A Health IT Buyer’s Checklist for Vetting Connected-Device Vendors

AzHeC built its reputation by convening providers, payers, and pharmacies around shared standards. That convener discipline — get the right people in one room and agree on the rules before anyone builds — translates directly into procurement.

Before a connected device touches your network, four questions deserve documented answers. What exactly does it emit, in which message standards and over which transport? How is it secured, patched, and what is in its software bill of materials? Does it capture and transmit UDI? And what does support look like across the device’s service life?

“It integrates” and “it’s secure” are marketing, not answers. Insist on specifics in the contract, where they are enforceable, rather than discovering the gaps in production during a go-live.

Treat vendor vetting as a cross-functional decision between HTM, informatics, and security — the same multi-stakeholder model AzHeC pioneered. Our connected-device interoperability guide turns these questions into a usable evaluation checklist.