Medical professionals like doctors and nurses are expected to continuously update their knowledge and skills and keep abreast of the changing healthcare environment. That’s why many healthcare organizations are considering implementing employee training and often opt for the online format due to its flexibility.
With a learning management system (LMS), they can make workplace training more cost-effective while ensuring quality.
I reviewed 4 LMS vendors most relevant to healthcare organizations: iSpring, Docebo, EthosCE, and TOPYX. All of them have features that are of essential relevance to the medical industry: learning paths, webinars, advanced analytics and reporting, blended training, and mobile learning. Let’s take a closer look at how these features can be utilized.
- Learning path. This includes a number of courses that users need to take in a certain order. For example, you can combine video, interactive courses, and assessments on emergency medicine or pharmacology to create full programs on these disciplines.
- Webinars. Through video conferencing, you can keep health practitioners up to date on the latest innovations in their field. It’s also possible to record sessions so learners can watch them later.
- Blended learning. All the healthcare LMSs on the list allow you to manage self-paced learning as well as virtual training sessions and face-to-face events. For example, you can assign theoretical e-courses to learners in the system and, at the same time, use it to plan and track practical classroom lessons.
- Reporting and analytics. In an LMS, you can monitor the attendance and progress of learners. Training platforms typically come with a great deal of reports related to users, groups, courses, and learning programs.
- Mobile learning. Courses should be accessible and look consistent across different web browsers and mobile devices. Additionally, some platforms have mobile apps for Android and iOS with which learners can take courses and quizzes offline.
Best Healthcare Learning Management System Vendors: Quick Comparison Chart
| LMS | Distinctive features | Helps to |
|---|---|---|
| 1. iSpring Learn |
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| 2. Docebo |
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| 3. EthosCE |
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| 4. TOPYX |
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Although all the LMSs reviewed have much in common, they have unique features too. Let’s consider each learning management system vendor for healthcare organizations in greater detail.
1. iSpring Learn
Rating: 4.6/5 – 133 reviews (Capterra)
Vendor’s promise: “So much more than a training platform. You got this.”
iSpring Learn is an easy-to-use cloud-based LMS. You can start training your employees immediately after registration.
Distinctive features
Users appreciate iSpring Learn for its simple interface. It’s easy for learners to understand how to log in, complete a course or a quiz, and get results without special training. There’s also no need for an admin to study the documentation to upload new training materials, add users to the system, or create a report. The platform can be managed by an HR professional, a training manager, or even a health practitioner without IT skills.
iSpring Learn comes with a built-in editor to create page-like courses with images, quotes, videos, and quizzes right in the LMS. No technical skills are required — it’s even easier than using Word.
Plus, the LMS is integrated with a powerful authoring toolkit, iSpring Suite. It allows you to build PowerPoint-based interactive courses as well as quizzes and role-play simulations. It takes just a couple of clicks to upload an e-course from the authoring toolkit to the LMS.
Learners can take courses right on their mobile devices in the native iSpring Learn mobile app that maintains a 4.5-star rating on Google Play. It is extremely intuitive, so anyone can start using it on the spot.
The LMS also comes with a number of interesting features like iSpring’s 360-degree Performance Appraisal for evaluating employees’ competencies, an organizational chart, and the Knowledge Base, in which you can store all the information your staff needs.
iSpring Learn also boasts excellent 24/7 technical support. In 2021, the analytical portal Capterra recognized iSpring Learn as the LMS with the best customer support. According to statistics, 83% of all customer cases are resolved within two hours after requesting support.
Pricing
iSpring Learn offers two types of subscription – Start and Business, with Business coming with more advanced features. The price depends on the subscription you choose and the number of learners who enter the platform during a month. For example, the plan for 100 learners/month (Start subscription) costs $2.87 per learner.
Pros
- Simple, easy-to-navigate interface
- Built-in tool for creating simple courses
- Fully integrated authoring tool for creating professional online courses
- Integration with MAS Teams and Zoom for virtual training
- Comprehensive analytics and reporting tool
- Native mobile app
- Excellent 24/7 technical support
Cons
- No support for social forums
2. Docebo
Rating: 4.2/5 — 123 reviews (Capterra)
Vendor’s promise: “All your learning challenges, solved.”
Docebo offers a flexibly customizable LMS with numerous options. It allows you to organize not only formal but also informal training in a virtual collaborative environment and combine it with skills management.
Distinctive features
What differentiates Docebo from its competitors is the modular system. The LMS includes several modules:
- Learn is a module for formal learning through e-courses and other training materials.
- Discover, Coach & Share is a module for informal learning. It lets learners ask questions and get answers from subject matter experts.
- Extended Enterprise is a module for training external users like customers and partners.
- Docebo Skills is a skill management module. It allows you to detect skill gaps and assign courses to close each of them. You can choose the skills that you want learners to develop and make up a training program for each skill.
- Docebo Connect enables you to integrate the LMS with other tools you use in your workplace, such as CRM, team productivity apps, or HR software.
- Docebo for Salesforce is a native LMS integration for the world’s most-used CRM. It lets you deliver training directly within your Salesforce CRM.
Pricing
Public pricing information is unavailable. You’ll need to contact Docebo to obtain current pricing options.
Pros
- Modular system
- Advanced skills management
- Great social learning features
- Wide selection of integrations
- Interesting AI capabilities
Cons
- Non-transparent pricing
3. EthosCE LMS
Vendor’s promise: “EthosCE is the leading learning management system (LMS) for medical associations, academic medical centers, health systems, and medical education companies.”
EthosCE is a full-featured hosted learning management system created to automate the delivery of continuing education in nursing, pharmacy, and other healthcare-related professions.
Distinctive features
EthosCE LMS has highly configurable credit and certification tools. It’s a medical LMS that allows you to create different credit types (CE, CME, CNE, and others) and apply them to one course or full programs in various disciplines. You can set a number of credits for each assessment and establish a time limit after which credits expire.
A great advantage for healthcare organizations is integration with ACCME web services, including ABA, ABIM, ABP, and MOC 2 programs. All external credits stored in third-party systems can be united with credits earned in the medical LMS. You can make EthosCE a single repository of credits. All data is automatically reported to boards and other external systems, including ACCME PARS, CE Broker, CPE Monitor, and others. You don’t need to integrate and work with multiple Excel spreadsheets from different systems.
Pricing
Public pricing information is unavailable. You’ll need to contact EthosCE to obtain current pricing.
Pros
- Integration with ACCME web services
- Highly configurable credit and certification tools
- Built-in assessment tool
- Robust analytics
Cons
- Non-transparent pricing
- Clunky interface
- Limited social learning features
4. TOPYX
Rating: 4.2/5 – 16 reviews (Capterra)
Vendor’s promise: “Unlimited Learning, Unlimited Growth”
TOPYX is an LMS that combines formal and informal learning. It has a full-featured set of tools that allows users to learn at their own pace, collaborate with colleagues, and use different channels for consuming content.
Distinctive features
TOPYX offers great potential for social learning. It allows you to create communities that revolve around any topic or course. The platform offers six levels of social learning communities: site, course, group, program, and material communities and categories. By joining communities, learners can contact each other and share knowledge with their colleagues. For example, a user can share an article on a health topic and discuss it with other medical specialists in the comments. This feature accelerates content curation and peer-to-peer learning.
In TOPYX, it’s also possible to appoint experts in subject areas and make them responsible for each piece of content. Experts can share useful training materials and learners can ask them questions if necessary. Such an approach will help learners gain a better understanding of the different aspects of medicine.
Other social learning features of this healthcare LMS include announcements, calendar, chat, events, forums, marketing tiles, sponsor links, and media gallery.
TOPYX boasts rich functionality. However, unlike the other LMSs on the list, it has file download limitations based on the pricing plan. With TOPYX Expanded, you can upload 300 GB of training materials, while TOPYX Essentials allows you to upload only 100 GB.
Pricing
Pricing starts at $6,850/year for up to 500 users.
Pros
- Full set of social learning features
- Ability to create learning paths
- Catalog of healthcare courses
Cons
- No course authoring capabilities
- Upload limitations
Final Thoughts
There are hundreds of LMSs on the market, and selecting the right solution may prove to be a daunting task. I hope my article will help you shorten the list of platforms that you’ll choose from. Just remember that the best LMS for healthcare is one that not only empowers healthcare professionals to upskill and grow without distracting from their core responsibilities, but also accounts for the ever-changing nature of the industry.
