Healthcare AI Governance
How to Choose an AI Advisory Firm for a Health System
Health systems are asked to buy AI advice before they can judge it. Here is what to ask an advisory firm, what the deliverables should look like, and how Kriv AI answers each question.
A good AI advisory firm for a health system names who does the work, ties its advice to your HIPAA risk analysis, and leaves you with records your own team can maintain. Ask for deliverables, not slideware, and a published rate. Kriv AI advises health systems on governed AI, starting at $200 per hour.
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What a Health System Is Actually Buying
An AI advisory engagement for a health system is not a technology purchase. It is a purchase of judgment about which AI uses to allow, what evidence to require first, and who inside the organization owns each decision afterward. That is why the choice of firm matters more than the choice of framework.
Advice that has to survive a compliance review
Whatever an advisor recommends will eventually be read by your privacy officer, your security officer, and counsel. The HIPAA Security Rule at 45 CFR 164.308 requires a covered entity or business associate to "Conduct an accurate and thorough assessment of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information held by the covered entity or business associate." An AI recommendation that cannot be placed inside that assessment is advice you cannot act on.
The same section requires "Implement security measures sufficient to reduce risks and vulnerabilities to a reasonable and appropriate level." A firm should be able to say which of its recommendations are risk-reduction measures of that kind and which are operating preferences. Whether any specific control satisfies the rule is a determination for your own compliance team and counsel, not for an advisor.
Advisory versus implementation
Some firms advise and stop at a document. Some build and advise little. A health system usually needs both: a decision framework and someone who stays long enough to see it operate in a real department. Ask directly which of the two the firm does, and what happens after the report is delivered.
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Questions to Put to Any Advisory Firm
Who will actually do the work? Ask for the named people on your engagement and what each of them has personally done in a regulated setting. A firm that cannot answer is selling a brand, not a team. Be cautious of any claim you cannot verify, including client lists, awards, or credentials, and ask how you can check them.
What do we keep? The useful deliverables are artifacts your team can maintain: a register of AI uses, decision rights, an intake and review path, and the evidence a reviewer would ask to see. A deck that only the firm can update leaves you dependent on it.
How does this connect to our existing obligations? Advice should reference your risk analysis, your vendor review process, and your committee structure rather than replace them. NIST describes its AI Risk Management Framework as "intended for voluntary use and to improve the ability to incorporate trustworthiness considerations into the design, development, use, and evaluation of AI products, services, and systems." A firm that treats a voluntary framework as a mandatory legal standard is overstating what it is.
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What Kriv AI Provides to Health Systems
Governance design
We help define decision rights, the intake and review path for new AI uses, the evidence required before a tool touches patient information, and how exceptions are recorded. The work is built so your committee can run it without us.
Vendor and use-case review support
We help structure the questions you put to AI vendors and the way results are recorded, so reviews are comparable from one vendor to the next. Business associate determinations and agreements stay with your privacy officer and counsel.
Ongoing ownership when you want it
Where a system lacks a dedicated AI leader, a fractional engagement can own the register, the review calendar, and the reporting to leadership while you hire or develop an internal owner.
Second opinions
A single session can test a proposed policy, a vendor shortlist, or a pilot plan before a commitment is made.
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How This Differs From Our Related Pages
This page is about choosing and scoping an advisory firm. Our guide to healthcare AI implementation partners and RFPs covers the procurement document, our page on verifying an AI governance firm's track record covers how to check claims, and our pages on governance committees and committee-level cost cover the oversight body and pricing for a health system. Use this page when the question is what an advisory engagement should include and what to ask before you sign.
engagement
How an Engagement Works
We begin with a scoping call to understand your size, your existing governance bodies, and the decisions you need to make in the next two quarters. We then agree a defined scope and deliverables, work alongside your privacy, security, and clinical informatics leaders, and hand over artifacts you own. We do not replace your compliance functions, give legal advice, or make compliance determinations for you.
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What You Get at Each Tier
1. Enterprise / regulated organizations
A governance design for health system AI: decision rights, intake and review path, evidence requirements, and a register your committee maintains, aligned to your existing risk analysis and vendor review process.
2. Fractional CTO / AI governance lead
Ongoing ownership of the register, review calendar, and leadership reporting while an internal owner is hired or developed.
3. Specialized advisory
A focused session or second opinion on a policy, a vendor shortlist, or a pilot plan.
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Kriv AI's Rates for This Work
These are Kriv AI's own published rate floors, not an industry average.
| Track | Kriv hourly rate | Typical engagement model | Minimum engagement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise / regulated (banks, broker-dealers, payment processors) | From $200/hr | Fixed-scope project or retainer | $8,000 |
| Fractional CTO / AI governance lead | $300 to $400/hr | Part-time, ongoing (monthly) | $8,000 |
| Specialized advisory (vendor evaluation, second opinion) | $400 to $700/hr | Hourly, per-session | Varies by engagement |
| Small business | $150/hr | Referred to Kriv AI's partner network | n/a |
get a quote
How to Get a Real Quote
The rates above are floors, not a quote. Actual price depends on the number of sites and departments in scope, how many AI uses and vendors are already in play, and how mature your committee and review process are. Book a discovery call and we will scope it honestly.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions about How to Choose an AI Advisory Firm for a Health System
What does a health system AI advisory firm do?
It helps decide which AI uses to allow, what evidence to require, and who owns each decision, then leaves artifacts the health system can maintain. Compliance determinations stay with the health system.
How is an advisory firm different from an implementation partner?
An advisory firm focuses on decisions, governance, and review. An implementation partner builds and deploys. Many health systems need both, so ask which the firm does and what happens after delivery.
Should an advisor replace our privacy officer or counsel?
No. An advisor supports the work, but HIPAA determinations and business associate agreements belong to your privacy officer, security officer, and counsel.
Is the NIST AI RMF required for hospitals?
NIST describes it as voluntary. Many health systems use it as a reference structure alongside, not in place of, their HIPAA obligations.
Talk to the team that would do the work
Bring your requirements to a working session with the person who'll actually deliver.
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