Manage HICS Roles

HICS Roles identify operational positions a workspace user may assume for a health system or facility. They are separate from the person's application-administration user group.

A HICS Role is not an active incident assignment

Assigning a HICS Role does not place the user into that position during an active incident. Active incident assignments are managed separately and use facility HICS Role assignments as a staffing reference.

Who can manage HICS Roles

• A Tenant Administrator can manage eligible users throughout the organization and select the health system or any facility assigned to each user.
• A Facility Administrator can manage eligible users only at a facility they administer. They cannot manage health-system assignments or system-scoped HICS Roles.
• Administrators cannot change their own HICS Role assignments.
• Suspended users, canceled invitations, users outside the selected organizational scope, and users outside the organization cannot receive assignments.

Open the role editor

1. Open Users from the workspace.
2. Find the user whose HICS Roles need to be updated.
3. Open the user's Actions menu.
4. Select Edit HICS Roles.

You can also select HICS Roles under Configuration to move directly to the Users card, then open the same action.

Select an organizational scope and roles

1. Confirm the user named at the top of the editor.
2. Under Organizational scope, choose the health system or an assigned facility.
3. Search or browse the HICS Role hierarchy.
4. Select every role the user can assume in that organizational scope.
5. Select Save.

The Organizational scope list contains only the health system and active facilities assigned to that user. If only one scope is eligible, HICSNow selects it automatically.

The editor displays parent and child positions with indentation so the reporting structure remains visible. Operations managers and Branch Directors appear under the Operations Section Chief, and their Teams or Units appear beneath the appropriate manager or director.

Medical-Technical Specialists is a category heading. Select one or more of the individual specialist roles beneath it rather than selecting the category.

Manage assignments in another scope

A Tenant Administrator can choose the health system or another facility assigned to the user and maintain a different set of HICS Roles there. Updating one scope does not replace the user's roles in another scope.

A Facility Administrator sees only the facility they administer and cannot use the role editor to reach the health system, another facility, or users outside their facility scope.

System scope does not grant facility authority

A health-system assignment or system-scoped HICS Role does not add the user to a facility roster or authorize facility incident actions. Assign the user to a facility separately when facility access is required.

Expected result

After saving, reopen Edit HICS Roles to confirm that the selected roles remain checked for the chosen Organizational scope. The change also appears in the appropriate audit history with the affected user, health system or facility, selected roles, and administrator who made the change.

Common questions

Why is Edit HICS Roles missing for my account?

Administrators cannot manage their own HICS Roles. Another authorized administrator must make the change.

Why can I not find a user?

Confirm that the user has active access and is assigned to the organizational scope you are administering. A Facility Administrator cannot view or manage a system-only user or a user who belongs only to another facility.

Why can I not select Medical-Technical Specialists?

It organizes the individual specialist positions. Choose the applicable specialist role listed beneath the category.