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How to save money with an online resuscitation education program

July 5, 2021
July 5, 2021

Almost half of U.S. healthcare organizations have adopted some form of online or automated resuscitation training. Within the next five years, many more are expected to add some or all of the components of an online resuscitation program, which include an online cognitive teaching course, a self-directed skills test via smart manikin that provides user feedback, and operational tools for administration, tracking, reporting, and continual improvement.

Finding essential savings with an online resuscitation training program

A big appeal of online resuscitation training for healthcare organizations is financial in nature. Moving a resuscitation program online will definitely save time and money. The recent experience of the U.S. military easily demonstrates the value to healthcare’s bottom line.

Resuscitation Savings Example – U.S. Military
In 2018, the entire U.S. military, through the Defense Health Agency, switched to the American Red Cross online program for BLS, ALS and PALs as part of a larger restructuring of the military hospital and clinic system to better support wartime readiness and improve clinical training. With a goal of advancing resuscitation education for better outcomes by training 225,000 active military personnel, they also saved nearly 600,000 man-hours and multiple millions annually in taxpayer dollars. Simultaneously, 93% of learners are rating the training as outstanding, showing all the ways that this transition to an online resuscitation program with the American Red Cross has been successful.

Resuscitation Savings Example – Large Health System
In another example, a large health system customer of HealthStream moved from doing all resuscitation training with instructors live in classes to the self-directed American Red Cross Resuscitation Suite. With an approximate volume of 6,000 BLS participants, 2,500 ALS participants, and 1200 PALs participants, their estimated annual savings is over $550,000 every year, resulting in nearly $3 million in savings over the five-year term.

The most cost effective way to provide resuscitation training

The four methods to provide resuscitation certification training are (1) fully outsourced, (2) all live instructor-led, (3) blended learning with online learning and instructor skills-assessment, and (4) online training with a self-directed manikin. In terms of expense, the most cost- and time-effective choice is online training with a self-directed manikin skills test. To account for the true cost of each method, you have to include the average salary of the participant, the salary of the instructor, and all of the individual time that it's going to take as well as any fee for the course and materials involved. Online training and manikin testing also incorporates the least staff time away from patients and greatest convenience. Healthcare organizations face financial pressures from myriad directions—an online resuscitation program is an important place to identify and realize savings.

This blog post is part of a series based on the HealthStream webinar, Why Now Is the Right Time to Take Your Resuscitation Education Online, presented by Luther Cale, Vice President of Resuscitation, and John Dymond, Vice President of Sales, Resuscitation. Access the webinar recording, which includes information about limited time savings on HealthStream resuscitation solutions.