Oct 5, 2025
6
min read
Medically Reviewed
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Integration Questions
Integration is the most important category of questions, because an AI tool that cannot exchange data cleanly with the practice’s existing systems will create more work and frustration than it saves for the clinical team. The first question is: does the platform integrate directly with our practice management system, and can you demonstrate this integration working in a live production environment with actual patient data? The vendor should be able to name the specific practice management systems they integrate with and provide direct references from practices currently using those integrations successfully. The vendor should be able to name the specific practice management systems they integrate with and provide direct references from practices currently using those integrations successfully. Practices should also ask whether integrations are maintained directly by the vendor or rely on third-party middleware, as middleware introduces an additional dependency that may create points of failure or require separate support arrangements when issues arise.
The second integration question is: how does the integration work technically? Does it use standards-based APIs such as FHIR, or does it require custom middleware? Standards-based integration is preferable because it is more reliable, easier to maintain and less likely to break when systems are updated. The third question is: what data can the platform read from and write to our systems? A platform that can both read and write data — rather than only consuming data or only producing output — is significantly more useful.
The fourth integration question is about the practice’s other technology investments: does the platform integrate with My Health Record, electronic prescribing, secure messaging and other national digital health services? A platform that can participate in the full Australian digital health ecosystem will deliver more value than one that operates in isolation, regardless of its standalone capabilities.
Security and Data Questions
Security is the second critical category of questions for any AI vendor evaluation in healthcare. The first question is: what security certifications does the platform hold, and are they current and independently audited by a recognised body? The vendor should be able to point to ISO 27001, SOC 2 or equivalent independent certifications as evidence of their commitment to security best practices. The vendor should be able to point to ISO 27001, SOC 2 or equivalent independent certifications as evidence of their commitment to security best practices. If the vendor does not hold recognised certifications, they should explain why and describe their alternative security assurance processes in detail.
The second security question is about data hosting: where is patient data stored, and can the vendor commit in writing that all data will remain within Australia? The third question is about data access: who at the vendor has access to the practice’s data, under what circumstances, and what controls are in place to prevent unauthorised access? The fourth question is about data retention and deletion: how long is data retained, and what is the process for deleting data if the practice decides to stop using the platform?
The fifth and most specific security question for AI platforms is about the listening architecture: is the AI triggered-only, or does it listen continuously throughout the consultation? How is audio data handled during calls and consultations, and how long is any recorded audio retained by the vendor? Can patients or clinicians control when the AI is active, and can it be deactivated mid-consultation if needed? The answers to these questions reveal whether the platform has been designed with privacy as a core principle from the ground up.
Expert Tips
"When you are evaluating an AI vendor, a great demo is the most dangerous thing you will see. Demos are carefully scripted to show the product at its best, using ideal data in ideal conditions. The questions that really matter — how does the AI handle the difficult cases, how does it integrate with my actual systems, what happens when something goes wrong — are rarely answered in a demo. Prepare your questions in advance, ask them directly, and do not be satisfied with vague answers. A vendor that cannot answer clearly is either hiding something or has not thought through the hard problems." — Arash Zohuri, CEO, MediQo
Performance and Accuracy Questions
Vendors will naturally present their AI’s performance in the best possible light with carefully selected metrics, so practices need to ask detailed questions that reveal how the AI performs in real-world conditions rather than idealised testing scenarios. The first question is: what accuracy metrics can you provide, and how were they measured? Were the metrics calculated on ideal data in a laboratory setting, or on real patient data from Australian practices? Metrics based on real Australian clinical data are far more relevant and trustworthy than metrics from general-purpose or overseas datasets that may not reflect local conditions.
The second performance question is: how does the AI handle edge cases — unusual presentations, complex medical terminology, patients with strong accents or speech patterns, and non-English languages? In healthcare, the cases that deviate from typical patterns are often the ones where accurate AI support is most valuable, because the clinician is already working outside their routine and may benefit most from additional decision support. An AI that performs well on average but fails on the cases that most need accurate processing is less valuable than one with slightly lower average performance but more consistent results across the full range of patient encounters.
The third question is: what happens when the AI makes an error? Is there a clear, straightforward process for clinicians and staff to flag errors directly within the platform, and does the vendor actively use those error reports to improve the AI over time? A vendor that treats errors as learning opportunities and improvement data rather than defensively dismissing them demonstrates a genuine commitment to continuous improvement that is essential for responsible AI deployment in a clinical context.
Key Takeaways
Practices should evaluate AI vendors on integration, security, standards compliance and Australian context, not just features.
The most important questions are about data — where it is stored, how it is protected and whether it can be exported.
Practices should ask for specific, referenceable evidence of integration with their existing systems.
A vendor that cannot answer fundamental questions about security, data hosting and interoperability should not be trusted with patient data.
The healthcare AI market is growing rapidly, and with growth comes a proliferation of vendors making increasingly bold claims about what their platforms can deliver. For practice owners and managers who are not AI specialists, separating genuine capability from marketing hype is a significant challenge. Every vendor claims to be secure, integrated and easy to use; every demo makes the product look impressive; every case study reports positive results. The differences between platforms emerge only when the right questions are asked.
The questions that matter most are not about the AI technology itself — the model architecture, the training data size or the benchmark scores. Those details are interesting but rarely determinative of whether the platform will work well in the context of a specific Australian practice. The questions that separate good vendors from poor ones are about integration, security, data handling, standards compliance and the practical realities of implementation and ongoing support.
This article provides a comprehensive set of questions that every Australian practice should ask when evaluating an AI vendor, organised by category, along with guidance on what constitutes a satisfactory answer, what warning signs should raise concerns and how to compare responses across different vendors to make an informed, confident decision that best serves your practice and your patients.
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