IPSA launches e-commerce LMS for pharmacists and pharmaceutical technical assistants

The Institute of Continuous Education for Pharmacists (IPSA – “Instituut voor Permanente Studies voor Apothekers”), is a non-profit organisation that offers specialized training to pharmacists and pharmaceutical technical assistants (PTAs). Founded in 2002 by the Flemish professional associations for pharmacists and four Belgian universities, IPSA has grown into the post-university education institute of reference for all pharmacists and PTAs in Flanders and Brussels.

The Challenge

IPSA offers a wide range of training to pharmacists and PTAs to ensure that they remain up-to-date with the latest developments and that pharmacists can obtain the necessary accreditation points to remain compliant with regulations on continued education. Each year, the non-profit puts together annual programmes for pharmacists and PTAs, covering various topics that are pertinent to each profession. In addition, IPSA also provides other types of programmes, such as first-aid courses, masterclasses, specialisation courses, and workshops.

IPSA used to manage their training offer from a custom-built website, where users could purchase and access courses. The vendor, however, discontinued their services towards the end of 2020. This launched IPSA’s search for a new, improved, and durable alternative, which was found in Totara.

The Solution

IPSA’s aim is to deliver high-quality training to pharmacists and PTAs. Therefore, it was important that their new platform would facilitate this learning aspect as much as possible, while being able to support their e-commerce model in a maximised user-friendly environment. With the rising demand for online training in the wake of the COVID pandemic, IPSA was particularly looking for a way to host their webinars directly from their website, rather than redirecting users to external streaming sites. In addition, the fact that IPSA came from a completely custom-built website meant that they were also looking for a flexible solution that they could tailor to their needs. This led them to Totara Learn, which offered both a high degree of customisability and an elaborate array of user-friendly, modern-looking learning management functionalities.

They decided to team up with Platinum Totara Partner Deloitte to guide them through the entire process, from outlining requirements to delivering an extended enterprise portal where pharmacists and PTAs can purchase and complete training. The new IPSA platform uses a combination of out-of-the-box and custom-built features to create an intuitive e-commerce journey for IPSA members.

The IPSA platform is set up as a website for the organisation as well as a learning portal for its users. Therefore, a thorough account creation process was set up that allows users to easily gain access to the platform while avoiding duplicate accounts.

To structure their various learning materials, IPSA uses programmes to create comprehensive learning journeys on a given subject. Users can register for these programmes straight from the homepage or the catalogue. The programme overview page gives users an insight into the courses they will gain access to once they are enrolled.

To cater to the varying needs of their audience, IPSA typically offers the same training in three different learning formats: in-person classes, webinars, and e-learnings. Users can easily consult the details of these different courses – such as accreditation points, dates, lecturer, or location –  straight from the programme overview page.

From this same page, users can also register for the programme. This leads them through an e-commerce flow that allows users to place an order for themselves and/or multiple other users. Once the order is finalised, order confirmations are automatically sent out and the users for which the order was placed gain access to all the courses in the programme. In addition, all billing information is stored in reports on the platform, to allow for easy processing.

Once registered, users can access each course directly from the programme overview page. They can also sign up for seminars and webinars from this page, as well as track the progress they’ve already made in a course.

Attendance in classroom sessions is gathered by means of the Belgian ID card. An integration with eID reader software makes sure that only authenticated and validated users are nominated for accreditation points.

Lastly, the IPSA platform is integrated with the Pharfolio website, where Belgian pharmacists and PTAs can keep track of their accreditation points and ensure they remain compliant with the officially required minimum. Since all of IPSA’s training is officially recognised, it was important that completion data from Totara would be pulled into Pharfolio, so that pharmacists and PTAs can have a complete overview of their obtained accreditation points.

Results

The new IPSA platform has improved significantly in terms of user-friendliness and managing and tracking learning, which in turn has made the administrative process more efficient. Webinars are now fully integrated into the platform, the possibilities for managing in-person or online training and creating tests have multiplied, and the platform has extensive reporting capabilities and an improved notification system.

Managing and tracking learning have improved significantly for end users. They can now consult the programmes they have access to directly from the homepage, and they have a clear overview of the upcoming events for which they registered. In addition, the integration with Pharfolio allows pharmacists to have an accurate view of their accreditation points.

IPSA looks forward to further explore Totara’s capabilities with their Totara partner Deloitte, whose quick and thorough support and accessible communication style they have really enjoyed throughout the process.

“We’re impressed by the many functionalities Totara has to offer. Reporting on evaluations, for instance, has become significantly easier. With just a couple of clicks, we can export everything to Excel. In general, many tasks have been simplified and automated. And there are a lot more possibilities for reporting and analysis”
– Goedele Strauven, Director at IPSA