2021 HME Business Handbook: Strategy
Managing Your Employees' Continuing Education
Continuing education and training opportunities help DMEPOS providers demonstrate their commitment to clients and staff as well as governing organizations — but how do you manage it all?
- By Mike McKillip
- Jun 01, 2021
Continuing education
is a key factor for success in
the Durable Medical Equipment,
Prosthetics/Orthotics, and
Supplies (DMEPOS) industry, not
only because it is a requirement
but also because it directly
impacts both the quality of care
and employee engagement. By
providing continuing education
and training opportunities,
DMEPOS providers demonstrate
their commitment to clients
and staff as well as governing
organizations.
Mandated continuing education
and training set the bar for
minimum requirements at all
levels of DMEPOS operations.
These mandates are established
by regulatory bodies and payors,
such as the Office of the Inspector
General (OIG), Occupational
Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), accreditation organizations,
and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The requirements are intended
to create a baseline of knowledge
and standardized quality of care
among providers. Businesses
succeed when they realize employee
education matters beyond regulatory
mandates, and they make
it part of their company culture.
Investing in continuing education
programs sets them apart
from their competition and helps
them thrive in today’s competitive
markets.
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Rolling out an educational program to all
employees can be a daunting task. Enter
Learning Management Systems (LMS) like
HealthTrainU and others. An LMS is an
online computer platform that can house
and manage your educational resources
and training documentation. Among the
advantages of being online is that the
LMS can be accessed by your employees
at any time and from multiple locations.
This flexibility benefits employees
who can access and complete their
educational requirements when
and where it is most convenient for
them. They may begin their required
education at their work computer, but
complete the work, or to expand their
knowledge with additional courses, on a
home computer.
For those companies that have more
than one location, the LMS similarly
can be managed anywhere there is an
internet connection.
SELECTING A
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
You will want the LMS you select for
your company to be easy and intuitive
to operate. Any functional efficiencies
will be negated by a system that is
difficult to use or one your employees
find hard to navigate. Simple things
make a difference. Look for controls and
buttons that are plainly labeled. Look for
management controls that are easy to
set up and manage or those that are fully
automated.
One of the hardest, most timeconsuming
things a DME provider
has to do is to keep their employees
up-to-date with new and changing rules
and regulations. In the past, a provider
would have to have someone from
their staff undertake research to find
relevant educational content applicable
for each level and employee role. Most
learning management systems create
their own content, so research duties are
minimized. Tasks such as preparation and
monitoring of sign-in sheets, preparation
of individual employee folders, and
management of physical file space to
store the information are also laborintensive
and time-consuming.
An LMS can save your compliance or
human resource department significant
time, freeing them to focus on other
responsibilities. Other functions typically
available through an LMS include adding
students and content, providing “due
date” reminders, assessments, and
certificates, and pulling reports from
the back-end of the system. Different
systems offer varying functions so that
you can find the best one to suit your
company’s unique needs, like checking
employees against the LEIE exclusionary
list or allowing the DME provider to post
content specific to their company along
with an assessment.
How you institute, present, and nurture
learning in your company distinguishes
you from your competition. Having
solid continuing education and training
helps your organization stand out and
contributes to your success.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Learning Management Systems can
reduce the burden on your human
resources, education and compliance
departments.
- By using the power of a comprehensive
digital solution, you can
manage and monitor the activities
of your learners online, eliminating
waste in the form of time and paper
documentation.
- With mandatory continuing education
built into the DME industry, an
LMS can represent a smart financial
move for providers as it returns time
that can be leveraged for working
on other areas of your business.
LEARN MORE
Today’s learning management
systems are more mobile, interactive,
and accessible than the books and
in-services they replaced. Learn
more by contacting HealthTrainU at
[email protected] or by visiting www.healthtrainu.com.
This article originally appeared in the May/Jun 2021 issue of HME Business.
About the Author
Mike McKillip is the Product Manager for HealthTrainU. Mike has over 23 years of experience in the DME industry, with more than 12 years focusing on employee education. He can be reached via email at [email protected].