Inactive

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 is conducting market research to help determine the availability and technical capabilities of qualified v... SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 is conducting market research to help determine the availability and technical capabilities of qualified vendors who can provide the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Wichita, KS a comprehensive inpatient service satisfaction measurement service that both quantifies patient satisfaction and provide prioritized targeting for improvement. The service shall consist of development of inpatient satisfaction survey instruments that include customized questions and questions that permit comparison to other VA, non-VA facilities, and teaching facilities. The contract will be base with four option years. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 1. Contractor shall possess minimum required Corporate Experience providing patient satisfaction surveys to federal government healthcare institutions to include VHA medical centers of similar size and complexity with high volume. Contractor shall submit Corporate Experiences with quote. 2. Contractor shall provide commercial and VA specific benchmarks with the capability to update every 3-6 months. Contractor shall submit with technical quote. 4. Contractor shall provide the Robert J. Dole VAMC (RJD VAMC) a means of transferring patient data that is acceptable to both parties. All patient information provided to the vendor shall be safeguarded under the terms of the Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Contractor shall submit with technical quote. 5. Contractor shall provide onsite training two times per year Training Dates shall be coordinated with the designated facility POC. 6. Contractor shall provide virtual training as needed by the RJD VAMC. 7. Contractor shall establish a local Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the RJD VAMC, unless a National BAA is already established prior to award. 8. Contractor shall meet quarterly with designated POC to review overall satisfaction to increase overall inpatient satisfaction by 2% or more. GENERAL REQUIREMENT FOR INPATIENT SATISFACTION The overall project purpose is to develop and acquire a health care consulting service that specializes in the creation, administration, and analysis of patient satisfaction surveys. The primary objective of this contract is to increase patient satisfaction at RJD VAMC in inpatient services by providing facility staff with real time feedback on patient perceptions that will enable employees to improve their performance and deliver excellent care. 1. The Contractor must use statistically valid data to benchmark using information gathered from other health care institutions that use similar survey instruments. The service must include a point in time (kiosk) survey tool that allows for immediate feedback (within 24 hours), accessible through an on-line Contractor portal. The database used must include information gathered from both commercial and VA hospitals, including the University Health Consortium teaching facilities and must allow for inclusion of customized questions for each location. This service must fulfill the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) guidelines for survey instruments that allow for hospitals that are following the Pathway to Excellence. Guidance given on the ANCC website states that hospitals should choose the highest quality tool that is statistically significant, at the broadest level nationally, with largest cohort to get the greatest comparative value . Contractors must ensure all survey benchmarking, reporting, and analysis will allow hospital to acquire/maintain Magnet Status. The results will be used to gain insight on the opinions of veterans who use our services. The information will include a detailed, comprehensive assessment of patient satisfaction at RJD VAMC. 2. The Contractor will be provided the following patient demographic information via encrypted file to utilize for survey and reporting purposes: Full name Last six of social security number Address Date of Birth Gender Military Service Era Email address Phone number All information must be safeguarded per all federal, state, and local guidelines. A Business Associates Agreement (BAA) must be signed by the successful offeror and all VA Information and Information System Security/ Privacy safeguarding guidelines must be followed. 3. The Contractor will provide assembly of data collected and professional analyses of the data is included in the services. The Contractor will provide quarterly reports of patient satisfaction in written form, also available through Contractor on-line web portal, within 10 days of the end of each quarter. The information will include quarterly comprehensive, detailed assessments of our patient s experiences while they are served at individual medical centers. The quarterly reports will also include a summary for all inpatient units surveyed. A sample of the quarterly report must be included in the Contractor s proposal. The on-line web Contractor portal must allow for the creation of customized Ad Hoc reports created by RJD VAMC staff using collected data. RJD VAMC inpatient units will be utilizing the service. They require full customization and specialty comparisons, including detailed findings and a full set of data queries available on-line and in hard copy. 4. The Contractor will provide the ability to query on-line data to evaluate satisfaction of services by patient care unit, site/specialty, survey receipt date, dates of services, clinician, and patient demographics in a timely manner. Please provide access to a Contractor on-line portal (web access) that demonstrates this ability in proposal. Government is not allowed to download a Contractor program to our information technology network. Specific deliverables are as follows: Development and provision of evidence-based survey instruments that enable measurement patient satisfaction. Survey questions must be approved by each participating facility prior to distribution. Distribution of survey by mail and by esurveys to patients within 72 hours of receipt of patient file from RJD VAMC POC and other POCs as specified in writing. Notify facility POC of all wrong addresses. Data entry for completed surveys Scanning of all surveys for daily viewing by selected RJD VAMC staff Contractor on-line web portal that allows for the creation of customized Ad Hoc reports created by RJD VAMC staff using collected data and Contractor created quarterly reports Access to program for on-line data analysis of RJD VAMC patient data by defined queries A survey tool that measures patient satisfaction with the following indices: Frontline staff courtesy and helpfulness Scheduling ease and accuracy Speed of registration process and length of wait Nursing staff (LPN, RN) courtesy and communication Provider courtesy and communication, quality of explanations, amount of face-to-face time with patient Office operations (hours of operations, cleanliness, etc.) Responsiveness of staff and sensitivity to the patient s needs Quality of the food The discharge process Pain Management Shared Decision Making Quietness of the hospital environment Overall rating of the hospital, outpatient clinic or emergency department Willingness to recommend Ability to add custom questions to the survey tools for each location On-line and/or in person education sessions/training for staff working with the program and accessing the data and reports. On-site annual data interpretation visits to each facility s Executive Leadership Team Unlimited customer service phone support during business hours. Subscription to newsletter/information on patient satisfaction, best practice, etc. Patient comments will be transcribed verbatim and available to RJD VAMC via the Contractor on-line portal SCHEDULE FOR CONTRACT TASKS AND DELIVERABLES The Contractor will be expected to contact each patient by RJD VAMC s preferred method of delivery. This contact may occur by mail, email, or point in time surveys to patients within three (3) business days of receipt of the patient information from RJD VAMC. The contractor will perform all necessary tasks to provide the quarterly reports within 10 days of the end of each quarter. Scanned surveys can be viewed by RJD VAMC staff electronically within 48 hours of receipt of the completed survey. Method of Evaluating Deliverables: RJD VAMC medical center staff will evaluate all deliverables and review the resulting data. These reviews will involve scrutiny of the data, viability of the information, and utility of the service in helping improve service to our Veterans, as well as the concurrence and/or changes required to proceed with the work as noted in the contractor s submissions. A Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan will be used to assure the success and failure of the vendor for meeting expectations. RJD VAMC staff will access the clinic account that checks the number of names/contacts sent from the inpatient services, compare to the number of surveys delivered, and analyze data from returned and processed surveys. Key Personnel and Temporary Emergency Substitutions 1. During the first ninety (90) days of performance, the Contractor shall make NO substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. 2. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, within 15 calendar days after the occurrence. 3. The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the Contracting Officer. Proposed substitutes shall have comparable or better qualifications to those of the persons being replaced. 4. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on the proposed substitutes. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes of key personnel. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS 1. The Contractor will provide all services associated with preparation, distribution and collection of the survey instruments and data. 2. The contractor will be expected to use quantitative and qualitative data analyses in accomplishing the tasks and provide quarterly written reports which will include action plans and recommendations to improve patient satisfaction. 3. The Contractor must make information available through a Contractor on-line web portal. VA Directive and Handbook, 6500 Managing Information Security Risk: VA Information Security Program; VA Directive 6515, Use of Web-Based Collaboration Technologies; and VA Directive 6102, Internet and Intranet Services, shall be in compliance prior to activating any web portal. Inpatient units currently in operation must be surveyed within 2 weeks after performance period of contract has begun. The entire patient population will be surveyed at each inpatient unit. The historical data on patient sampling size for each unit is provided below: POTENTIAL SOURCES SHALL PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IN THEIR RESPONSE: 1) Company Name Address Point of Contact Phone, Fax, and Email DUNS number Cage Code Type of business, (e.g. Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), 8(a), HUB Zone, Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), or Large Business) 2) Statement of Capability that demonstrates ability of providing the services and past performance with this type of requirement. Include examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information. 3) Manufacturer YES or NO Distributor YES or NO Will items be obtained from a small business manufacturer? YES or NO This notice is to assist the NCO 15 in determining sources only. This announcement is NOT a request for proposals or quotations. The Government is not committed to award a contract pursuant to this announcement. The Government will not pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of information in response to this announcement. Questions and responses must be submitted no later than 10:00 a.m. (CST) on 26 February 2020 to donald.hannah@va.gov . Any proprietary information should be clearly identified as "proprietary information".