An Incident Report (IR) is a formal record of an event that needs careful documentation — anything from a minor scrape to a serious medication error. They're separate from daily tracking entries because they capture more detail and go through a review before they're considered complete.
When to file an IR
Common triggers across most organizations:
- Injuries — falls, hits, scratches, bites, anything requiring first aid.
- Behavioral incidents — significant aggression, self-injury, property damage, elopement.
- Medication errors — wrong med, wrong dose, missed dose with consequences.
- Allegations — complaints, abuse allegations, neglect concerns.
- Near-misses — events that almost caused harm but didn't.
- Property damage — significant damage to belongings or facility.
- Protective physical intervention — when a physical intervention was used.
Your organization will have its own policy about what triggers an IR. When in doubt, file one — it's better to over-report than under-report.
What's in an IR
The exact fields depend on your organization's setup, but an IR generally captures:
- Date and time of the incident (separate from when the report was filed).
- Incident type(s) — one or more categories (fall, behavior, medication error, etc.).
- Description — narrative of what happened.
- Witnesses — anyone present (optional — there's no minimum number).
- Injuries — body diagram, severity, treatment given.
- Photos and videos — supporting media.
- Follow-up actions — what was done, and what's planned next.
The IR workflow
On the website, each report moves through clear stages you’ll see on cards in Incident Reporting:
- Draft — the report is still being written. The author can edit freely (most fields save as you change them).
- Waiting for Reviews — after the author submits (Submit For Review), the report waits for the people chosen as Responsible Parties (reviewers) to finish their review. (In the Status filter on the list page, this lane is labeled Waiting For Review.)
- Completed — all required reviews are done; you’ll see Completed with the completion date and reviewer on the card.
Restricted isn't a separate type — any incident report becomes restricted when it indicates suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation. A restricted IR shows a RESTRICTED ribbon, and access is limited to supervisors (Managers and those with review permission) plus the report's author. Use the Restricted option in the Status filter to focus on those.
Mobile wording can differ slightly, but the underlying states are the same.
The Incident Reporting page (web)
Open Incident Reports in the top menu (same row as Track and Analyze). The URL looks like https://app.behca.com/ir/{profile-id} — it always applies to the profile selected in the profile switcher.
At the top of Incident Reporting:
- A date range for which incidents to show (pick dates, then Update).
- Status and Author menus — multi-select filters so you can show only certain stages or authors’ reports.
- Create New IR — starts a new draft (
/ir/{profile-id}/edit). - Subtabs Active and Archived — archived IRs move off the default board into Archived (you can Unarchive from there when allowed).
Each IR appears as a card with summary text, reported date/time, author, and status (Draft, Waiting for Reviews, Completed, or RESTRICTED). Completed reports often show a PDF export icon for download.
The Dashboard and Audit Log (under Analyze) are separate places to see broader trends and history; this page is the day-to-day IR inbox for the current profile.
Who can do what
- Anyone with Track IRs permission can create an IR — typically Staff, Managers, and sometimes Guests.
- Reviewers are the people you check as Responsible Parties on the report. The list to choose from is your Managers and anyone with IR review permission.
- The creator of an IR can also be one of its reviewers — BEHCA doesn't stop you. If your organization wants a separate person to review, make that part of your own process.
Notifications
When an IR is submitted, BEHCA notifies:
- Your Managers (and anyone with IR review permission).
- The Responsible Parties you selected, so they know this specific report needs their review.
Routine Staff and Guests aren't emailed for every submission. BEHCA does not send notifications to external parties (family, GP, regulators) — that's outside the app and up to your organization's own process.
What's not in an IR
- Routine behavior tracking belongs in Daily tracking overview, not IRs. Don't open an IR every time someone yells.
- Medication administration goes in What MAR is, not IRs. Open an IR only when there's an actual error.
- Staff complaints about coworkers (workplace/HR matters) go through HR, not IRs. But if the concern is about harm, abuse, or neglect of a person you support — even involving a staff member — that is an incident report (and will be handled as a restricted one).
What the activity log records
Each IR keeps an activity log, but it's about the review lifecycle, not every keystroke. It records things like when the report was created and submitted, who was added or removed as a reviewer, reviewer feedback, and when the review was completed. It does not track field-by-field edits (it won't say "Jane changed field 2").
Common questions
- Can I retroactively file an IR for a past incident? — Yes. Set the Date and time of incident to when it actually happened.
- Do I need to upload photos for every IR? — No. Photos and videos are optional, but recommended for injuries and property damage.
- Are IRs visible to families/Guests? — Depends on your organization's settings and the Guest's permissions. Talk to your Manager.
- What if I made the IR by mistake? — You can archive it (this works even for drafts). IRs can't be deleted from the app — archiving moves it off your active board while keeping the record.