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Report Comments

Comments are threaded messages attached to a report. They are the primary in-app channel for review feedback, sign-off notes, and amendment documentation.

Comment types

Each comment has a typed category. The types in use:

  • general — casual discussion, process notes, questions.
  • review — feedback from the clinical reviewer to the curator.
  • signoff — notes related to the sign-off process (e.g. "signed at 17:12 with physician X").
  • amendment — notes on why a report is being amended.

The type is used to filter the thread and, in some templates, to surface specific comment types on the PDF (for example amendment comments appear in the amended report's "Why this amendment" section).

Threading

Comments thread via parent_comment_id. A reply is a comment that points at another comment. The UI renders threads indented under their parents; sibling comments are ordered by created_at.

Fields captured per comment

  • comment — the text.
  • user_id, user_email, user_name — who wrote it (denormalised for fast rendering even if the user later leaves the org).
  • parent_comment_id — for replies.
  • is_resolved, resolved_by, resolved_at — reviewers can mark a thread resolved.
  • tags, properties — flexible metadata.

Who can comment

Commenting requires reports:write, which maps to project_editor or higher. Viewers (project_viewer) can read comments but cannot post. Comments on signed reports are restricted to amendment context only — during the amendment process, comments of type amendment are allowed.

Comments are part of the audit trail

Every comment records the author, timestamp, and type. Resolved comments keep their history. Treat comments as durable — they are visible to anyone with report access.

What comments are for (and aren't)

Use comments for review and sign-off discussion that should be part of the audit trail. Don't use them for real-time chat — threading and refresh-based updates make them inappropriate for a fast-moving conversation. Use your organisation's chat tool for that.

Comments are not the place to record the clinical meaning of a variant — that belongs in the variant's per-report note on the ReportVariantAssociation. Comments are about the process.