Relias Learning Launches New Research Venture

The Relias Institute will work with providers and thought leaders in healthcare to research training best practices and the impact on health outcomes.

Relias Learning, the leader in online training and compliance solutions for the health and human services market, announced the formation of their new research division, Relias Institute.  Working in partnership with health care providers, other researchers and university programs, The Relias Institute will evaluate the impact of learning technologies on provider’s ability to deliver evidence-based treatments for individuals with diverse health conditions and the resulting impact of these programs on patient outcomes.

“As the healthcare world shifts from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance, providers need to have a deep and precise understanding of the activities that create the highest level of care and best outcomes,” said Jim Triandiflou, CEO of Relias Learning. “Relias Institute provides a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of training, and to the benefit of all, share those findings with all health care providers.”

For example, one of the Relias Institute’s partners, the May Institute, recently compared traditional didactic training to a blended training approach, using a foundation of online learning.  The goal of this study was to identify the best training environment to maximize knowledge retention by the learner.  To do this, the May Institute divided a group of health care professionals into two groups – a strictly classroom group and an online blended learning group.  Both groups were included an equal number of teacher aides working in an Applied Behavioral Analysis-based school, direct care staff working in a residential program, and direct therapists working in homes and public schools.

The research results were striking.  By the end of more than 40 hours of training by both groups, not only did the online blended learning group complete more training in the same amount of time, but they also retained an average of 30% more knowledge from the courses taken.

“Relias Institute will be a catalyst for a higher level of training accountability and a public advocate of best practices,” stated Emaley McCulloch, VP of Relias Institute. “Our hope is that the Relias Institute will help our partners in the health care industry reach unprecedented levels of organizational performance.”

To learn more about Relias Institute and to follow the ongoing studies conducted by the team of researchers, please visit www.relias.com/relias-institute.