Biopsychosocial assessment (BPS)
The biopsychosocial assessment (BPS) is the in-depth clinical assessment that captures a client's full history — and it's the foundation the rest of the treatment work is built on. The clinical picture you put together here is what the treatment plan draws from.
It follows the same draft → submit → approve path as your other documents (see How documentation works), with a few things that are specific to the BPS.
Staff members assigned to the case author and edit the assessment; a supervisor or practice manager approves it. The BPS is one exception to the usual self-approval rule: a supervisor may approve a BPS they wrote themselves, because the clinical formulation is the author's own judgment to attest. See Your role in FCR.
What it covers
The BPS is a long-form assessment spanning the client's whole picture, including:
- Demographics and presenting concerns
- Medical history
- Mental health history
- Substance use history
- Family and social history
- Strengths
Choosing the assessment type
To start a BPS, find the person it's for — the picker opens on a search of your caseload, grouped by family. If that person is covered by more than one case, FCR asks "Which case?" right there so the assessment attaches to the correct one — it never guesses. (You can also switch to Browse cases and pick the case first.)
FCR then sets the assessment type — Adult, Adolescent, or Child — based on the client's age (from their date of birth). You can adjust it before you begin if needed.
The Adult / Adolescent / Child type determines which sections and fields the assessment requires, so it locks once you begin the assessment. Make sure it's right before you start.
Working through the assessment
- Jump between sections in any order. The section tabs at the top let you move around freely — you don't have to complete it top to bottom. Your work autosaves as you go, and switching sections never loses what you've entered.
- Demographic details can fall back to the client's record. Some fields are already known from the client's member record. Leave a field blank to use that information automatically, or type into it to record a value specific to this assessment.
- Add as many entries as you need in the repeating sections — for example medications, treatment history, and family mental-health history — one row per item.
Finishing and approval
The BPS uses the standard lifecycle: draft → submitted → approved, with the usual revision-requested loop if a reviewer sends it back. Approval finalizes it and locks it as the clinical record. Once approved, a formal BPS record is available as a PDF, and the assessment is ready to anchor the treatment plan.
One assessment across a family's cases
Families often have more than one open case at the same time. When a person already has a biopsychosocial assessment, you don't need to redo it for each case — you can link the existing assessment to another of that family's cases so it appears there too. Link it, don't retype it — no double entry.
- It stays a single assessment. A linked assessment isn't a copy. There's one record, shown under each case it's linked to — update it in one place and it's the same everywhere. It always keeps its original case (where it was first created) marked as its home.
- Bring an existing assessment over. When you open a case whose family already has an assessment, FCR shows a note near the top offering to bring it over — one row per person, each with the date it was approved so you can tell at a glance whether it's still current or old enough that you'd rather start fresh. You confirm first; it then appears under that case's assessments.
- Manage it from the assessment. Open a biopsychosocial assessment and you'll see its Linked cases — every case it appears under, with its original case marked Origin. You can link it to another of the family's cases from here as well.
Staff members on a case can link a family's existing assessment to that case. Removing a link from a case it was added to is a supervisor or practice manager action. The original case is permanent — an assessment always belongs to where it started, so that connection can't be removed.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Adult / Adolescent / Child type decided? FCR sets it from the client's date of birth. You can change it before you start, but it locks once the assessment is underway because it controls the required content.
Can I fill out the sections in any order? Yes — use the section tabs to move around, and your work saves as you go.
Why are some demographic fields already filled in or left blank? They draw from the client's member record. Leave a field blank to use that information, or type in it to override it just for this assessment.
I'm a supervisor — can I approve a BPS I wrote? Yes. The BPS is the exception to the rule against approving your own work, since the clinical formulation is yours to attest.
What happens after it's approved? It's finalized and locked, a formal PDF record becomes available, and it serves as the basis for the client's treatment plan.
The family has another open case — do I redo the assessment? No. Link the person's existing assessment to the other case and it appears there too, as the same record. FCR will usually offer to bring it over when you open the case. If it's old enough that a fresh assessment makes more sense, you can start a new one instead — the approval date on the offer helps you decide.
If I update a linked assessment, does it change everywhere? Yes. It's one assessment shown under several cases, not separate copies — an update is the same update everywhere it appears.
Can I unlink an assessment from a case? A supervisor or practice manager can remove a link from a case the assessment was added to. Its original case can't be unlinked — an assessment always belongs to where it was first created.
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