Closed-loop systems for training empower compounding pharmacies to strengthen compliance, improve patient safety, and streamline operations.
Closed-loop systems in healthcare: Enhancing training accessibility for safer patient outcomes
Reports from ASHP and NABP reveal that many compounding pharmacies still struggle with training documentation and competency validation. Without a robust, integrated training program, facilities risk falling short during surveys and inspections, triggering citations and reputational damage. Ensuring staff are properly trained and assessed is essential for maintaining compliance and avoiding costly consequences.
Shannon McGinley, Lead Technology Product Manager, explains, “When we speak with customers – who know better than anyone that people are the biggest source of contamination and pose the biggest risk to patient safety and business survival – they tell us that the overall quality of their program rests on their staff training appropriately and demonstrating their skills.”
With patient safety and organizational reputation at stake, sterile compounding programs must go beyond training that just checks the boxes. They must ensure that training is understood, applied, and reinforced by taking a closed-loop approach.
In this article, three Wolters Kluwer experts share how closed-loop training strengthens compliance and patient safety, and offer best practices for implementation:
- Dr. Annie Lambert, PharmD, BCSCP, Clinical Program Manager for Compliance Solutions, Simplifi 797
- Shannon McGinley, Lead Technology Product Manager, Simplifi 797
- Tasha Quilliam, Lead Product Manager, Simplifi 797
What is a closed-loop solution?
An IBM article defines closed-loop performance management as: “organizational leaders continuously monitor an enterprise’s key performance indicators. The insights gleaned from this monitoring are used to update organizational plans and goals in real-time. Rather than making a plan, executing the plan and then assessing the outcomes, closed-loop performance management creates an ongoing, self-sustaining cycle of continuous performance improvement.”
In the pharmacy setting, this means training is not isolated from practice but fully integrated into policies, training, competencies, and daily workflows.
Tasha Quilliam explains:
“Closed-loop training happens when didactic learning is aligned, consistent, and integrated with the entire compliance program. Because our same board-certified authors create standard operating procedure templates, training that supports those SOPs, and observational competencies to demonstrate the knowledge gained in training, there is consistency throughout,” she says. “Instead of distinct pieces, these are all parts of a whole. This consistency leads to better quality and, ultimately, increased patient safety.”
From an administrative perspective, closed-loop training simplifies oversight and reporting by bringing everything into a single system like Simplifi 797, which also includes education opportunities through CriticalPoint. Training, policies, procedures, and competencies all live in one place, supported by continuous feedback and analytics. This integration allows staff to reinforce skills in real time while giving pharmacy leaders clear visibility into performance and compliance.
Shannon McGinley adds, “Closed loop also means that once each staff member engages in the training, they have to demonstrate their competency, and then the program’s analytics give leaders oversight of each staff’s validated skillset, and where there might be weaknesses.”
The risks of falling behind: How do closed-loop training systems for healthcare ensure compliance?
Failing to maintain rigorous training standards not only jeopardizes patient outcomes but also a pharmacy’s reputation and regulatory standing.
Dr. Lambert notes, “Pharmacy professionals are responsible for maintaining their continuing education (CE) per state board requirements. It can be challenging, especially if you have to search for or travel to settings where courses are offered. And, in some cases, there’s the added challenge of having to pay out-of-pocket for CE.”
For compounding pharmacies, education is an essential component of the sterile compounding program. Pharmacists and technicians must complete annual training and also must apply this knowledge by demonstrating their skills via specific competencies. Solutions that offer free CE that addresses mandatory requirements help satisfy both the pharmacy’s and the personnel’s needs for education.
Non-compliance with training can trigger citations, fines, or damaging publicity following an incident. As Dr. Lambert adds, “The biggest consequence is negative patient outcomes. Not having fully trained, properly qualified personnel throughout a facility puts patients at risk.”
Best practices for ongoing compliance with closed-loop healthcare systems?
A strong closed-loop program makes training accessible, engaging, and integrated into daily workflows. With everything—training, policies, competencies, and feedback—housed in one system, staff and managers can stay aligned and continuously improve.
Here are some best practices for maintaining a robust closed-loop training program:
1. Make training accessible anytime, anywhere
On-demand training platforms enable pharmacists and technicians to complete educational modules when it is most convenient for them. Shannon McGinley emphasizes: “From an end-user perspective, it’s very important to have online training modules available 24/7, so people can access training from either home or work. That value is enhanced when the training is integrated in an application you use every day and when pharmacists and technicians earn CE credits through this format.”
Tasha Quilliam adds, “By reducing any burdens to accessing courses, staff are more likely to complete their training.”
When training is available on demand within a familiar system, it becomes part of daily practice. This boosts completion rates, consistency, and compliance while reducing barriers to learning.
2. Design interactive and relevant content
Training must be engaging to ensure knowledge retention. Shannon McGinley says: “Both end-users and managers appreciate content that is creatively designed, makes clear why certain competencies are so necessary, and is interactive. That type of content gives administrators confidence that their staff is fully engaged in the training.”
Dr. Annie Lambert emphasizes, “Pharmacists and techs need to read, see, and process the standards – and understand why those standards exist.”
3. Automate monitoring and reporting
Automation reduces the administrative burden and helps prove compliance to inspectors.
With integrated solutions like Simplifi 797, managers can track progress, generate reports, and validate training in real time. Automated, recurring scheduling of annual and role-based courses ensures staff stay current without manual intervention, saving time and reducing the risk of lapses. CE analytics also make it easier to ensure training remains a consistent priority.
Tasha Quilliam adds, “From an administrative perspective, closed-loop training means that you are assigning, monitoring, and reporting on training in Simplifi 797 rather than needing to remember to visit a separate site with different logins and systems. Instead, training is centrally managed with the rest of your compounding solution, keeping it as prioritized as it should be.”
Closing the loop: How closed-loop healthcare systems improve outcomes
Closed-loop training ensures that every step from instruction delivery to competency validation meets the highest industry standards and can be monitored in real-time on one platform. Tasha Quilliam says, “Having education as part of your closed-loop solution helps you to feel confident in your inspection readiness with a decreased administrative burden to get there.”
Working toward a closed-loop approach to training strengthens compliance, mitigates risk, fosters a skilled workforce, and most importantly, enhances patient safety. Is your training program closing the loop?
