How to Vet an AI Vendor Before It Touches Your Clients' Information
The demo goes well. The tool looks useful, the price is reasonable, and your team could see themselves using it.
Then a quieter thought shows up: where does our clients' information actually go?
For a lot of agency owners, that question is the real reason AI stays on the "next quarter" list. It isn't the technology. It's trust.
Why the Hesitation Makes Sense
In an AxisCare-commissioned survey of more than 400 U.S. home care agency leaders, 41% cited ethics concerns as a barrier to adopting AI. Home care runs on trust, and families share some of the most personal details of their lives with agencies. Wanting to protect that is a strength, not a weakness.
Here is what the current landscape looks like:
HIPAA has no AI exemption. The same questions apply as with any technology: who has access to protected health information, how is it stored and sent, and what happens if something goes wrong.
No AI-specific HIPAA rule took effect in 2026, but expectations rose. Security reviews of AI vendors are now routine, and questions about data retention and model training are being asked at the start, before a contract is signed.
Vendor risk is agency risk. If a vendor's security fails, the agency can still face disruption, family concerns, and regulatory obligations.
Coverage also varies. HIPAA generally applies to home health agencies that bill Medicare.
Some private-pay, non-medical home care agencies may not be covered, though state privacy laws and contract obligations can still apply. This is general information, not legal advice, so check with your own counsel on what applies to you.
This applies to home health, home care, hospice, private duty, and other care providers alike.
Why "Are You HIPAA Compliant?" Falls Short
It's the question everyone asks first, and it almost always gets a reassuring "yes."
The trouble is that a yes tells you very little. A vendor can say it with confidence while leaving the important details unanswered. Narrower questions get you real information.
Four Things to Ask Any AI Vendor (and Get in Writing)
1. Will you sign a Business Associate Agreement, and does it cover the AI features? Standard agreements weren't always written with AI in mind. Ask what is covered.
2. Is our data used to train or improve your models? This is one of the most important questions you can ask. If the answer is unclear, treat that as a signal.
3. Where is our data stored, who can access it, and how long is it kept? Also ask what happens to it if you stop working with the vendor.
4. If something goes wrong, how and how fast will you tell us? Ask about incident notification, and ask for documents, not just descriptions.
Where CuraCall Fits
CuraCall supports agencies with a focused set of services: 24/7 live coverage, Aila instant texting, Max workflow coordination, and reporting. Here is how that maps to the concerns agencies raise:
What agencies tell us | What CuraCall provides |
"I'm uneasy about handing sensitive conversations to technology." | 24/7 live coverage means real people handle your after-hours contacts, with Aila and Max supporting the response rather than replacing human judgment. |
"I need a record I can point to if someone asks what happened." | CuraCall reporting tracks response times, escalation metrics, operational trends, and team accountability. |
"I can't take on a big project to get started." | A focused first step: improving how after-hours calls, messages, and referrals are handled. |
"I can't add headcount." | Consistent coverage without hiring more staff. |
Put these same four questions to CuraCall in writing, as you would with any vendor. Paul Lieberman is a good person to start with.
The Key Takeaway
Hesitation about AI and client information is reasonable, and it deserves better questions than "are you compliant?" Ask whether a vendor will sign a Business Associate Agreement, whether your data trains its models, how your data is stored and kept, and how quickly you'll hear about an incident. Agencies that ask these early can adopt new tools with more confidence.
If you're looking to improve the way you AI Home Care initiatives, reach out to Paul Lieberman, CuraCall, CEO and President — paul@curacall.com or you may click the link to book a schedule https://www.curacall.com/book-online.
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