WELCOME!

 

December 2017

 

Happy holidays! Welcome to The Merck Manuals Contributor Connection!

 

Most organizations are wrapping up projects at the end of the year, but you know The Merck Manuals always does things a little differently. So we are now introducing The Merck Manuals Contributor Connection, a newsletter providing updates on what we’re doing at The Manuals—along with important tips and information for you, our community of contributors. All of you are integral to The Manuals’ mission of providing global access to the best medical information. We hope this information will “keep you in the loop” as you author/review your topics.

 

Keep up with what we’re doing

We know our newsletter is exciting, but we have more exciting news to share.

·         Did you know that you can receive a $250.00 bonus in addition to your honorarium simply for completing your initial chapter review on schedule? We’ve already sent contract addenda to many authors, and the bonus option will be added to all new contracts and contract renewals.

·         Keep us up to date on your affiliations by completing the contributor information form, or send us questions, and share any shortcuts or best practices you’ve discovered. We’d love to hear from you.

 

TECH CORNER

Bye bye, Java…Hello, Cache!

As you are likely aware, until recently our portal relied solely on Java to run. And this meant that you, as a user of our portal, were required to have Java installed on any computer that you used to access our portal and ultimately, your chapter.  Although riddled with issues in getting it to run, our Java portal is a very robust and feature-filled program. It is just too difficult at this point to maintain, mostly because of the limitations of browser selection due to more and more security features being implemented.

 

SO our BIG news is…We now offer a new non-Java portal option! You no longer need to constantly update your Java version—which often times was not an easy task. The non-Java option is simple, can be used on ANY browser, never requires updates, and our vendor will continue to improve the functionality until it closely matches functionally with its Java counterpart. One important caveat—you must clear your cache before launching the portal. This is very simple and takes only a few seconds.

 

¿Hablas Español?

One of our newer features is Commentaries. We have asked a few of you to provide commentaries or editorials on topical/seasonal events or recent news stories. One recent editorial is “The Heart Beats On 5 Years Later: CABG with Cardiopulmonary Bypass Preferred for Most.” These commentaries are often translated into other languages in which our content is available. Take a look at a recent Spanish commentary.

 

 

Expanding our Reach 

Did you know that our social media team uses numerous social media channels to spread the word about your valuable medical content? 

 

Social media is helping to generate awareness of The Manuals around the globe. A new Facebook page just launched, tailored to consumers in Japan and promoting the Japanese site. Additional social media channels are available for consumers and health care professionals in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and more! 

 

Here’s a sample of what you might see:

 

 

We invite you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter using the icons below—you might even see your own work highlighted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2017 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

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