As with almost every other business sector out there, the future of healthcare is driven by knowledge.
Today’s healthcare landscape is rapidly evolving, and organizations must remain updated on the latest tech advancements and industry best practices.
And as it so happens, healthcare education is delivered through state-of-the-art learning management systems (LMSs).
The best healthcare LMSs are completely changing the way healthcare is educating and training their employees to grow and adapt to their ever-evolving roles.
In this article, we’ll be going over the basics, benefits, use cases, and key features of healthcare LMSs, as well as providing a list of the ten best e-learning platforms for healthcare organizations to deliver their training programs.
Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of April 2nd, 2024.
What is a healthcare learning management system?
A healthcare LMS is a software solution designed to help healthcare professionals and organizations with their unique e-learning needs.
Just to be clear, an LMS for healthcare organizations doesn’t replace medical school training or anything like that.
It’s a digital tool used by hospitals, clinics, health tech companies, healthcare providers, and medical practices to train their people on guidelines, procedures, best practices, compliance, sales training, and more.
The LMS platform acts as a central hub for employee training, new-hire onboarding, sales enablement, upskilling and reskilling, continuing education, and other healthcare training.
It’s also an excellent tool that streamlines many e-learning and training processes, designing, curating, managing, and delivering training materials to learners while ensuring compliance with industry best practices and regulations.
Healthcare LMSs not only enhance professional growth but also offer many other benefits.
Benefits of using a healthcare learning management system
The benefits of using a healthcare LMS include the following:
Improved quality of patient care
The quality of patient care provided by healthcare institutions is a strong metric when gauging the medical professionals’ training, competency, and overall preparedness.
Modern healthcare LMS software has the necessary features and functionalities to help medical staff and other healthcare personnel get access to the right online learning content.
This includes things like interactive features such as quizzes and assessments, personalized learning paths, gamification elements, or social learning capabilities, among others.
These functionalities help improve their learning experience and knowledge retention and increase confidence in their skills.
This will, in turn, lead to an improvement in the quality of patient care.
Flexible learning options for busy medical workers
One of the hurdles that medical professionals have to overcome in terms of their learning and development efforts is time.
Those in the healthcare industry have incredibly busy and often differing schedules from one another. This makes it difficult to schedule in-person training sessions that everyone can attend.
LMSs for employee training can counteract this problem and provide learners with access to online courses and learning materials whenever they need them.
Through a process known as adaptive learning, LMSs allow healthcare professionals and other stakeholders in the industry to learn at their own pace.
By automatically matching the learning experience with the user’s experience, skill level, and learning style, LMSs can address each individual’s specific needs.
Many of these systems can help identify existing knowledge gaps, design personalized learning paths, make training course recommendations, and facilitate flexible training options such as a blended learning approach.
These allow learners to mix in training throughout their busy schedules without being tied solely to traditional learning modules.
Easily monitored compliance training
Being such a highly regulated sector, the healthcare industry cannot understate the importance of compliance training. However, it can be difficult for organizations to keep track of everyone’s compliance status.
Fortunately, healthcare LMSs can also help ensure compliance among all members of the organization.
Automated processes keep a constant eye on learners’ statuses, due dates, and completion rates.
Advanced LMSs can also send out automated notifications to learners, reminding them of impending deadlines and ensuring company-wide compliance at all times.
📚 Related: 10 of the best compliance training solutions [Real user reviews]
Reduced training costs
With traditional training and development programs, healthcare organizations have to spend considerable resources on accommodation costs, renting physical facilities, and other related expenses.
By moving much of mandatory training online, digital training solutions offer a cost-effective alternative to flying learners and experts to and from conferences.
For example, when Newcross Healthcare, a UK-based medical staffing solutions provider, partnered with Docebo LMS to solve its expensive staff training needs, the time taken and expenditure dropped significantly.
Newcross began saving around £6,000 (80 percent of the total) per program just on accommodation costs and the training-time savings amounted to at least four hours per person.
Additionally, system administrators can reuse many courses or webinar recordings instead of rescheduling or organizing conferences, further lowering training costs.
Healthcare organizations need to look for certain features and functionalities that can facilitate these benefits.
Key features to look for in a healthcare LMS
LMS features come in various shapes and sizes and can tackle the many needs of employee training, onboarding, upskilling, or admin workflow automation, among others.
When it comes to healthcare institutions, the key features that are an absolute must, include the following:
Course creation and management
Course authoring, curation, management, and delivery are absolute necessities when it comes to LMSs for healthcare training.
Through a process known as rapid e-learning development, instructional designers can create engaging training courses in a fraction of the time spent on more conventional methods.
This process also ensures that course modules are tailored to the specific audience in terms of skills, experience, and learning styles.
Healthcare LMSs also allow course designers to import existing content in various formats, support AICC, xAPI, and SCORM content, and include gamification features.
Professional LMSs also include interactive elements such as quizzes and assessments, which are essential for critical knowledge checks.
Compliance reporting and analytics
Healthcare providers need to undergo frequent mandatory compliance training, and a good LMS should facilitate that through robust compliance reporting and analytics capabilities.
This includes various features such as automated compliance training enrollment and scheduling, reminders, and notifications on certification renewals and deadlines.
It also needs to include assessments, quizzes, and exams for critical knowledge checks, as well as continuing professional development (CPD) tracking.
Additionally, the LMS needs to provide customizable reporting capabilities on training progress and targets to ensure consistency and company-wide compliance.
Mobile compatibility
Mobile learning, or m-learning for short, plays a big role in healthcare e-learning as it offers anytime and anywhere access to vital information and course modules.
As healthcare professionals often find themselves in critical situations and almost always work long hours, the ability to access e-learning data on mobile devices is a welcome addition.
It provides an extra layer of flexibility that not only enhances accessibility but also helps healthcare providers stay on top of best practices, improving the overall quality and effectiveness of patient care.
M-learning also plays really well with microlearning. This is a highly targeted approach to online training that focuses on short bursts of knowledge, typically no longer than 20 minutes.
Often, these microlearning elements take on the form of how-to videos, infographics, games, or quizzes and are ideal in a moment of need or when the learner has a few moments to spare.
Advanced security
Healthcare providers should also look for LMSs with robust data security features.
These features help keep sensitive patient and employee information secure from any possible vulnerabilities or cyber-attacks.
Among these security features, you should look for:
- Encryption of data in transit and at rest – ensures that critical data always remains confidential during transmission or when it’s stored.
- User authentication and authorization controls – keeps track of system users, granting or restricting access to certain personnel.
- Role-based access control assigns permissions based on job roles – prevents any unauthorized access to sensitive information.
- Auditing capabilities – tracks system activity, keeping organizations in constant compliance with industry standards and regulations.
Let’s now turn our attention to several healthcare LMS use cases.
Healthcare LMS use cases
With the right LMS, healthcare organizations can address multiple needs and business objectives. In many cases, they can tackle several of these at the same time.
Here are a few examples of how healthcare organizations can leverage LMS systems to cater to their requirements.
New-employee onboarding
New hire onboarding software helps healthcare organizations get full-time and temporary employees up and running with the company’s policies, best practices, technology, or mandatory compliance.
When the West Canadian senior care provider, Bethany Care Society, partnered with Docebo to digitally onboard its multi-location workforce, they were not only able to save 24 percent on annual orientation costs but also roughly 45 percent less time on their onboarding efforts.
Using the right LMS will also help with remote employee onboarding, providing a consistent learning experience regardless of location, language, or cultural differences.
Continuing professional development
Professional LMSs can ensure continuous learning and professional development by assessing learner experience, uncovering knowledge gaps, and recommending courses for constant improvement.
This applies to both clinical education for healthcare professionals as well as medical product and device education for all stakeholders.
By integrating Docebo LMS into its systems, CHART Healthcare Academy, a professional development company focused on delivering healthcare professional training programs, was able to deliver continuous training and develop highly skilled healthcare professionals.
CHART Healthcare Academy was also able to increase staff competency confidence by 40 percent and save over $88,000 per six-person team annually.
Compliance training
A healthcare LMS can streamline and enhance compliance training by helping relevant organizations adhere to all HIPAA, OSHA, JCAHO, and other regulatory body rules and regulations.
These training systems ensure consistent training across the organization that aligns with up-to-date regulations.
They also tailor training modules based on specific job roles and allow for real-time tracking of learner progress, course completions, and certification due dates.
By automating many repetitive admin tasks, healthcare LMSs also minimize or even eliminate the incidence of human error, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.
Likewise, these systems offer an audit trail of training activities, providing evidence of regulatory compliance.
Patient education
Patient care can often extend beyond the initial intervention of the healthcare professional.
Many modern LMSs also allow for patient education by enrolling them in special course modules designed for post-treatment regimens or new treatment options.
These help patients adhere to their current treatment plans, remove doubts, and make them more proactive in their own health and well-being.
Let’s now take a look at ten of the best healthcare LMSs able to bring these scenarios to life.
10 best healthcare LMSs reviewed
There are different types of LMSs on the market today, each able to cater to different business needs and training requirements.
When it comes to healthcare organizations, these are the top ten best LMS vendors to look out for.
Platform #1: Docebo
Docebo is a cloud-based LMS with healthcare applications. It’s an intuitive platform that offers numerous features designed to meet the unique needs and requirements of healthcare professionals.
It supports continuous learning via modular course design, curation, and delivery, as well as microlearning capabilities through Docebo Content Creation tool.
Shape is an AI-powered course content–authoring tool that turns internal and external knowledge sources into bite-sized snippets of information known as learning pills ideal for mobile learning.
Docebo offers flexible e-learning styles like blended, social, or multimodal learning and provides gamification and interactive elements in its course- creation arsenal.
The platform also includes robust compliance tracking, data analytics, reporting, and recertification capabilities, ensuring that organizations always adhere to standards and regulations.
Docebo allows users to customize the platform to their specific needs, including branding, white labeling, and user access.
It also places a strong emphasis on data security through single sign-on (SSO), TLS/SSL and HTTPS connections, disaster recovery, and network security.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Personalized learning paths and automated recommendations.
- Automated compliance and audit trails.
- Robust data analytics and reporting capabilities.
- Social and mobile learning functionalities.
- AI-powered microlearning course content–creation tool.
Pros
- A highly configurable LMS that suits many different use cases.
- User-friendly for both learners and administrators.
- Great customer service.
Platform #2: HealthStream
HealthStream is a healthcare training and development LMS that provides personalized learning paths, knowledge gap identification capabilities, and automated learning assignments.
It also provides third-party course access, customized reporting, learner groups, and annotations to further customize learning activities based on specific procedures or policies.
The platform includes broad course-customization options, compliance tracking, and medical product training, as well as industry-sponsored continuing education (CE/CME) courses.
Admins can also assign courses based on job titles, departments, locations, and other custom fields and allow the creation, editing, and management of user groups.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Third-party courseware access.
- CE/CME courses and medical product training.
- Configurable reporting capabilities.
- Customizable course assignment engine.
- Clinical education resource center.
Pros
- Great for onboarding new staff.
- Easy customization for training needs.
- Easy continuing education (CE) course development.
Cons
- Does not include a robust behavioral health learning library.
- Not that user-friendly for administrators.
- Customer service can take a long time to respond.
Platform #3: MedBridge
MedBridge is an LMS for healthcare organizations with built-in video training and content-authoring capabilities.
It includes an activity dashboard and tracking functionality, assessment management, and blended, asynchronous, and adaptive learning functionalities.
It also features compliance tracking features, collaboration tools for social learning, certification, and recertification capabilities.
MedBridge LMS includes intuitive tools for optimized administration, HR integrations, and business operation management.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Compliance training and real-time reporting.
- Automated notifications and reminders.
- Compliance tracking.
- Custom content uploading and management.
- Certification and licensing.
Pros
- Great app for patients.
- Good amount of videos and lectures available.
Cons
- Very slow to load.
- A bit of an initial learning curve.
Platform #4: Cornerstone
Cornerstone is a cloud-based LMS with accreditation reporting, targeted training through personalized learning paths, and compliance tracking for risk management.
The platform works best at building learner engagement, tracking personal goals, and knowledge sharing.
It also helps learners meet regulatory requirements with accrediting organizations such as OSHA, ANCC, or the Joint Commission.
Cornerstone provides AI-driven insights and customizable reports to help healthcare organizations streamline their accreditation audits more easily.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Regulatory compliance tracking.
- Targeted e-learning content delivery.
- AI-driven insights.
- Customizable reporting capabilities.
- Real-time analytics capabilities.
Pros
- Good customization options.
- Robust analytics and reporting capabilities.
- Intuitive user interface.
Cons
- Difficult certification management system.
- Limited administrative automation.
- Can experience occasional glitches.
Platform #5: Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS is a cloud-based LMS software solution with automated enrollment and notification capabilities.
The platform includes built-in course content creation functionality with interactive and gamification elements, branding, and white labeling, as well as mobile learning features.
It also has an e-signature functionality that supports CFR, HIPAA, OSHA, and other compliance regulations and includes a seamless audit trail capability and compliance reporting.
Tovuti LMS supports virtual classrooms, data analytics, granular insights, and customizable learning paths. Additionally, the platform integrates with over 2,000 APIS and gives access to an extensive course library.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Extensive course library.
- Native mobile app.
- API integrations.
- E-signature functionality.
- Automated reminders, notifications, and enrollments.
Pros
- Good mobile accessibility.
- Interactive and stable user interface.
- Effective customer support.
Cons
- Limited reporting capabilities.
- Steep learning curve.
- Not enough available content.
Platform #6: Litmos
Litmos is a cloud-based LMS that provides online learning and content creation features. It includes a training content catalog on policy, compliance, health, safety, and well-being.
It also assigns and tracks continuing education based on roles, as well as learner progress tracking and language localization capabilities.
The platform also includes robust security features such as firewalls, HTTPS, and private certificate protections.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Course and content creation with predefined standards, laws, and policies.
- Progress tracking and compliance reporting capabilities.
- Extensive training content catalog.
- Continuing education assigning and tracking.
- Robust data security features.
Pros
- Robust instructional design functionality.
- Intuitive and easy-to-use platform.
- Good reporting capabilities.
Cons
- Sometimes slow customer support.
- Limited e-learning content.
- No robust search function.
Platform #7: iSpring Learn LMS
iSpring Learn LMS is part of the iSpring Suite of e-learning tools.
The LMS includes course-authoring tools with interactive elements such as quizzes and role-plays.
It also includes certification and recertification features, automated notifications, Zoom and Microsoft integrations, and mobile learning capabilities.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Course authoring capabilities.
- Interactive and gamification elements.
- Certification and recertification functionality.
- Automated notifications.
- Mobile learning.
Pros
- Responsive support team.
- Great e-learning content flexibility.
- Easy to set up and assign courses and quizzes.
Cons
- Limited gamification features.
- Has a bit of a learning curve.
- Reporting is a bit confusing at times.
Platform #8: Healthicity
Healthicity is a compliance manager platform with an exclusive, built-in customizable healthcare LMS.
It includes a comprehensive training library of health, safety, and compliance course content. The LMS also allows users to upload their own custom courses and introduce them to the training program.
Healthicity LMS allows admins to streamline workloads such as course, employee, and task management.
It also includes a customizable enrollment portal, e-commerce capabilities, performance and compliance tracking, as well as a reporting function.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Comprehensive training content library.
- Streamlined admin tasks.
- Customizable enrollment portal.
- Compliance tracking.
- Reporting capabilities.
Pros
- A good tool for seamless onboarding and offboarding.
- Responsive customer support.
Cons
- Somewhat difficult to navigate.
Platform #9: Open LMS
Open LMS is, as its name suggests, an open-source LMS that offers personalized training to employees in the healthcare sector.
It includes a built-in course authoring tool, social learning, and interactive elements such as quizzes and assessments.
It’s a SCORM-compliant training system with certification and licensing capabilities, course tracking, and mobile learning capabilities.
Open LMS also provides synchronous, asynchronous, and blended learning functionalities as well as dynamic reporting for ensured compliance with regulatory body requirements.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Regulatory compliance and certification capabilities.
- SCORM compliance.
- Data analytics and dynamic reporting functionalities.
- Social learning capabilities.
- Blended learning.
Pros
- Good scalability potential.
- Helpful customer support.
Cons
- Not a highly intuitive user interface.
- Customer service can sometimes take longer to respond.
Platform #10: Relias
Relias is a centralized LMS for all healthcare training needs. It provides personalized learning and course authoring based on internal and external knowledge sources.
It’s AICC, xAPI, and SCORM-compliant and provides microlearning capabilities.
The platform also streamlines training course assignments and enrollments based on specific roles and offers access to an extensive course library of over 5,000 pre-built and custom courses.
Relias includes a mobile app for increased flexibility, compliance monitoring, and certification review functionalities.
G2 rating
Top Features
- Certification reviews and knowledge evaluations.
- Regulatory compliance monitoring.
- Extensive course library.
- Mobile learning capabilities.
- Microlearning features.
Pros
- Good regulatory compliance capabilities.
- Helpful and reliable customer support.
- Easy to navigate for learners.
Cons
- The platform can occasionally freeze.
- Reporting doesn’t include enough automation (users must manually add dates to run regular survey reports).
- No native course-authoring ability.
How to choose the best healthcare learning platform for your organization
Choosing an LMS for your healthcare organization is not something that should be taken lightly.
If you want to build a solid business case to get top-level executive support, you need to ensure that you’ve covered all the angles and that the selected system is able to bring sufficient value to be worth the investment.
Consider the following criteria when you’re in the market for the best healthcare LMS.
Is it suitable for your use case?
One of the first things to consider is whether the LMS vendor caters to your industry’s specific needs.
All the above-mentioned LMS systems have a healthcare focus, but you also need to ensure that the one you choose will help out with your other intended use cases.
These can include things like new-employee onboarding, continuous training and development, or compliance training, among others.
If you’re a medical device business, you may be less interested in patient education, for instance, but may want an LMS with sales enablement capabilities.
Do its features satisfy your needs?
You should also take into account the platform’s many features and functionalities and see how well they fit with your business goals.
Whether you’re interested in mobile learning or certification management, e-learning course authoring, or robust analytics and reporting capabilities, you need to make a list of all must-have features and ask the LMS vendor about them.
Go ahead and use our free request for proposal (RFP) template.
Is it a scalable solution?
As your business expands and introduces new users into the system, the healthcare LMS should be scalable enough to take on the extra workload.
If it’s experiencing frequent crashes or is simply not designed for too many simultaneous users, it might not be worth the initial investment.
However, if your business doesn’t expect to grow in the foreseeable future, a less capable LMS could still be a viable option as long as its pricing reflects that.
Does it offer good support?
Last but definitely not least is the LMS vendors’ customer support.
Every digital tool has its learning curve, no matter how intuitive its user interface may be.
You’ll need a responsive customer service team to help you out with your own onboarding as well as guide you through any issues you may encounter along the way.
Look for online reviews and testimonials by other customers and see what they have to say about the vendor’s customer service.
Now over to you
In today’s fast-paced healthcare environment, where new tools, technologies, innovations, and best practices appear on an almost daily basis, healthcare professionals find it difficult to keep themselves up-to-date.
They need a digital solution capable of streamlining continuous learning and development while not breaking the bank.
Ideally, it would be one that actually saves the organization time and resources.
Feel free to schedule a demo with Docebo today and see how well it caters to your organization’s needs, requirements, and use cases.