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 require more detail, more witnesses, and usually a review by a Manager.
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.
- Restraints / restrictive practices — anything subject to regulatory reporting.
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
Incident reports collect (depending on your configured types):
- Date and time of the incident (separate from when the report was filed).
- Incident type (fall, behavior, medication error, etc.).
- Description — narrative of what happened.
- Witnesses — names of staff and others present.
- Injuries — body diagram, severity, treatment given.
- Photos and videos — supporting media (with retention rules).
- Notifications — who was notified, when (family, supervisor, GP, regulators).
- Follow-up actions — what was done to address the incident, what's planned next.
The IR workflow
A typical IR moves through three states:
- Draft — the report has been started, not yet submitted. The author can edit freely.
- Submitted — the report has been finalized by the author. Reviewers are notified.
- Reviewed / Approved — designated reviewers (Managers) have signed off.
Some organizations also have an Amendment state for edits to already-submitted reports.
Who can do what
- Anyone with Track IRs permission can create an IR. This is typically Staff, Managers, and sometimes Guests.
- Anyone with Review IRs permission can review and approve. Usually Managers.
- The person who created an IR usually can't approve their own — that defeats the purpose.
What the dashboard does with IRs
- The Incident Reports tab on the dashboard lists every IR for the profile or organization, with filters by type, status, date range.
- The audit log shows IR creation, submission, review, and any edits.
- IR data feeds into trend reports — frequency by type, severity over time.
Notifications
When an IR is submitted, BEHCA sends notifications to designated recipients:
- The Billing user.
- Managers in the organization.
- (NOT regular Staff or Guests — they're explicitly excluded from submission notifications.)
This is configurable, but the default is to keep IR notifications focused on management.
What's not in an IR
- Routine behavior tracking belongs in Daily Tracking, not IRs. Don't open an IR every time someone yells.
- Medication administration goes in MAR, not IRs. Open an IR only when there's an actual error.
- Personal complaints from staff about coworkers go through HR, not IRs.
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? — Drafts can be deleted. Submitted IRs can be amended (with audit trail) but typically not deleted.