Custom Roles
When pre-built roles don't match your organisation's needs, create custom roles with exactly the permissions required. Custom roles are useful for specialised...
2026-02-01 · 4 min
Manual area
Admin
Coverage
5 sections
Operator notes
2 implementation notes
Overview
When pre-built roles don't match your organisation's needs, create custom roles with exactly the permissions required. Custom roles are useful for specialised positions like a Billing Supervisor who can approve refunds, or a Senior Nurse who can enter discharge summaries.
Creating a Custom Role
- Navigate to Admin > Roles > Create Custom Role.
- Enter a role name and description.
- Optionally, start from a template: Clone an existing pre-built role and modify it.
- The permission editor displays all modules as expandable sections.
- For each module, check the specific permissions you want to grant (View, Create, Edit, Delete, Approve, Export).
- Set data scope: Own records only, Department records, Branch records, or All records.
- Save the role. It immediately appears in the role assignment dropdown for users.
Common Custom Role Examples
Billing Supervisor: Clone Billing Executive + add Refund and Void permissions + add Financial Reports export.
Senior Nurse: Clone Nurse + add Discharge Summary create + add Lab Order create.
Junior Doctor: Clone Doctor + remove Prescription sign-off (requires co-signature from senior).
Medical Records Officer: Patient View + EMR View + Export + Print. No create or edit permissions.
Quality Manager: Read-only access to all clinical modules + Audit Logs view + all Reports export.
Pharmacy Manager: Clone Pharmacist + add Purchase Order create/approve + Vendor management + Stock audit.
Testing a Custom Role
Before assigning a custom role to staff:
- Create a test user account.
- Assign only the custom role to this test user.
- Log in as the test user (use an incognito window).
- Navigate through each module to verify access is correct.
- Try performing actions that should be allowed and actions that should be blocked.
- Adjust permissions as needed and re-test.
- Once satisfied, assign the role to actual staff members.
Role Audit
Review role assignments periodically:
- Admin > Roles > Role Audit shows a matrix of all users and their assigned roles.
- The Unused Permissions Report identifies permissions granted but never exercised (potential over-provisioning).
- The Access Change Log tracks all role assignments, modifications, and revocations.
- Conduct quarterly role reviews as part of your information security practice.
Notes
Tip
Start by cloning the closest pre-built role and then adjusting permissions. This is much faster than building a role from scratch.
Warning
Always test custom roles with a test user before assigning them to real staff. A misconfigured role could expose sensitive patient data or block critical workflows.
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