How to Develop a Healthcare Compliance Training Program

An effective healthcare compliance training program mitigates risks, enhances patient care, and keeps the organization compliant with all federal and state regulations that require education. Understanding how to develop a healthcare compliance training program means finding ways to keep employees engaged, ensuring content meets regulatory requirements, tracking completion, and more.

In this article, we’ve gathered the top tips from MedTrainer’s learning team to help healthcare organizations create and execute a comprehensive compliance training program.

What is Healthcare Compliance Training?

Healthcare compliance training includes education and instruction on various laws, regulations, and internal policies that healthcare professionals must follow to ensure ethical and legal conduct. The requirements cover a wide range of topics, from patient privacy and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to bloodborne pathogens (OSHA) and detecting fraud (CMS).

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Tips for Creating a Healthcare Compliance Training Program

Building an effective healthcare compliance training program starts with identifying the requirements for your type of organization. For example, requirements for post-acute care facilities are very different from FQHC requirements. Once you’ve identified the requirements, it’s time to develop a plan that will keep employees engaged and satisfy regulatory and accreditation organizations.

Provide a Variety of Training Courses

Offering diverse training courses helps to keep employee attention ensures that training is accessible to all staff members. This can include:

• Role-Specific Training: Tailor courses to the specific needs of different organizational roles. For example, clinical staff may need detailed training on preventing needlesticks, while administrative staff may just need a general emergency preparedness course.
• Interactive and Engaging Formats: Use various formats, such as microlearning, skills-based learning and scenario-based learning. Be sure to include assessments as part of the training to keep attention and understand when additional training is needed.
• Updated Content: Regularly update training materials to reflect the latest regulations and industry best practices. This ensures that staff are always equipped with current knowledge.

Assess Training Progress

Regulatory and accreditation agencies require proof of training completion for every employee. This is an area where a learning management system (LMS) really shines, since tracking granular detail via spreadsheets or paper is tough. Training metrics you may want to track include:

• Course Assignment: It’s helpful to know how many employees will be completing training each month as this could impact scheduling.
• Course Progress: In addition to knowing when training is complete, it is helpful to know if employees have even started.
• Assessment Scores: Track quiz and assessment scores to test knowledge retention. These can help identify gaps in understanding and areas that require further attention.

Reinforce Training Throughout the Year

While most compliance training needs to be completed annually, it’s always a good idea to keep the concepts top of mind. Here are a few ideas to incorporate learning into daily routines:

• Short Videos: If you’re using a LMS, play relevant course modules during staff meetings as an extra reminder.
• Regular Communication: Use newsletters, emails, and staff meetings to discuss compliance updates and highlight areas that require attention. This keeps compliance at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
• Recognize Top Learners: Recognize employees who complete training early or proactively take additional courses. You could even hold a monthly drawing that includes everyone who completed training the prior month.

Gather Ongoing Feedback

Continuous improvement comes from requesting and collecting feedback from staff members about the training program and its effectiveness. This can be done through:

• Surveys and Questionnaires: Use surveys to collect feedback on the effectiveness and relevance of training courses. Ask specific questions about what employees found helpful and what could be improved.
• Focus Groups: Conduct focus groups with representatives from different departments to gain deeper insights into their training experiences and needs.
• Regular Reviews: Schedule regular training program reviews to incorporate feedback and make necessary adjustments. This helps ensure that the program remains effective and aligned with organizational goals.

Elevate Your Healthcare Compliance Training Program

As you’ve probably realized, building an effective healthcare compliance training program can be overwhelming. There are federal and state regulations to consider, accrediting organizations, employee engagement, tracking, and more. It’s why thousands of healthcare organizations use a LMS, such as MedTrainer, to provide healthcare-specific courses, automated tracking and reporting, employee reminders, and more.

Learn how MedTrainer Learning can help your organization streamline compliance training.