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The due date for responses is updates to 4pm ET on 10/03/25 Healthcare Provider Portal Sources Sought Document Veterans Benefits Administration Medical Disability Examination Office (MDEO) Submission ... The due date for responses is updates to 4pm ET on 10/03/25 Healthcare Provider Portal Sources Sought Document Veterans Benefits Administration Medical Disability Examination Office (MDEO) Submission Deadline: 09/26/2025 This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE / REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI); not a pre-solicitation notice or solicitation for proposals/quotations. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to: 1)Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exist; 2)Determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements; and 3)Determine the commercial practices of company's engaged in providing the needed service or supply. 4)Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research, including 38 U.S. Code § 8127 requirements for Veteran owned Small Business set asides. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Medical Disability Examination Office (MDEO) oversees several major programs in the administration of disability compensation benefits for Veterans and their families, ranging in size and complexity that require program management support and business analysis services. MDEO was established in 2016 to provide oversight for disability contract examinations supporting Veteran s benefits determination. A Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) is a form used by VA to collect medical information that is necessary for processing Veterans disability claims. DBQs are designed to capture essential information about a Veteran s medical condition in order to determine the degree of their disability and eligibility for benefits. These forms include specific questions related to the Veteran s medical condition, its severity, and the impact it has on their daily life and ability to work. Examples of information requested in a DBQ can include the Veteran s medical history, symptoms, physical exam findings, and diagnostic test results. Disability compensation examinations are a key component of the claims process required to evaluate the extent of disabilities for Veterans seeking benefits. Examinations can be completed and submitted for one or multiple DBQs. Examinations are completed by contracted examination providers, the Veterans Health Administration and in some cases, non-VA contracted healthcare providers (i.e. private clinicians). DBQs are submitted in a variety of ways currently: Contracted examination providers have created their own portals for submitting examinations. While all electronic, the portals take different approaches to collecting information and providing results back to VBA. The portals are structured differently, creating challenges in advancing automation and other claims innovations. Maintaining multiple submission pathways requires significant effort and resources to validate and manage data handling and ongoing operations. In some cases, it can also impact the quality\completeness of examinations submissions. VHA has two submission pathways for examination completion. The Compensation and Pension Records Interchange (CAPRI), which is outdated\past end of life, and requires extensive development for DBQ updates. Additionally, the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) also created its own DBQ submissions. Private sector clinicians can submit paper-based DBQs on behalf of their patient/Veteran. These are entirely paper-based submissions and scanned as images allowing minimal automation and innovation opportunities. A single portal service may standardize processes, increase efficiency, further enable automation and ultimately reduce the costs associated with paying for these services across multiple methods. Additionally, On January 2, 2025, the President signed into law the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, or the Dole Act, incorporating and enacting more than 90 pieces of legislation focused on improving health care benefits and services for Veterans and their caregivers. Section 306 of the Dole Act, titled Modernization of Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires, levies the requirement that VA take those steps necessary to enable the seamless transmission of Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) data from authorized non-VA healthcare providers using machine-readable formats. Description of Work to Be Completed: The VA is seeking vendor support to create a turnkey web portal services solution to standardize DBQ submissions and data output formats regardless of source, to rapidly evolve with advancing technology and to satisfy statutory requirements without negatively impacting existing service delivery. Timely examination and DBQ completions are a critical component of the disability claim process. As VBA completes an approximate 3.4 million examinations per year, resulting in 9.3 million individually completed DBQs, it is crucial that potential vendors providing these services have a proven track record in enterprise level solutions. They also must possess deep institutional/corporate experience and knowledge in the development and maintenance of an informational technology (IT) network capable of interfacing with various VA systems in order to process incoming examination requests and to transmit examination results and other data back into the VA s systems. A vendor s experience conducting VA disability compensation examinations and developing DBQ forms for fast, accurate and easy submission is paramount to ensuring that the claims process operates smoothly and effectively and that Veterans and their families are in no way negatively impacted. If the DBQ process were delayed or halted due to poor product delivery or service, Veterans socioeconomic status and entitlement to healthcare could be significantly delayed. As such, this procurement must consider vendors with demonstrated expertise and proven success to ensure uninterrupted continuation of services to our Veterans. High Level Requirements Creation of turn-key Portal Services (PS) for DBQ submission for all 82 DBQs, prioritizing delivery of 71 public-facing DBQs first. DBQs shall not be merely online PDFs maximizing capability for optimal data capture, with complete and accurate results. All 82 DBQs will need to be converted into an online survey style fillable form with prioritizing delivery of 71 public-facing DBQs first, including: Conditional logic based on required process flow of each questionnaire. Validation checks for incomplete questions or required answers, not allowing submissions until complete. Quality checks upon submission for useability\confidence factor of DBQ completion. Provide validation to the provider of a successful submission with associated unique transaction number. Registration and Authentication of users submitting DBQ to name, medical license number, etc. and prevent submissions from providers with suspended licenses, who have committed fraud (if possible, etc.). Incorporate provider support innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), to guide\assist the provider in completion of the DBQ, with additional links to user guides, etc. Provide hosting environment that must include a reliable and secure server infrastructure with guaranteed minimum uptime 24 hours a day 7 days a week Completed DBQs with associated meta data shall connect\pass to VA systems including but not limited to: Automated Decision Support (and future versions), Automated Data Ingest (ADI), VBMS Integration with VA OIT on system connection, validation testing and go live for system integrations. Documentation for portal use and function. Compliance with all VA security and privacy requirements. Scalability, to include APIs for future integrations such as scheduling tools, billing\finance, EHRM, etc. Solutions shall describe how hosting and storage will be provided in FedRAMP-authorized environments, and how computing and storage resources are scaled securely as demand grows. Help desk support for user issues with accessing the portal, non-VA provider authentication, or DBQ submissions through the portal. Continuous process improvement (CPI) that would maximize provider experience, reduce time for completion and ensure optimum DBQ submission with minimal quality or insufficiencies. Operational Management Support as DBQs are not static forms, which will require continual updates to address regulatory changes related to the VARSD (VA Rating Schedule for Disabilities) as well as updates based on stakeholder approved changes aimed at addressing or improving the examination process, compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and associated operations. Development and deployment of DBQ Web Portal services will require various communications, training and change management tasks that shall be executed with VBA staff as part of the integration of the business process improvements within VA. Dashboard visualization covering areas such as number of submissions, successful submissions, unsuccessful submissions, avg time per completion by DBQ, number of non-VA providers using the portal, and key performance indicators, etc. Questions for Vendors: Provide a brief corporate profile of your company. Information in this profile should include: Organization name; UEI number; Organization's website; Contact Name; Contact Telephone; Contact E-mail address. Business Size (Large, Small, SDVOSB/VOSB, etc.) NAICS code is 541512, if believed a better NAICS code is suitable please indicate which one and why. Provide a list of the GSA Schedules/Contract Numbers held; to include contracts held with private industry, contract types, dollar value, a description of the provided services, etc. Describe your organization's experience in developing and implementing enterprise level functioning medical web portals that are in production. Specifically, detail any projects where your system allowed providers to register, authenticate and complete Disability Benefit Questionnaires (DBQ) or VA disability exams and submit them into the VA system of record. Provide examples of past projects where your organization has successfully converted multiple DBQs into online fillable forms within a short timeframe, submitted them into the VA system of record through the designed web portal, Include project dates, scope, and outcomes. Detail your experience in creating and implementing a turnkey enterprise-level government medical web portal. Include specifics on how you addressed security compliance requirements and ensured the system was capable of supporting a large user base (approx. 3.4 million examinations per year and receiving 9.3 million completed DBQs). Describe the architecture, hosting environment, and design features of your turnkey web portal solution that ensure it can handle high volumes of users and data transactions. Provide examples or case studies where your system supported a similar or larger user base. Describe examples of training materials your company provided based on web portal registration, authentication and use along with innovations your company has implemented such as Artificial Intelligence or user assistance to ensure improved quality and timely DBQ submissions Outline your project management approach for converting all 82 DBQs, making a web portal available within 120 business days, and implementing required changes to DBQ forms. Include a draft project plan showing key milestones and deliverables. Supply at least three references from previous clients for similar projects. Include contact information and a brief description of the work performed. Are there any additional capabilities your organization can offer that would enhance the functioning of the medical web portal, improve the efficiency of processing DBQs for the VA system of record or ensure your delivery would never interrupt VA claims processing? Please limit your submission to a maximum of 35 pages for this Sources Sought Notice. By asking these questions, the agency can gather detailed information to assess the capabilities and qualifications of potential vendors to undertake the project effectively. Submission Instructions Interested companies shall respond to this Sources Sought Notice via e-mail to Jennifer.Benisek@va.gov and Kristina.Kryszak@VA.gov, cc Corey.Mann@va.gov, no later than September 26, 2026 with the above information and/or documentation. Demonstration will be scheduled upon review of responses. SAM.gov: Interested parties should register on the System for Award Management (SAM) website at www.sam.gov. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This Sources Sought/ Request for Information Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal/Quotation; and, it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Failure to submit information in sufficient detail may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any contracting arrangement as deemed appropriate for this requirement. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the Solicitation. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on Contract Opportunities (https://sam.gov/) website. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor Contract Opportunities for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. However, responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation. See attached document: Draft Performance Work Statement and associated attachments.