Kaelee Waldrop, MBA, MLS
Kaelee Waldrop portrait

Kaelee Waldrop, MBA, MLS

Senior Consultant

Health Management Associates

Phoenix, AZ

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Healthcare AI Governance, Responsible Adoption, Interoperability and Digital Transformation 

Kaelee Waldrop is a healthcare technology and AI governance consultant with nearly 20 years of experience across provider, managed care and public-sector settings. She advises organizations on responsible AI adoption, interoperability, data strategy, privacy and technology modernization. 

How Kaelee Helps Clients 

Kaelee helps healthcare leaders make sound technology and AI decisions by grounding strategy in operational realities, governance needs, regulatory requirements and implementation feasibility. 

  • Assess AI and technology readiness. Kaelee develops structured assessments that help organizations identify readiness gaps, implementation risks, sustainability considerations and measurable outcomes before committing resources. 
  • Prioritize practical AI opportunities. She helps organizations move from broad AI interest to focused, feasible use cases supported by clear governance, adoption plans and learning resources. 
  • Establish responsible AI governance. Kaelee brings direct experience establishing an enterprise AI governance program, co-chairing an AI governance committee, and designing an AI use-case review and risk-scoring model focused on model assurance, data controls and audit readiness. 
  • Modernize healthcare data exchange. She supports interoperability readiness assessments, governance planning and implementation roadmaps involving CMS interoperability requirements, FHIR, X12, prior authorization, patient access and health information exchange. 
  • Align technology with compliance and operations. Her background in privacy, clinical workflows and data governance helps clients determine whether emerging technologies can be implemented securely and effectively within day-to-day operations. 

Areas of Expertise 

AI Governance and Responsible Adoption 

Kaelee helps organizations build the governance, decision-making and risk-management practices needed to evaluate and adopt AI responsibly. At Availity, she established an enterprise AI governance program, co-chaired the AI governance committee and created a use-case review and risk-scoring model focused on model assurance, data controls and audit readiness. 

AI Readiness and Use-Case Prioritization 

Kaelee develops readiness assessments, use-case prioritization approaches, governance frameworks and learning programs that help organizations move beyond disconnected experimentation and build a practical path to implementation. 

Recently, she conducted an AI-enabled provider productivity and readiness assessment for a community behavioral health and developmental disabilities provider. The engagement evaluated ambient documentation, workforce automation, clinical workflows, and candidate technology options by pairing organizational use-case analysis with vendor research, market evidence, privacy/security controls, and implementation planning. Out of more than 20 candidate use cases, she prioritized five for structured assessment—ranging from controlled administrative pilots to targeted workforce review and a high-control clinical pilot. Published market benchmarks reviewed during the project indicated potential impacts such as a 50% reduction in note-signing intervals and a 16% increase in monthly provider revenue, which were used as directional evidence to inform decision-making. The project delivered a reusable governance framework, decision gates, implementation playbooks, and pilot measurement tools. 

Interoperability and Healthcare Data Exchange 

Kaelee advises healthcare organizations, managed care entities and public agencies on interoperability, API readiness, data-sharing strategy and technology-enabled care coordination. Her work includes FHIR, X12, prior authorization, patient access, EDI processes, technical architecture and regulatory readiness. 

Data Governance, Privacy and Compliance 

Kaelee develops governance, privacy and information-sharing frameworks that strengthen collaboration and regulatory compliance across healthcare ecosystems. Her experience includes HIPAA, patient access, consent and authorization, protected health information, personally identifiable information, identity governance and electronic health record workflows. 

Healthcare Technology Modernization 

Kaelee assesses healthcare technology environments and develops implementation strategies that improve information exchange, operations and service delivery. She has also supported grant-funded transformation efforts involving healthcare access, workflow modernization, cybersecurity, interoperability and AI-enabled provider productivity. 

Selected Experience 

  • Established and co-chaired an enterprise AI governance program at Availity. 
  • Designed an AI use-case review and risk-scoring model addressing model assurance, data controls and audit readiness. 
  • Led interoperability advisory engagements for health plans and public-sector organizations assessing CMS regulatory readiness, API adoption, data-exchange capabilities and operational governance. 
  • Designed review and assessment frameworks for healthcare technology, workflow automation, interoperability, AI and provider-productivity initiatives. 
  • Created reusable AI readiness, governance and adoption resources, including assessment tools, prioritization methods and learning materials. 
  • Supported grant-funded technology transformation initiatives through review methodologies, triage processes and feasibility assessments addressing cybersecurity, interoperability, workflow modernization and AI-enabled provider productivity. 
  • Led and supported clinical information, privacy, consent, patient-access and EHR workflows at Seattle Children’s and The Everett Clinic. 

Professional Experience 

Health Management Associates | Senior Consultant 

Kaelee advises healthcare organizations, managed care entities and public agencies on interoperability, data-sharing strategy, AI governance and technology-enabled care coordination. She supports modernization through readiness assessments, governance planning, implementation roadmaps and stakeholder engagement across healthcare and technology partners. 

Availity | Product, Technical Compliance, Compliance and Privacy Leadership Roles 

Kaelee established an enterprise AI governance program and developed controls for reviewing AI use cases, data risk and audit readiness. Her work also included consent and privacy-preference management, HIPAA and state privacy requirements, and data-loss-prevention standards for health and personal information. 

Seattle Children’s | Health Information and Business Systems Leadership Roles 

Kaelee provided compliance guidance, identity governance, and EHR workflow support for secure clinical data exchange. Her work included patient identity, patient access, privacy investigations, release of information, and consent and authorization workflows in Epic and Cerner patient portals. 

The Everett Clinic | Quality, Clinical Support, and Health Information Roles 

Kaelee led privacy and data-compliance workflows, supported secure protected-health-information practices, served as an Epic super user and led quality committees that used data to guide compliant care initiatives. 

Education and Credentials 

  • Master of Legal Studies in Compliance and Legal Risk Management, University of Arizona 
  • Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management, Western Governors University 
  • Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, Southern New Hampshire University 
  • Health Information Privacy, Compliance and Data Security, University of Arizona 
  • Privacy Law and Data Protection, University of Pennsylvania 
  • Ethisphere Compliance Leader Verification 
  • Certified Privacy Professional and Incident Response Expert, OneTrust 
  • CompTIA A+: Core 1 
  • Epic Revenue Cycle Builder 
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