The pharmaceutical industry has grown exponentially over the past decade and this trend has accelerated since the pandemic. In 2020, the global pharmaceutical manufacturing market was valued at USD 405.52 Billion. With constantly-evolving factors such as medical innovations, advanced drug delivery, globalization, and cost-effective manufacturing, the industry must also evolve in order to keep the growth consistent. How learning is approached in the pharmaceutical industry is one of these factors.
As the industry grows, there is a greater demand to find effective ways to manage the training, compliance, and learning of workers in the pharma industry. Using online learning tools like an LMS for the pharmaceutical industry can help transform the way training is approached in the field. Not only can platforms like these cater to larger audiences but they can also be tailored for training people in different parts of the world.
Let’s take a look at the impacts of adopting an LMS on the pharmaceutical industry, and the benefits of doing so!
LMS for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Impacts
Regulations and Compliance
Like most healthcare-related fields, the pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated and expects its employees to be up to date on all compliance-related matters. With different regulations for different kinds of drugs and from quality control to testing compliance, it is virtually impossible for companies to keep up with these requirements without a centralized platform or robust training plan.
An LMS for the pharmaceutical industry is instrumental in providing structure and organization that helps companies keep track of regulations and compliance. The eLearning platform could be used to determine which employees are compliant and which ones are not. Automatic reminders could be sent to those who are lagging behind. Additionally, employees can schedule training sessions around their own schedules, so that the compliance training feels less burdensome.
Global Adoption
By leveraging an LMS for the pharmaceutical industry, compliance training can be made possible for all the different areas around the world where the company operates. Regulations can change from country to country and an LMS platform can be set up to provide the appropriate training depending on which country it is being accessed from.
It’s not just compliance training that needs to be managed globally. Much of the research and development in pharmaceutical companies is done in developing countries, while their sales headquarters are located in other regions. In order to ensure that all departments interact with each other efficiently, a centralized platform like an LMS must be used to ensure that the latest research and data is correctly communicated to all departments.
Not to mention, providing research and training content customized to different geographies makes it possible for local employees to choose the appropriate language in which the information is communicated to them. Content localization and regionalization can help companies overcome the language barrier, allowing those companies to find that employees are receiving corporate training content with more clarity, which can reflect positively on their overall output.
Product and Sales Training
Due to the constant innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, new drugs, treatment methods, and medical technology are always on the horizon. This doesn’t just impact pharmacists and pharmacy technicians: it impacts product, sales, and even marketing personnel throughout the industry. To manage this constant influx of information, there is an ever-increasing need to impart product training efficiently. The faster the employees have access to the latest, most accurate information about using a new product, the quicker it can be deployed around the world.
An LMS for the pharmaceutical industry goes a long way in making this possible. Thanks to an LMS, employees of a pharmaceutical company can access training courses approved by renowned medical boards and gain certified expertise in the usage of a certain product or methodology. With the help of this expertise, numerous departments can launch these products in various countries efficiently.
Not only is a corporate LMS instrumental for product training but sales representatives can also hugely benefit from a centralized repository of information. Knowing the benefits of incorporating new medical practices or the features of recent technological innovations as soon as they are made available helps sales reps promote their products to vendors. In a market as competitive as the pharmaceutical industry, keeping sales staff well-informed can play a direct role in a company’s success and bottom line.
LMS for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Benefits
Updating Rapidly Changing Content
An LMS for the pharmaceutical industry can help employees keep up with the rapidly changing nature of their jobs. Many items like patents and drug formulations frequently change and with them come new usage instructions and regulations. Imparting these changes rapidly to physicians, sales personnel, and product training departments is important, not just for the profit that the companies gain as a result but to also make the latest treatment options available to those who need them.
Flexible Learning Options
In an industry where learning is needed for employees in practically every department, it is useful to invest in training solutions that provide convenient learning options. LMS for the pharmaceutical industry provides users with flexible learning options that work well with the busy nature of their jobs. Blended learning options can combine in-person training with online learning support, which is a helpful supplement to hands-on medical training that must be done in person.
For other training programs that can be made available entirely online, users have the choice to access the materials from any device, be it a desktop, laptop, or mobile device. The self-paced training sessions can be taken by employees whenever they find time in their busy schedules. Tools like microlearning and gamification can further help them hone their skills since these techniques are known to enhance retention.
With all these features geared towards providing effective learning solutions to pharmaceutical employees, there is very little possibility of workers being unable to find the time or capacity to undergo training.
Cost-Effective Training Solution
Having learning solutions available online significantly cuts training costs. Previously, instructor-led training would require organizations to contact experts in their field and arrange for their services as well as transport and accommodation. Aside from the logistics, this also requires these experts to effectively reproduce and redeliver their training for every new group of employees. These costs can be eliminated by platforms such as an LMS for the pharmaceutical industry.
Companies can invest once in developing the right training and course materials and then re-use the training as they see fit. Any new changes to these courses can be made at very little cost and effort, and these changes can be made available to learners immediately.
On top of that, pharmaceutical companies that have their operations spread over various continents can make a uniform training solution available for all employees, everywhere. Additionally, organizations can export and share the content they’ve produced to other organizations, oftentimes with licenses and fees as a revenue-generating model. Without a Learning Management System, companies would have had to physically send training staff and materials to other parts of the world.
Easy Tracking and Reporting
With operations spread across the globe, it is essential that a pharmaceutical company keeps track of the regulations, compliance, and technical training that their staff has received. Having advanced reporting tools in an LMS for the pharmaceutical industry ensures uniformity in compliance training regardless of the geographical location of a team. Companies can use the data to gain insights into how well a certain training has been received by the employees. This helps shape future courses in a way that enhances learning.
What’s Next?
In a sector where competition is fierce, pharmaceutical companies must invest inefficient means of training personnel, whether it is sales, product representatives, technicians, or other staff members. On top of that, the pharmaceutical industry is a global market that must find ways to impart training and technical skills to workers in different parts of the world who may speak different languages and have varying medical practices.
In light of all this, finding the right LMS for the pharmaceutical industry is a task that cannot be taken lightly. The right platform must provide a unique blend of flexibility, efficient reporting, and cost-efficacy. Edly’s workplace LMS solution provides its users with Learning Management Systems tailored to fit the workplace environment. If you want to know more about our online learning solutions, feel free to contact us and schedule a free demo!
