Dispensers are the soap and sanitizer units installed throughout your facility, especially in and near patient rooms. The dispensers themselves belong to your facility; Hand Hygiene works with the dispensers you already have. This article explains how Dispenser Types and Dispensers work in Hand Hygiene, and where each is managed.
Tip: Dispensers and Dispenser Types can also be managed in Kio Cloud Company Settings under Entity Management, where Dispensers are Entities and Dispenser Types are Entity Types. Kontakt.io recommends Company Settings during the first-time setup of Hand Hygiene and for organizations that use multiple Kio Solution apps.
How dispensers fit in Hand Hygiene
Hand Hygiene needs to know which dispensers in your facility are being monitored, where each one is located, and which Kontakt.io Dispenser Beacon is attached to it. For each physical dispenser:
- A Kontakt.io Dispenser Beacon is attached to or installed inside the dispenser.
- A Dispenser is created in Hand Hygiene and linked to the Dispenser Beacon. The Dispenser's location follows the Dispenser Beacon. Kio Setup Manager usually does this when the Dispenser Beacon is installed, and updates the Dispenser instead if one is already linked to that Dispenser Beacon.
- The Dispenser is assigned a Dispenser Type, which categorizes it for analysis.
Once those three pieces are in place, each use of the dispenser becomes a dispense event in Hand Hygiene, which the system can then match to nearby Smart Badges and patient room visits.
Where dispensers are commonly located
Hand Hygiene dispensers are most often installed:
- Inside each patient room (near the bed, the wash station, or the door).
- In corridors immediately outside patient room entrances.
- At unit entrances and exits.
- In procedure rooms, family rooms, and common care areas.
Exact placement follows your facility's infection prevention plan and the existing dispenser distribution. Hand Hygiene does not require a specific brand or style of dispenser.
Things to know
- Dispenser Types, Dispensers, and the Low Refill Threshold are managed in Settings, so only the Administrator role can add, edit, or import dispensers and change these settings. Other roles can view and export dispensers from Dispensers Management.
- Every Dispenser must be assigned to a Dispenser Type. A Dispenser Type must exist before you can add Dispensers to it.
- Each Dispenser is linked to one Kontakt.io Dispenser Beacon — an ES8 Dispenser Beacon, an ES10 Dispenser Beacon, or a Universal Dispenser Beacon.
- After a Dispenser Type is created, its name, attributes, icon, color, and Status Group / Status Value definitions can be edited only from Kio Cloud Company Settings. In Hand Hygiene they are locked on edit.