First Slovene Electronic Medical Dictionary issued

The dictionary gives the proper use of over 35,000 professional expressions from the field of medicine and related branches. Its software environment offers several additional tools, making the e-dictionary more user-friendly than the print version. Searching for words is simple, and can also be performed using more complex search conditions. The program enables the fast transfer of words into other program environments such as Word, personal comments can be added to the definitions, and print-outs of the definitions can be made. Lists of words which are the results of searches can also be saved under other names which users can define themselves, and which can be deleted at any time. A history list gives access to up to 30 previously searched words.

An Internet version of the dictionary has also been prepared, and is accessible on Lek’s website at www.lek.si.

At today’s official public presentation of the dictionary the Editor-in-Chief of the dictionary Dr. Miroslav Kališnik, the head of the project from Lek Katja Razinger and the General Manager of the company Amebis d.o.o. Miro Romih agreed that in today’s world, where most of us can’t imagine a day without computer technology, we can expect that the Slovene Electronic Medical Dictionary will become an indispensable desktop item for all Slovene health-care workers.

President of the Lek Board of Management Metod Dragonja added: “Support for the education of health-care workers has been a constant in our work for all of the 60 years of our existence. We stand proudly beside these top Slovene professionals who have unselfishly shared their knowledge with their colleagues. As a new Sandoz company, Lek maintains a reliable partnership with Slovene health-care and Slovene society. We provide effective, safe, high-quality and affordable drugs, and with our humanitarian orientation, environmental activities, high level of social responsibility, and last but not least through our support of the development of the profession we demonstrate concern for the health and better quality of life in the broadest sense of the words.”

The print version of the Slovene Medical Dictionary, which was published in 2002, has become an indispensable part of the professional library of everyone who works in medicine and pharmacy in Slovenia. The beginnings of the preparation of the dictionary go back to 1979, when a group representing all branches of medicine, who were mostly professors of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, began collecting materials.

With the purpose of further easing the work of physicians, pharmacists, students and other users, Lek in cooperation with the editorial board, the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana and numerous other professionals has prepared a revised and expanded edition of the Slovene Medical Dictionary, in electronic form on CD-Rom as well as an Internet version.

Lek, a new Sandoz company, is an international pharmaceutical company which operates as a business center on the markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe and the CIS region, and is important supply center for Sandoz in USA, EU and elsewhere around the world. Lek creates value through the development, manufacturing and sales of pharmaceutical products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biopharmaceutical products. The Lek Group employs about 3850 people in various regions and achieved total sales of USD 694 million in 2003.

Sandoz, a Novartis company, is a world leader in generic pharmaceuticals and develops, manufactures and markets these medicines as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnological active ingredients. Decades of experience and profound know-how make Sandoz a renowned partner in the Pharmaceuticals, Biopharmaceuticals and Industrial Products Franchises. Altogether, Sandoz employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide and posted sales of USD 2.9 billion in 2003.

Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and consumer health. In 2003, the Group’s business achieved sales of USD 24.9 billion and a net income of USD 5.0 billion. The Group invested approximately USD 3.8 billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ about 78,500 people and operate in over 140 countries around the world.