Source Authority
Who determines source authority?
Last reviewed
Direct answer
The executive accountable for decisions made with a measure should approve its source-authority rule, advised by the teams that run the systems involved. IT and vendors can recommend, but the rule belongs to the operator. Authority decisions should be recorded with the approver and date, and reviewed whenever systems or processes change.
Why this happens
Authority set by a vendor’s defaults reflects that vendor’s design, not the operator’s accountability.
Recording who approved a rule makes it possible to challenge and update it without starting the argument over from scratch.
Example: authority depends on the decision
Clinical system
Authoritative for level of care
Assessments are recorded and signed there.
Billing system
Authoritative for the rate billed
The contract and payer terms are applied there.
Payroll
Authoritative for hours paid
It is the system of record for compensation.
- Which number governs?
- Operator Authority
- Governing Record
- SeniorCRE Intelligence
- Execution
Illustrative figures. Governance first. Intelligence second. Execution last.
No single system is authoritative for everything. Authority is assigned per field and per decision.
The governance question
Authority is an organizational decision that software should record, not invent. When the authoritative source is wrong, the right response is a documented override with the original value preserved, not a silent edit.
Evidence → Disagreement → Authority → Governing Record
What good operating infrastructure should do
- Per-field, per-decision authority rules approved by named owners.
- Visible authority: users can see which source governs a number.
- Override workflows that capture reason, approver and time.
- Original values preserved after every override.
- Periodic review of authority rules as systems change.
SeniorCRE perspective
SeniorCRE’s architecture records authority as a rule the operator approves, applies it when sources disagree, and keeps the overridden value with its reason and approver. Software can recommend; only the operator’s authority decides what governs. Status: the Governed Operating Record is designed and not yet implemented in any community. What has been built, validated and deployed is published on the evidence page, and nothing here should be read as a production result.