How to Be an Intelligent Customer of AI in Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant idea — it’s here, moving at lightning speed. Every week, healthcare leaders are approached by vendors offering AI tools to make our lives easier. Some of these tools are excellent. Others are not.

The danger is this: if we don’t understand what AI can and cannot do, then we are at the mercy of vendors. And in this era of abundant information, ignorance is no excuse.

From the Terraces to the Dance Floor

Right now, too many of us are watching AI from the terraces. We see the dance floor crowded with early adopters, innovators, and vendors — and we’re shouting at the DJ from afar: “Play our music first, then we’ll join in!”

But here’s the truth: the DJ is playing for those already on the floor. If we want AI that works for healthcare, we must step into the dance ourselves. Yes, at first we may be pushed around, stepping on toes and feeling out of rhythm. But over time, we’ll learn the moves. And once we’re dancing, we’ll have the confidence to request our music too.

In other words: we cannot influence AI from the sidelines. We must engage directly, wisely, and intelligently.

9 Questions Every Intelligent Customer Should Ask

When approached by an AI vendor, here’s the checklist every healthcare leader should run through:

1. Training & Data – Was the AI trained on data that reflects our patients, settings, and context? Or does it risk missing the people we serve?
2. Integration – Will it fit seamlessly into our existing clinical systems, or will it create extra work and silos?
3. Usability – Is it truly making life easier for staff, or does it complicate workflows and require endless training?
4. Liability – If something goes wrong, who is accountable — the clinician, the vendor, or both?
5. Ethics – Does the vendor follow responsible AI principles (fairness, transparency, privacy, bias mitigation)?
6. Feedback – Once implemented, how will feedback be collected, and how quickly will the tool improve?
7. Value – Does the investment (time, training, money) deliver measurable benefit for patients and staff?
8. Problem Fit – What real problem does this AI solve? Is it addressing a clinical or operational gap — or is it simply “AI for the sake of AI”?
9. Change Management – How will we prepare, train, and support our teams so the transition is smooth and sustainable?

These are not academic questions. They are survival questions. Because adopting AI blindly is like joining the dance floor blindfolded — you’ll get tripped up quickly.

The Reality in Healthcare

Let’s be honest:

• GPs and leaders are overwhelmed with too many choices.
• There’s no time to test every product thoroughly.
• We risk settling for the tools we already have — even if they’re outdated — because the alternative feels too complicated.

That’s why intelligent customers are needed. Not those dazzled by buzzwords, but those who demand clarity, transparency, and simplicity.

A Message for AI Engineers

To my friends in the AI world: healthcare is not just another market. It is people’s lives.

That means the intelligent customers you meet will ask sharper, tougher questions. And rightly so. If you want to earn trust and adoption:

• Do one thing better than anyone else. Don’t overpromise.
• Solve a specific healthcare problem. Not everything needs AI.
• Integrate seamlessly with the systems we already use.
• Keep it simple. Simple is beautiful.
• Make it slick. Design matters — clunky tools get abandoned.
• Be ethical and transparent. We will ask where your data comes from and how you prevent bias.
• Price it right. Healthcare resources are limited — prove your value.

In short: don’t sell us AI for the sake of AI. Sell us solutions that work, that fit, and that respect the realities of healthcare.

Closing Thought

Healthcare is too important to be shaped by bystanders. We can’t afford to sit on the terraces, hoping the DJ plays our tune. We must step onto the dance floor — asking sharper questions, demanding better solutions, and ensuring AI truly serves our patients and our teams.

Because the future of healthcare won’t be written by those who wait. It will be written by those who dare to dance.

Over to you: If you’ve been approached by an AI vendor recently, what question did you wish you had asked?

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