Approver authority matrix for practice team

A clinic practice team's approver authority matrix sets out which business actions an AI agent may take for the practice, from ordering supplies to chasing unpaid bills, and who approves each held action. In a small practice the manager approves most money decisions, so the matrix names a deputy for every row and keeps payments and refunds in different hands.

Why does a practice need its own matrix?

A clinic practice runs a small business inside a clinical setting. The practice manager buys supplies, pays suppliers, bills patients and insurers, chases debts, books locums and handles complaints, often with two or three administrative staff. When agents take on part of this work, the usual separation between those who prepare and those who approve is harder to keep because there are so few people.

The matrix solves that by being explicit. It assigns each action to an approver and a deputy, sets a limit, and adds one rule small teams often skip: the person who placed an order should not be the one who approves paying for it. The general concept is in what an authority matrix is.

How do you fill it in?

1. List the practice's business actions, not its clinical ones.
2. Set the agent's depth for each.
3. Name the approver, their limit and their deputy.
4. Add the "not the same person as" column for segregation.
5. Record the evidence the approver must see.
6. Note the certificate required, if the practice ties approval rights to certification.

The template

A worked example

A hypothetical veterinary practice with a practice manager, an assistant manager, a billing administrator and two receptionists. Values are illustrative.

Consumables are the only depth 3 action: the agent reorders gloves and dressings from an approved supplier list when stock falls below a set level, up to 300 per order. That suits the work: small, frequent, low-risk and easy to correct.

Supplier payments are held at depth 4 and must not be approved by whoever placed the order. If the practice manager placed an unusual order, the assistant manager approves the payment. Bank details must already be on file; a supplier email announcing new ones is external and cannot authorise a payment.

Referral to a collector has no deputy on purpose. It ends a client relationship, and only the practice manager should decide it, after checking for signs that the client is in difficulty.

Clinical decisions, including what the practice charges for treatment, are outside this matrix entirely. Purchasing at larger scale follows the approver authority matrix for the procurement team, and debt work at larger scale the approver authority matrix for the collections team. Limits are set in the approver rule for the practice team, and cover in the reviewer rota for the practice team. Practice managers can learn the governed-agent vocabulary through Pryme Intelligence Academy's free Foundations track. The broader skills map is AI agent skills by role.