How documentation works in FCR
Almost everything you record in FCR — progress notes, visitation notes, treatment plans, assessments, and more — follows the same path from a working draft to a finished, approved document. Learn it once here and every other documentation guide will feel familiar.
Any staff member can create and write documents for cases they're assigned to. Approving a clinical document is done by the author's supervisor or a Practice Manager — never by the author themselves, and admins don't approve clinical documents. The specifics are in Your role in FCR.
The lifecycle of a document
Most clinical documents move through the same stages:
- Draft — you're still working on it. Only you can edit or discard your draft, and you can do so freely.
- Submitted — you've sent it for review. It's now waiting for a supervisor or Practice Manager.
- Approved — a supervisor or PM has signed off. The document is final.
- Revision requested — a reviewer sent it back with notes. You make the changes and submit again.
A few documents vary slightly — treatment plans and safety plans can be in effect (usable by the family) as soon as you submit them, before final approval — but the draft → submit → approve → (revise) rhythm is the same everywhere.
Everyone assigned to a case can read that case's clinical documentation — so if you and a coworker both work with the same family, you can each see the other's progress notes, visitation notes, and home safety audits. That's on purpose: two people working one case need the same picture, the way clinicians in one health network share a patient's chart. Only the author can edit or submit their own work, though — you can open a coworker's note, but you can't change it. Supervisors and Practice Managers can see everything for the cases they oversee.
A few things stay more private by design: group notes are visible only to the facilitator who wrote them, a draft safety plan stays private to its author until it's put in effect, and supervisor notes are never visible to the staff member they're about.
Drafts autosave while you type — you'll see a small "Saved" indicator. You don't need to hit a save button to avoid losing work, and you can close a draft and come back to it later.
Signing your work
When you submit a document that needs your sign-off, FCR uses the signature saved on your profile. If you haven't set one up yet, you'll be prompted to draw it the first time — see Logging in & your account. Some documents (like safety plans) also capture a family member's signature, drawn right on your device during the visit.
Submitting for approval
When a draft is complete, choose Submit. FCR checks that the required fields are filled in first — if something's missing (a narrative, a required tag), it tells you what to fix before it will send.
Once submitted, the document is locked for editing and appears in your supervisor's approval queue. They'll either approve it or request revision.
Approving a document is the official sign-off, and for many documents it also has downstream effects (for example, approving a progress note is what makes the service billable). Once a document is approved, it can't be edited normally — a reviewer has to request revision to reopen it. Review carefully before you submit.
If a document is sent back
When a reviewer requests revision, the document returns to you as an editable draft, along with their notes on what to change. For some documents, reviewers can flag the specific sections that need work. Make the changes and submit again — it goes back through the same review.
Finding work that needs your attention
You don't have to remember what's outstanding — FCR surfaces it for you:
- Your dashboard highlights drafts you've started but not submitted ("Pick up where you left off") and anything that needs action.
- The Tasks drawer collects everything across all document types that's waiting on you — drafts sitting too long, documents returned for revision, and (for supervisors and PMs) documents awaiting approval.
See Understanding your dashboard for the full tour.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to finish a document in one sitting? No. Drafts autosave as you type, and only you can edit yours. Start it now, finish it later.
Can I edit a document after it's approved? Not directly — approved documents are final. A supervisor or PM can request revision to reopen it if a correction is needed.
Who can see my drafts? Coworkers assigned to the same case can read your progress notes, visitation notes, and home safety audits — drafts included — so the team always has the full picture. Only you can edit or submit them, though. Supervisors and PMs can see your documents and can step in on a draft if needed (for example, to clean up after a reassignment). A few types are more private: group notes stay with their author, and a draft safety plan stays private until it's in effect.
Need help with something this guide didn't cover? Contact support and we'll walk you through it.