning?cat=Job%20Seekers
Kelly Scientific Resources  provides an interactive, multimedia,
online training campus to train a scientific workforce.

http://www.adam.com
A.D.A.M., Inc. (Nasdaq: ADAM) is a leading publisher of interactive,
visually engaging health and medical information materials for
healthcare organizations, medical professionals, consumers and
students. A.D.A.M. products contain physician-reviewed text, graphics
produced in-house by medically-trained illustrators, and multimedia
interactivity to create health information solutions that offer a
unique "visual learning" experience in both the healthcare and
education markets.

http://www.cmeweb.com/
Thomson American Health Consultants, Inc. offer a large catalog of
Continuing Medical Education courses.

http://www.newmediamedicine.com/elearning/elearninghome.htm
New Media Medicine collects and develops mobile and e-learning
resources for doctors, students and medical professionals.

http://www.hcmarketplace.com/Listings.cfm?topic=PT_OL
Healthcare Marketplace – Online Learning topics covering
accreditation, clinical trials, compliance, credentialing, etc.

http://www.e-medhosting.com/new/site/about/overview
E-MedHosting.com Inc., a Montreal-based company, is specialized in the
development and production of high-quality information programs
related to online continuing medical education activities, and sales
force training programs geared principally to research-based
pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare institutions.

http://www.praxis-learningnetworks.com/lifesciences.asp?m=3
Praxis Learning Networks offers specialized expertise for the life
sciences industry in content creation and course delivery. They
partner with Integic, Docent, and Trainersoft.

http://www.integic.com/aboutus/release.cfm?num=67
Integic has a growing client-base in targeted vertical industries
including healthcare and life sciences. Tailored to the needs of life
sciences organizations operating in an environment where compliance
must be monitored and demonstrated, CRF WorkManager e-Learning
provides a training backbone to high volume clinical trials.

http://www.epharmalearning.com
ePharmaLearning is dedicated to improve the drug development process
by enhancing the communication and knowledge sharing among all stake
holders in the drug development value chain.

http://www.healthgate.com 
HealthGate Data Corp. (OTCBB: HGAT) is a provider and electronic
publisher of healthcare information products that are offered by more
than 600 hospitals in the US medical institutions to their patients
and customers. Some of HealthGate’s products and publications are used
by the medical community.

http://www.carelearning.com/
careLearning educational resources are made available to healthcare
professionals by state hospital associations throughout the United
States to assist their members with maintaining professional standing
and continuing education.

http://www.digitalmed.com/
http://www.smartforce.com/corp/marketing/about_sf/press_releases_01/april18_digimed.htm
DigitalMed provides training for nurses and other healthcare employees
that covers both clinical and general topics. The company also has a
partnership with SmartForce/Skillsoft to develop products for the
healthcare industry.

http://www.vitesselearning.com/about_overview.shtml
VitesseLearning provides online learning for life science companies to
help with product launches, sales training, management development,
employee orientation and general industry training.

http://www.corexcel.com/
Corexel offers a large variety of courses and educational products and
services for the pharmaceutical & healthcare industries.

http://www.icaxon.com/media/aboutica.html
I.C. Axon Inc. is an eLearning solutions provider to the healthcare
industry. They combine eLearning systems and content for an integrated
product offering.

http://www.audio-digest.org/cgi-bin/htmlos/03136.2.3365164404519726034/cmeu_home
CME Unlimited (California Medical Association) is dedicated to being a
one-stop provider of CME products to physicians worldwide.

http://imc.gsm.com/siteinfo/browse_sitemap.htm
Integrated Medical Curriculum developed by Gold Standard Multimedia,
IMC is a website offering major courses taught in medical school.

http://www.dynamic-online.com/home/
An Interactive E-Learning Experience for HealthCare Professionals
The Dynamic Group provides continuing education and on-going training
to secure contact hours for professional certification and to enhance
your skills in this competitive world. They partner with IntraLearn
Software.
http://healthcare.intralearn.com/home/Certilearncourselibrary.pdf
IntraLearn Software Corp. is a provider of shrink-wrapped e-Learning
products.

http://www.eduneering.com/
EduNeering, Inc. is the leading provider of online compliance learning
solutions for regulated businesses.. They offer a library of 350
courses. The company serves pharmaceutical, medical device, biologics,
and food industries  energy, chemical, and manufactured product
industries  health care services providers other related risk
management organizations, such as managed health care.


========================
E-LEARNING MARKET TRENDS
========================

http://www.infotechtrends.com/elearning_analysis.htm
Cost Effectiveness Drives Corporate E-learning Market at 82.7% AGR
Growth projections through 2004.
http://www.metagroup.com/cgi-bin/inetcgi/jsp/metaSpectrum.do?fileName=LearnMgmtSysPlat18Feb02_mktOverview
Learning Management System Platforms: Market Overview
This $750 million software market is growing 40%-45% annually. It is
part of an overall $2.5 billion market also comprising content tools
($250 million), e-learning content ($500 million), and services ($1.0
billion).

http://www.onlinelearningmag.com/onlinelearning/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1237070
Online Learning, Jan 2002 v6 i1 p14(5)
Gorilla warfare: Big names from outside the training world are lining
up to become the 800-pound gorilla in the e-learning market. Who will
emerge with the biggest bunch of bananas? (Cover Story).

http://www.elearningforum.com/june2002/Beyond%20eLearning.htm
This presentation gives a brief overview of the development of
e-learning and a prognosis for the future.

http://www.elearners.com/services/faq/q4.asp
e-Learning Market Research Reports

http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/education/article/0,,5951_914901,00.html
E-Learning Market Expanding Beyond IT Training
November 2001

http://www.brandonhall.com/public/ticker/
Bryan Chapman's e-Learning Stock Tracker-- Year 2002

symposium.gartner.com/docs/symposium/itxpo_orlando_2002/
documentation/sym12_24b.ppt
E-Learning/Collaboration Scenario: Leverage Your Infrastructure

http://home.click2learn.com/en/downloads/t_d_big_fish.pdf
T&D, Sept 2001 v55 i9 p33 
Swimming With the Big Fish. (e-learning market)(Industry Overview) 

http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/greenberg.htm
LMS and LCMS: What's the Difference?
http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/IDC_diagram.htm
This diagram published in the IDC report, The Learning Content
Management System: A New E-Learning Market Segment Emerges illustrates
how an LMS can launch courses developed by an LCMS and incorporate
LCMS performance measurements into reports.


===================
HEALTHCARE VERTICAL
===================

http://www.devicelink.com/mx/archive/01/03/0103mx064.html
Leveraging E-Learning in the Medtech Industry

http://www.smartforce.com/corp/marketing/about_sf/press_releases_02/feb_25_02.htm
SkillSoft – The e-learning solutions company
Universal Health Services Selects SmartForce e-Learning Solution
The relationship with Universal Health Services is another example of
the success that SmartForce is experiencing with its entrance into the
healthcare vertical.


============================
GENERAL E-LEARNING RESOURCES
============================

http://www.aace.org/pubs/ijel/default.htm
International Journal of E-Learning

http://www.learningcircuits.com/
American Society for Training & Development – ASTD’s Online Magazine
All About E-Learning

http://www.elearningmag.com/elearning/
Enterprise Learning and Knowledge Management Strategies
This is a comprehensive portal site that covers the e-learning
industry.

http://www.clomedia.com/about.asp
Chief Learning Officer focuses on solutions for enterprise
productivity in the enterprise learning market.

http://www.eduventures.com/
Eduventures is an independent market research firm for the education
economy and interprets education industry news, events, and trends.

===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

e-learning market
healthcare vertical e-learning

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Clarification of Answer by czh-ga on 27 Dec 2002 14:56 PST

Hello again maia5044-ga,

I was surprised at the limited courses offered for biotech
professionals by the various training companies. I didn’t include
university extension program results in my prior research for you
because you seemed to specifically exclude them. I did some additional
research to see what I could turn up for biotech professional training
and I discovered that the postgraduate professional training for this
industry seems to be provided by professional associations and
university extension programs. I’ve included a sample, but I’m sure
you can easily find additional ones yourself.

Thank you very much for your generous tip and I’d love to help you
with future research projects.

czh

SEARCH STRATEGY
biotech professional development courses

http://www.bio.com/newsfeatures/newsfeatures_events.jhtml
Calendar of meetings and events

http://www.cato.com/fyi/fyi.html
Cato Research's Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Development Meetings
and Seminars Calendar

http://www.biocom.org/aboutus.asp
San Diego association Professional Development Courses

http://www.bhrc.ca/Train_education/
Biotechnology Human Resource Council

http://www.extension.ucsd.edu/Programs/pdfs_su00/bio_biotech_manufacturing.pdf
UC San Diego – Certificate Programs

http://csdd.tufts.edu/Institute/InstituteBrochure.pdf
Tufts University Advanced Education and Training for Drug Development
Professionals

Well worth the $200 for the healthcare/medical market info alone, but
missed the 5th star by not addressing the biotech sector in great
detail.

Well done, czh-ga.

vitalmed-ga

Thank you very much. A well thought out approach and I'm very pleased
with the reasults.

My only suggestion is that while the e-learning organizations in your
response are well-tailored to the healthcare professional and medical
industries, the biotech market as a whole (agriculture, foods,
industrial & environmental biotech) is not well-represented.

Your research was well worth the $200, however, and has given me a
fantastic start to my own research of the e-learning markets I
originally defined. A huge thank you.

maia-ga