Incident report retention
What CareGuard keeps
CareGuard keeps no copy of the incident reports submitted through its channel. Reports are transmitted to the facility’s designated legal counsel and to ownership, and CareGuard does not retain, store or archive them.
Nothing is kept. That is not a limitation anyone worked around. It is the design.
Does CareGuard store incident reports?
CareGuard acts as a facilitator of the reporting process. Reports are transmitted to the facility’s designated legal counsel and to ownership, and CareGuard does not retain, store or archive them.
Why doesn’t CareGuard keep a copy of reports?
- It keeps CareGuard out of your litigation. An organization that holds no copy cannot be subpoenaed for one, and cannot be drawn in as a third-party custodian of records about your facility.
- It removes a second copy from existence. Every additional repository of a sensitive report is an additional place it can be discovered, breached or mishandled.
- It keeps the chain short. Reporter, counsel, ownership. Nobody in the middle holding the file.
What are the drawbacks of CareGuard keeping no copy?
- There is no dashboard of your own reports here. If you want trend analysis across your portfolio, it has to be built on your side, from what your counsel holds.
- There is no status tracking for the person who reported. They are told this before they submit.
- CareGuard cannot re-send a report you lost. Your retention is the only retention.
What CareGuard does keep
The safety review is a different artifact from an incident report. Review findings are produced for the ownership group that commissioned them and are delivered to that group. If you want to know exactly what is retained, for how long, and in what form, that belongs in your agreement — ask before you sign, and see the privacy notice for how information submitted through this website is handled.
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the incident reports if CareGuard does not?
The facility’s designated legal counsel and its ownership. The chain is short on purpose: reporter, counsel, ownership, with nobody in the middle holding the file. That also means your retention is the only retention, so how your counsel preserves the material decides what exists later.
Can ownership track report trends across its facilities in CareGuard?
Not inside CareGuard. There is no dashboard of your own reports here, because nothing is kept to fill one. If you want trend analysis across a portfolio, it has to be built on your side, from the reports your counsel already holds.
Are safety review findings handled like incident reports?
No. A safety review is a different artifact. Its findings are produced for the ownership group that commissioned the review and are delivered to that group. Exactly what is retained, for how long and in what form belongs in your agreement, so ask before you sign.
Ask for a safety review of your facility
A CareGuard safety review walks the building against 189 items in 54 categories and reports what it finds to you, not to your site manager. The registration form takes the facility and a contact for the ownership group; scope is settled in the conversation that follows.