Which practice functions can a Digital FTE own?
The ones that touch no patient record. A Finance Controller FTE reconciles supplier invoices and payer remittances against the ledger at the ledger level, proposing every match with evidence. A Recruiter FTE screens applicants for clinical and non-clinical roles against a scorecard that includes registrations and certifications as stated, flagging where verification is needed and never deciding. A Search Visibility FTE answers the practical questions patients search for about your services from documented facts, with the fact gate blocking any health or outcome claim without an approved source. A Customer Support FTE answers opening hours, how to register, and other administrative enquiries from approved documents, escalating anything personal.
None of these is a clinical tool, and none should be positioned as one.
What should a practice manager ask about patient and client data?
Ask, before connecting anything, whether the function needs patient data at all; for the four above it does not. Ask what happens if a later function would: that is a separate compliance decision by your privacy lead, with the data flow documented, the vendor's data handling terms agreed in writing, the sub-processor list including the model provider read, and access scoped to the minimum. Ask what the FTE retains: business knowledge in its memory, never personal data about individuals.
On ftes.ai the practical rule is to keep the first year outside patient data entirely, which the functions above allow, and to treat any extension as its own project with its own review.
- Does this function need patient data? For the first four: no
- If a later one would: privacy lead decides, terms in writing, minimum scope
- What is retained: business memory, never personal data
How are clinical claims and clinical content handled?
Any page that describes a condition, a treatment, or what a patient should do is routed by the remit to a clinician approver as well as to you, so it cannot be approved by the practice manager alone. Any claim about outcomes, effectiveness, or safety is blocked by the fact gate unless it carries an approved named source, which turns the sector's advertising rules into a mechanical check. Service descriptions, clinician qualifications as published, hours, and booking guidance come from the practice's own documents and cite them.
The audit trail shows both names on a clinical page, which is what a regulator would ask to see.
What should a practice manager measure?
For finance, days to close and exceptions open on day one, against the last two closes. For recruiting, time from application close to shortlist and the share of interviewees whose hard requirements were evidenced, with verification recorded as a human step. For marketing, visibility for the service and location questions in the prompt set and attributed enquiries where the booking system can show them, with the rest marked unmeasured. For enquiries, first-line resolution for administrative categories and escalation quality.
Refuse to measure anything clinical. There is nothing clinical for the FTE to measure.
What should a practice manager refuse?
Refuse any positioning of a Digital FTE as a clinical tool, diagnostic aid, or triage system. Refuse to connect a system holding patient records without the privacy lead's written decision. Refuse to approve a clinical page alone; the remit routes it to a clinician. Refuse any health claim without a source, and never add one afterwards. Refuse to let the enquiry FTE answer anything about an individual's care; that escalates to a person with the enquiry attached.
These refusals are what let a practice use AI employees at all in a regulated setting.
What do the first 30 days look like from the practice manager's seat?
Week one: choose finance or staff recruiting, which need no patient data, connect the ledger or the applicant tracking system with scoped credentials, write the remit, and record the baseline. Weeks two to four: approve evidenced matches or evidenced shortlists in minutes a day, send back with reasons, and read the reasons weekly. Day 30: read the FTE's own report, decide whether exact matches or interview scheduling has earned promotion, and plan the second non-clinical function.
By day 30 one administrative function is owned with a record, and the practice has learned how approval, autonomy, and the trail behave without a single patient record involved.
What does the platform not do for a practice manager?
It does not support diagnosis, treatment, triage, or clinical documentation, and it should not be used as if it did. It does not decide about staff; recruiting decisions are permanently human. It does not claim compliance certifications in these pages; ask any vendor for written answers and terms. It does not access patient data unless your compliance function has decided it may, in writing, for a scoped purpose. And it does not make a health claim without a source.
A practice manager who wants clinical AI should evaluate that as its own regulated category. One who wants the practice's administrative functions owned safely has the mechanisms here.