A critical incident (CI), also called an unusual incident, sentinel event, or adverse event, is an unexpected and undesirable event that has an adverse impact on a consumer's health or safety.

The following are reportable incidents to Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Behavioral Health (OBH):
  •   Any event requiring emergency services of the fire department or a law
      enforcement agency
  •   Abuse/assault
  •  Death
  •  Injury of an individual (while at a provider site, requiring medical attention)
  •  Illness of an individual (while at a provider site, requiring medical attention)
  •  Missing person
  •  Neglect
  •  Non-fatal overdose
  •  Non-fatal suicide attempt
  •  Seclusion or restraint
  •  Significant medication error (requiring medical attention)

Every provider contracted with OBH is required to report the types of incidents that OBH considers reportable (see above). This process applies equally to incidents involving the provider's employees and/or contracted staff, subcontractors, and individuals that have received a publicly funded behavioral health service within 6 months of the incident.

All critical incidents must be reported to OBH within 24 hours of the incident occurring or of the provider learning of the incident.

Providers must report all critical incidents using the Office of Behavioral Health Critical Incidents (BHCI) online form:

                        https://dw.alleghenycounty.us/forms/bhci/incident

  •   Exception: All Long-Term Structured Facilities (LTSR) and Community
      Residential Rehabilitation programs (CRR) ONLY enter the reportable incident
      into the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) system within 24 hours of its
      occurrence. They are not required to also report to OBH separately using the
      OBH CI form.

  •   In Addition: Bureau of Drug and Alcohol providers are also required to
      provide initial notice of the critical incident by phone within 24 hours of the
      incident to 412-350-2755, with your name, organization, the incident type,
      and the date and time of the incident's occurrence.

  •  Questions about the form or process can be directed to one of the following:
        •   Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services: 412-350-2755
        •   Bureau of Mental Health Services: 412-707-4007

Once the critical incident report is received, it is reviewed by the appropriate OBH Team, who may work with the provider to gather additional information, review clinical and/or administrative records, conduct a site-visit/tour, interview staff and/or consumers, engage in other investigation activities, and/or request action to address quality of care and/or safety concerns. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Depending on the nature of the incident, a separate report may be required to other entities.

Incidents involving Allegheny County Medicaid members must be reported to Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (CCBHO), Allegheny County's Medicaid Behavioral Health Managed Care Organization (BH-MCO) by:
  •  Online via the Provider ePortal,
  •  Email the Community Care form to CCBH_ICPAllegheny@ccbh.com,
  •  Fax the Community Care form to 888-251-0087, or
  •  Phone call to the Provider Line at 888-251-2224.

Incidents involving alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglect of children must be reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) by calling the Commonwealth's Childline at 1-800-932-0313 or submitting the information via the online portal at:
www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home.

Incidents involving alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglect of an adult between 18 and 59 years old, who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, must be reported to PA DHS by calling the Commonwealth's Adult Protective Services Hotline at:
1-800-490-8505.

  •  Behavioral Health Critical Incidents Online Report Form
  •  Training Video: MH Critical Incidents - Submitting an Incident
  •  Behavioral Health Critical Incidents Reporting Process Training Slides
  •  Behavioral Health Critical Incident Descriptions
  •  Behavioral Health Critical Incident Questions and Answers