Top 5 Healthcare LMS Systems

Introduction: Why are Healthcare LMS Systems Important?

The medical field is constantly advancing. This past decade has been nothing short of incredible regarding medical discoveries. There have been advancements in medical technologies such as the MelaFind optical scanner, a device to better inform doctors about whether or not to order invasive biopsies; The Sapien transcatheter aortic valve, a device that serves as a life-saving alternative for open heart surgeries; and The Telemedicine System, a medical robot that is able to provide necessary attention to patients that are underserved by managing patient charts and vitals on more regular rounds (MacRae, 2013).

In addition to medical device advancements, there have been several changes to best-practice guidelines and treatment options. Some well-known medical breakthroughs include the use of sterilized tilapia scales to treat badly burned skin and the use of CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (Basu, 2017).

Medical professionals have extremely busy schedules. Keeping up with necessary trainings and certifications to properly administer new medical technologies and treatments can be very difficult to schedule when such programs are to be conducted in person with a large trainee population.

What are the benefits of Healthcare LMS Systems?

To save time and resources, often health facilities move their trainings to an online platform. A healthcare LMS designed for 24/7 access allows medical professionals (e.g., physicians, family practitioners, pediatricians, dental hygienists, radiologic technologists, anesthesiologists, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, obstetricians, surgeons, NAs, NPs, LPNs, RNs) to access necessary trainings from any portable device at any location that is most convenient.

These healthcare LMS systems not only serve to ensure compliance with best practices and educate medical professionals about new treatment options--but also serve as an organized location to also offer online continuing education programs. These online courses provide medical professionals with an affordable and convenient solution for earning CME credits for license renewals.

Below you will find a list of the top 5 Healthcare LMS Systems--each with unique benefits!

Top 5 Healthcare LMSs

1. CertCentral

The CertCentral Healthcare LMS is the best LMS for creating scalable continuing education and certificate training programs. This online platform was designed specifically for continuing education, eliminating unnecessary features for K-12 education settings and higher education in-person trainings.

Pros of CertCentral Healthcare LMS:

1. Plans start as low as $29/month, making this LMS an affordable continuing education online course platform for small, medium, and/or large healthcare organizations. Our standard plans grow with you as your continuing education programs grow.
2. Certificates are customizable and available for download and print in all standard plans. Add personal branding, logos, license numbers, credit hours earned, state board approval numbers, instructor names, and more.
3. Meet state board requirements--CertCentral offers top-notch security for your data,

built-in reporting features, tracking of certificates, tracking of course completion, and more.

1. The interface is user-friendly and is a cinch to learn, even for non-digital natives. No extensive tutorials necessary.

Cons of CertCentral Healthcare LMS:

1. Webinar is not available in standard plans.
2. Whitelabeling is only available in Enterprise Plans.

Bottomline:

CertCentral’s Healthcare LMS is affordable and grows with you, offering all of the necessary features to meet state and federal requirements to provide continuing education credits online.

2. EthosCE

EthosCE is a full-featured LMS for nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals. EthosCE supports medical associations, academic medical centers, medical education companies, and more.

Pros of Ethos CE Healthcare LMS:

1. EthosCE offers strong, highly configurable online crediting tools. Provide different credit types (CE, CME, CNE, and others), set a desired number of credits for each assessment, and set a time limit for when credits expire.
2. EthosCE integrates with ACCME web services, including ABA, ABIM, ABP, and MOC 2 programs--so all external credits earned in EthosCE programs is automatically reported and stored by regulatory boards and other external systems.
3. EthosCE shows a commitment to social learning by providing online discussion boards, and peer-to-peer networking through social media.

Cons of EthosCE Healthcare LMS:

1. EthosCE does not have an app extension, so mlearning is not optimized (e.g., no notifications on mobile hardware).
2. The lack of gamification features hurts learner engagement.
3. EthosCE is pricy with standard plans costing approximately $1,800/month.

Bottomline:

EthosCE is expensive and not optimized for primarily mobile learning. However, highly configurable certificate and crediting tools make it a viable option for continuing education programs for the healthcare industry.

3. Gyrus

GyrusAim LMS complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and The Joint Commission. Additionally, this platform is a flexible healthcare LMS available in multiple languages, and is SCORM, Tin Can / xAPI, and AICC Compliant.

Pros of GyrusAim Healthcare LMS:

1. eCommerce integration with PayPal enables medical device companies to deliver online trainings regarding how to utilize their best-in-show medical products. This helps medical device companies meet the aim of increasing product adoption rates.
2. Webinar offerings with Adobe Connect, Go To Meeting, and Skype give training administrators the opportunity to conduct live face-to-face sessions with trainees from around the globe.
3. Gamification features and badges successfully increase student engagement and learning outcomes.

Cons of GyrusAim Healthcare LMS:

1. The 14-day free trial does not allow healthcare organizations enough time to acclimate to the platform before their subscription begins.
2. Plans start at $300/month for 100 active users. Smaller healthcare organizations looking to build a continuing medical education business may have trouble reaching this initial cost threshold when trying to grow their online educational business.
3. GyrusAim LMS supports organizing in-person trainings as well as distance learning programs. For organizations that only conduct in-person trainings, or only conduct distance learning programs--they may find the interface to be too bloated with features that are not necessary.

Bottomline:

GyrusAim LMS is a comprehensive LMS (best suited for large healthcare organizations) that will satisfy state or federal government requirements for online trainings.

4. ProProfs LMS

Proprofs LMS is a cloud-based online learning platform with strong security features fit for a healthcare organization solution. Not only does ProProfs LMS offer built-in course authoring tools for training administrators, but it also offers a flashcard maker to students/staff which improves learning outcomes from healthcare trainings.

Pros of ProProfs Healthcare LMS:

1. Affordable! With subscriptions starting at $59/month for an annual plan, it is easy for your small health clinic to adopt an online training platform that will save your organization time and resources.
2. Survey tools allow course administrators to easily receive staff/student feedback. ProProfs LMS makes it easier than ever to export feedback data, and send that data to regulatory bodies auditing online continuing education trainings.

Cons of ProProfs Healthcare LMS

1. Certificates are only able to be printed in Enterprise plans. Not being able to download and print certificates in standard plans may make it difficult for smaller health organizations to afford providing approved continuing education courses that meet state and federal requirements.
2. Responses from customer support can be slow--taking 24-48 hours for customers to hear back regarding bug inquiries.

Bottomline:

ProProfs LMS is an affordable SaaS with powerful survey tools. Despite the occasional bug in the software, chat features between learners and flashcard makers enhance the online learning process.

5. Escalla

Escalla’s LMS provides a catalogue of elearning healthcare courses at your fingertips. Download and administer already-created courses to your population in need of training. Escalla’s courses focus on the latest healthcare trainings to keep your staff in-the-know regarding the utmost current, best practice guidelines. Or, you can pick and choose fully-formed healthcare modules to add to your custom training course.

Pros of Escalla Healthcare LMS:

1. Download fully-formed compliance courses directly to your account (e.g., clinical risk management and governance course, medicine management).
2. Office-365 integrations and extensive tutorials for training creation.
3. Escalla prepares a detailed return on investment (ROI) report for you, which helps organizations better understand the effectiveness of staff trainings.

Cons of Escalla Healthcare LMS:

1. Contracts are multi-year commitments.
2. Extensive tutorials required.

Bottomline:

Escalla’s understanding of the healthcare environment is evident to users that download and utilize Escalla healthcare courses, but the need for software training may cause up to 6 months of implementation time.