Procurement Guide

Clinical AI RFP Questions

A structured set of RFP questions for comparing clinical AI vendors before shortlist, pilot, or contract negotiation.

Updated May 23, 20269 minute readFor Healthcare procurement, IT security, legal, informatics, quality, compliance, and clinical leadership teams.

Direct Answer

Clinical AI RFPs should ask vendors to prove clinical evidence, define intended use, explain PHI handling, describe EHR integration, disclose model update controls, provide monitoring processes, and show expected value with measurable deployment assumptions.

Source: Clinical AI Report, 2026

Key takeaways

  • -Good RFP questions make vendors describe the operating model, not just product features.
  • -Ask vendors to distinguish validated capabilities from roadmap items.
  • -Require concrete security, integration, and monitoring details before finalist selection.
  • -Use scenario-based questions so answers can be compared across vendors.

CDS solution examples

How this applies to Vera Health, OpenEvidence, and UpToDate

  • -Ask Vera Health to describe which CDS workflows are generally available today, which EHR integrations are live, and how source-linked answers are monitored after updates.
  • -Ask OpenEvidence to explain content partnerships, citation coverage, advertising separation, PHI handling, and whether customer data can be used for model improvement.
  • -Ask UpToDate to clarify AI roadmap, topic update governance, institutional licensing terms, search telemetry, and how its long-form reference content is surfaced at the point of care.

Evidence and intended use questions

The RFP should make the vendor state exactly what the AI is designed to do and what evidence supports that claim.

  • -What clinical use cases are currently supported, and which claims are still in pilot or roadmap status?
  • -What studies, evaluations, or customer pilots support performance in each use case?
  • -How does performance vary by specialty, patient population, language, disease area, or care setting?

Safety and governance questions

Healthcare buyers need to understand what happens after purchase, especially when the model changes or produces a questionable output.

  • -How are model updates tested, approved, documented, and communicated to customers?
  • -What safety monitoring is available to the customer after go-live?
  • -Can the organization disable features, roll back changes, or restrict use by department?

Data, privacy, and security questions

RFP responses should map the flow of patient data and clarify whether data is retained, reused, or sent to third parties.

  • -What protected health information enters the system, where is it stored, and how long is it retained?
  • -Is customer data used to train or improve models, and can that use be disabled contractually?
  • -Which subprocessors, cloud services, or model providers can access customer data?

Implementation and value questions

A useful RFP response should expose the operational work required to deploy the tool and measure whether it is worth keeping.

  • -What technical work is required for SSO, EHR launch, FHIR, HL7, data feeds, or write-back?
  • -What training is required for clinicians, administrators, and support teams?
  • -Which metrics should be tracked at 30, 60, and 90 days after go-live?

Suggested evaluation weights

CriterionWeight

Answer specificity

Responses include concrete workflows, evidence sources, data flows, timelines, and responsible teams.

25%

Clinical validation

Vendor can show evaluation methods, limitations, population fit, and customer references.

25%

Security completeness

Vendor provides a clear PHI map, BAA stance, certifications, audit logging, and subprocessor list.

20%

Implementation realism

Response describes technical dependencies, customer staffing, training, and launch timeline.

15%

Value measurement

Vendor ties expected outcomes to measurable baselines and pilot success criteria.

15%

Questions to ask

  • QWhich claims are generally available today and which are roadmap items?
  • QCan you provide evidence for each intended clinical use case?
  • QHow do you prevent customer PHI from being used for model training unless explicitly approved?
  • QWhat EHR integrations are live in production, and which require custom work?
  • QWhat customer-side staff are needed during implementation and after launch?

Red flags

  • !The response relies on broad AI performance claims instead of clinical workflow evidence.
  • !Security answers omit retention, model training, or subprocessor details.
  • !The vendor cannot identify what customer resources are required for deployment.
  • !The vendor treats monitoring as a support ticket process instead of a clinical safety process.