--- title: Clinical RTLS for Hand Hygiene Compliance | IPTel description: How RTLS staff tags and intelligent soap dispensers measure hand hygiene compliance, helping hospitals reduce hospital-acquired infections. image: https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Clinical%20RTLS%20-%20Hand%20Hygiene/Clinical%20RTLS%20Hand%20Hygiene%20Compliance%20(Instagram).gif --- [![IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png?width=200&height=59&name=IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png "IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)")](https://iptel.com.au) - [Home](https://iptel.com.au/) - [Solutions](https://iptel.com.au/solutions) Technologies - [Cisco Access Manager](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-access-manager) - [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) - [Cisco Meraki](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-meraki) - [Cisco SDA Fabric](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-sda-fabric) - 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[DP World](https://blog.iptel.com.au/dp-world-case-study) - [Backup Assure](https://blog.iptel.com.au/backup-assure-a-disaster-recovery-case-study) [Contact Us](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Clinical RTLS: Hand Hygiene Mar 20, 2026 Many patients are infected with various diseases during their stay in hospital. The most obvious way to reduce cross-infection is with hand washing.  Hospitals have a requirement to reduce the transmission rates of infection from patient to patient, but staff are always busy, going in and out of rooms, sometimes only very briefly.  Technology can help in tracking - and reminding staff to wash their hands.   ![Clinical RTLS Hand Hygiene Compliance](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Clinical%20RTLS%20-%20Hand%20Hygiene/Clinical%20RTLS%20Hand%20Hygiene%20Compliance-still.jpg?width=1475&height=790&name=Clinical%20RTLS%20Hand%20Hygiene%20Compliance-still.jpg) --- ## Hospital Acquired Infection Hospital acquired infection is a major cost to a hospital, where a patient is infected with something different from when they arrived. This is costly for the hospital, and reducing the occurrence of transmissions is an important issue for many hospitals. There is of course a major human element to this, where the patients themselves remain in hospital much longer than necessary. Although not a catch all, simple hand washing between patient attendance has a major effect on the re-transmission of infection. The question answered in this article is: How can location tracking technology be used to help in the fight against hospital acquired infection. --- ## Hand Hygiene: The Problem ![centrak\_soap\_dispenserpng](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20Images/Product%20Photos/APs/centrak_soap_dispenserpng.png?width=176&height=287&name=centrak_soap_dispenserpng.png) According to Hand Hygiene Australia, poor hand hygiene by both staff and patients is a major factor in transmitted infections. A study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that hand washing with soap could protect 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia. If staff go from patient to patient, without washing their hands, transmission of sometimes deadly infection can happen between patients. Let's explore how technology can assist in the fight against transmission of infection.   --- ## Hand Hygiene: The Solution Staff are meant to wash their hands before attending to a patient, however they're often busy and under stress and sometimes just plain forget. Hospitals run audits to check compliance, which often involves someone with a clipboard following the clinician around. This isn't practical, is expensive and in any case any person being followed around will not display the same behaviour as when they are alone. ![CenTrak\_Staff\_Tag](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20Images/Imported_Blog_Media/CenTrak_Staff_Tag.png?width=550&height=245&name=CenTrak_Staff_Tag.png) To assist in reducing the number of infections contracted in hospitals due to staff not washing hands, CenTrak have designed a system which operates to track and remind staff of compliance of hand washing. There are soap dispensers everywhere in hospitals, on the entrance to every patient room and scattered in all the hallways. Related reading - [Clinical RTLS: Call Assist](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-rtls-use-cases-call-assist) - [Top 5 Digital Healthcare Trends](https://blog.iptel.com.au/top-5-digital-healthcare-trends) - [Cisco Spaces Introduction](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-spaces-introduction) --- ## Stage 1: The Staff Tag The image above is of CenTrak's Staff Tag, which tracks a member of staff's location within the hospital. When a nurse enters a room, the system locates that the nurse is now in that specific room. The tag can also be used for duress, or nursecall integration (cancelling a nursecall alarm and raising the presence lamp). Related reading - [RTLS Use Cases - Nursecall Integration](https://blog.iptel.com.au/rtls-use-cases-nursecall-integration) --- ## Stage 2: The Intelligent Soap Dispenser [![Clinical RTLS Use Cases (Instagram)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Clinical%20RTLS%20-%20Call%20Assist/Clinical%20RTLS%20Use%20Cases%20(Instagram).gif?width=213&height=213&name=Clinical%20RTLS%20Use%20Cases%20(Instagram).gif)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-rtls-use-cases-call-assist) The soap dispenser should be used every time a clinician enters a patient room. Coupling the knowledge of the nurse being in the room with whether or not the soap dispenser has been used, the system can tell whether the nurse has washed their hands prior to attending to a patient. A base level of compliance can be gathered from this - these events can be collated for a few weeks to see the current background level of compliance. The system can be set so that the tag beeps if the nurse is in the room more than a pre-defined period, *but hasn't* used the hygiene station. At first this would seem annoying to the nurse, but in time, the nag that the tag provides produces an automatic response to wash your hands. The nurses clean their hands more often as the tag is there to remind them when they have forgotten to do so. Related reading - [Clinical Fridge Monitoring](https://blog.iptel.com.au/fridge-temperature-monitoring) - [RTLS Use Cases: Nursecall](https://blog.iptel.com.au/rtls-use-cases-nursecall-integration) --- ## The Payback The hospital can now tell some interesting things. What were the levels of compliance prior, and after the system was introduced and began to beep to remind staff to wash their hands. [![RTLS Nursecall Integration (Instagram)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/RTLS%20Nursecall%20Cancellation/RTLS%20Nursecall%20Integration%20(Instagram).gif?width=220&height=220&name=RTLS%20Nursecall%20Integration%20(Instagram).gif)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-rtls-nursecall-integration) Depending on the level of anonymity the site decides to deploy the system with, stats on which soap dispenser has the highest compliance levels, or which staff have the lowest compliance levels, might be interesting. For the start, it's probably a wise move to keep the data generic - this provides rates of staff meeting the requirement, but doesn't victimise any particular member of staff. When outbreaks of infection occur, the site can refer to the historic records to work out where it may have begun - based on audits on which rooms staff attended to, but didn't wash their hands. Related reading - [CT Scanner](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-wi-fi-and-ct-scanner) --- ## Hand Hygiene RTLS: FAQs ### How Does RTLS Measure Hand Hygiene? Staff wear location tags, and soap or sanitiser dispensers detect when they are used. The system links each use to a staff member and their location, such as entering a patient room. ### Why Track Hand Hygiene Automatically? Manual audits are infrequent and behaviour changes while observers are present. Automated tracking gives continuous compliance data without the audit overhead. ### What Infrastructure Is Needed? Staff tags, connected dispensers and a location system — often beacons plus the Wi-Fi network — with software that reports compliance by ward or role. ### Can the Same Staff Tags Support Other Use Cases? Often, yes. Depending on the platform, staff tags used for hand hygiene can also support duress alerts, call assist and nurse call cancellation. --- ## Clinical Hand Hygiene: Conclusion There's a range of Real Time Location Services (RTLS) solutions on the market, but there has never been a better time than now to invest in improving technology to prevent transmissible diseases. The result is the compliance data showing that hand washing has increased *and the spread of infection between patients has decreased*. The downside is you will be buying more soap! To find out more about our CenTrak Designs, please [contact us](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us). Related reading - [Clinical Wi-Fi Design: Top 5 Tips](https://blog.iptel.com.au/high-availability-hospital-wi-fi-design) - [The Top 8 Secrets to Great Wi-Fi](https://info.iptel.com.au/top-8-wi-fi-secrets-hospital) - [Wi-Fi Phone Dropouts](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-phone-dropouts) ### Need Help With Location Services? IPTel deploys [Cisco Spaces](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-spaces) and location-ready Wi-Fi for hospitals and enterprises. See our [healthcare](https://iptel.com.au/industries/healthcare) page, or if that would be useful, [get in touch with the IPTel team](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) or email [sales@iptel.com.au](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au). #### Related Articles ###### [Top 5 Digital Healthcare Trends](https://blog.iptel.com.au/top-5-digital-healthcare-trends) Jan 8, 2026 ###### [Clinical Asset Tracking](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-asset-tracking) July 21, 2026 ###### [Clinical Wi-Fi and the CT Scanner](https://blog.iptel.com.au/clinical-wi-fi-and-ct-scanner) June 1, 2026 Free tool ### How Many Wi-Fi Access Points Do You Need? Work out APs, PoE and switch ports floor by floor, using the same survey grades our Cisco wireless engineers design to. Takes under a minute. 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