Category 4 of 12

Source Authority

Source authority is the rule that says which system’s value governs a specific decision. These questions cover how authority is assigned, documented, challenged and overridden.

1. What does source authority mean in senior living operations?

   Source authority is the operator’s rule for which system’s value governs a specific field or decision.

2. Which system should be authoritative for resident census?

   It depends on which census.

3. Which system should be authoritative for financial data?

   The general ledger is normally authoritative for booked financial results, and the billing system for charges and receivables.

4. Can authority depend on the specific operating question?

   Yes, and it usually should.

5. Who determines source authority?

   The executive accountable for decisions made with a measure should approve its source-authority rule, advised by the teams that run the systems involved.

6. How should source-of-truth rules be documented?

   Document each authority rule as a short, specific record: the measure or field, the decision it supports, the authoritative source, the comparison sources, how disagreements are resolved, the owner, the approval date and the review date.

7. What happens when the authoritative source is wrong?

   When the authoritative source is wrong, correct it at the source where possible and record a governed override in the meantime.

8. Can an operator override an authoritative system?

   Yes.

9. How should overrides be documented?

   Each override should record the field and decision affected, the original source value, the value that now governs, the reason and supporting evidence, who approved it and when, how long it applies, and whether the source system was corrected.

10. How do you preserve the original value after a governing determination?

    Never overwrite the source value.