97.1% compliance rate achieved for required training with SafetyQ implementation

A mid-Atlanta health system was able to deliver innovative, high-quality care centered on improving patient health and championing preventive services, educational programs, and wellness offerings. With more than one million patient touchpoints each year, they are recognized as one of the largest and most integrated providers of health-related services.

As long-time users of HealthStream’s course training over the years, the learning services team immediately recognized the potential in utilizing SafetyQ to alleviate the burden of establishing required compliance training so they could focus on creating more customized material. “Right away, we thought up ways to implement those microlessons to create a custom bundle for our populations,” explained their Senior LMS Administrator.

Making the most of required training

An e-learning governance committee comprised of employees from compliance, human resources, and the e-learning services team evaluated their options and developed a list of courses from the SafetyQ catalog that would comprise the foundation of required learning material. These were then bundled into custom curriculums for staff, which consisted of the standardized SafetyQ modules and custom courses created by the team.

The staff population was then split into three unique groups based on the training that would be necessary for each: one for patient-interacting staff, one for non-interacting staff, and a final bundle for fully remote workers. Existing employees would be given the option to test out of annual compliance training using the HealthStream pre-assessments. New employees were required to complete all training and were provided with an additional orientation bundle.

Gains in engagement, time savings, and overall satisfaction

“Those courses are time consuming to make sure they are updated, interactive, and engaging,” said the facility’s Instructional Designer, explaining that SafetyQ removed the burden of this development “so we can focus on other hospital-specific needs. From an instructional designer standpoint, it’s also nice to see what those SafetyQ courses look like. I get ideas for interactivity and design that I can tweak to fit my own needs.”

The facility’s Manager of Learning Services agreed, stating that the use of SafetyQ has been a unique time saving tactic for them—not just from the perspective of instructional development, but also in terms of making it “easier to evaluate the ‘need to know’ vs. ‘nice to know’ information, so we can focus on what’s necessary and hopefully help staff get back to patient care faster.” They’ve received positive feedback on the bundles as well.

Time savings were also gained with the use of pre-assessments to better target training for existing employees. An estimated 6,500 hours were saved in 2024 with the use of the pre-assessments and the staff is on track to save even more in 2025.

The gains in staff compliance with training requirements have also been a success. They achieved a 97.1% compliance rate, the best they’ve had in any year so far. Contributing to this success was the addition of Spanish language courses from SafetyQ, as well as the custom widget created in MyTeam to assist leaders in monitoring team member completions of the modules.

Opportunities for growth

While achieving a high compliance rate was a great accomplishment, the learning services team is far from done. The Manager of Learning Services reports that they are working on developing podcasts, which they hope to be able to roll out to staff next year. They also utilize storyboards whenever they have an audit from CMS or The Joint Commission. The storyboards are readily available for the compliance team and readily demonstrate compliance with the required training topics.

“HealthStream is my whole life at work,” jokes the Senior LMS Administrator, adding that while it has been work getting to a high level of compliance with the training, the team is confident in their ability to keep moving forward with their gains.

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