Cost-effectiveness of web-based wound care education in a healthcare organization

Abstract

Digitalization has been a thought-provoking topic already for several years. Even though its potential and advantages are understood, digitalization has moved slowly into healthcare practices. At the same time, there is a pressure to find both cost savings and quality improvements. Practical clinical care is executed by healthcare professionals, and therefore, their continuous knowledge development is essential for enhancing the quality aspects in healthcare. E-learning is a cost-efficient solution to do this since it is a technological tool that provides high-quality training with low costs.

In this research, e-learning was evaluated through a cost-effectiveness analysis, i.e. the ratio of cost and outcome. To reveal the effects of online education on outcomes and costs, traditional lecture education and online education were compared. The case study was made in Kainuu Social Welfare and Healthcare Joint Authority with an online course of wound care that was provided by Duodecim Oppiportti.

The results reveal that participants in online education achieved a slightly better learning outcome than in traditional lecture education. Work experience and attendance in an online course were the most significant factors that affected the learning success. However, the combination of online education and the lecture education resulted in the best outcome that neither method could have achieved alone. With the use of the online course, the organization can achieve cost savings or train more professionals. Even though web-based education performed well in terms of cost-effectiveness, the additional lecture course increased the learning success. Nevertheless, the priorities and value judgments between cost and learning affect the decisions along with cost-effectiveness analysis.