Inactive

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is not a request for proposals. A solicitation will not be issued at this time. The Department of Veterans Affairs, North Texas VA Health Care System (NTXVHCS) at... THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE. This is not a request for proposals. A solicitation will not be issued at this time. The Department of Veterans Affairs, North Texas VA Health Care System (NTXVHCS) at 4500 S. Lancaster Rd, Dallas, Texas 75216 has a requirement for reference lab tests. The intent of the procurement is to award a base plus 4 option years contract. The applicable NAICS code is 621511- Medical Laboratories. Small Business manufacturers for this NAICS code have a size standard of $32.5M. The resulting contract will be a base plus 4 option years, firm fixed price contract. Contract shall cover a base year and renewable for (4) option years. This notice is published to conduct market research to determine if there is a sufficient number of certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), Small Businesses (SB), or Large Business capable of performing the requirements to warrant a socio-economic set-aside or full & open competition. It is strongly recommended that interested parties register in the US Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Biz database and the Small Business Administration (SBA) database. Registration may be accomplished at http://www.vip.vetbiz.gov/ and www.sba.gov/, respectively. Interested parties responding to this sources sought request shall submit the following information at a minimum: (1) company name and address, point of contact with phone number, and DUNS number; (2) documentation relating to capability of performance (including references); (3) intentions of subcontracting program to include set-asides; (4) proof of registration in the VA Vet Biz or SBA websites or intention of registration prior to submission of offers to a solicitation; (5) documentation on company s bonding capacity and limitations; and (6) any other pertinent company documentation. The response date to this Sources Sought notice is Feb 10, 2020 9am CST. This market research is for informational and planning purposes only to determine if a socio-economic set-aside, or full & open competition, or sole-source procurement is appropriate. The Government will not pay any costs for responses submitted. Electronic submissions are acceptable directly via Grace.Barr@va.gov. NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE OTHER THAN WHAT IS NOTED HEREIN. WORK STATEMENT The purpose of this contract is to provide to veteran patients quality laboratory services. Contractor is to provide healthcare resources in accordance with Public Law 104.262 and 38 U.S.C. 8153. Contractor agrees to provide the following laboratory procedures/tests in support of the VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) in Dallas, Texas. Pricing includes all labor, materials, equipment and supplies necessary to perform certain human laboratory procedures/tests. Contractor shall perform and provide results for, but not limited to, the following procedures/tests. Additional tests may be added or removed as needed during contract period as required. CPT Code Test Description Est. Annual Qty Amount Est. annual Total 8620U BARBITURATES,URINE 25 0801U BUPRENORPHINE & METABOLITE, TOTAL 180 9139U CLONAZEPAM AND METABOLITE SCREEN, URINE 48 5488U CLONAZEPAM AND METABOLITE CONFIRMATION, URINE 48 9361U ETHYL GLUCURONIDE SCREEN, UR 12 9025U ETHYL SULFATE SCREEN, UR 48 8722U METHADONE & METABOLITE, UR 20 9562U SYNTHETIC CANNABINOID SCREEN, UR 10 9498U ZOLPIDEM SCREEN, URINE 6 4533U TRAMADOL SCREEN, URINE 10 EST. ANNUAL TOTALS 407 Contractor shall provide laboratory services to the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service of the VA North Texas Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, located at 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, Texas. Tests will be performed as prescribed by the VA attending physician. Contractor shall provide laboratory services to include daily scheduled specimen transportation, analysis and reporting of analytic results, and consultation regarding selection, collection, transportation and result interpretation. Results are to be accessible through the contractor s electronic database by P&LMS personnel. Contractor will supply test kits, collection containers, and specimen transport supplies. Supplies will be delivered at no charge at the request of P&LMS personnel and/or through vendor s automated inventory system. Contract shall cover a base year and renewable for (4) option years. Pricing will be provided for the base year and each option year. VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) may award multiple contracts. The test and/or volumes listed are independent government estimates and VANTHCS makes no guarantee as to what volume of tests, if any, the contractor may receive. VANTHCS reserves the right to request additional tests other than those listed within. If additional tests are added, either by the contractor or VANTHCS, the contractor will provide appropriate CPT codes for the new tests. Contractor shall provide all labor, equipment, and materials required to perform procedures/tests as stated herein. These procedures/tests shall be performed to the satisfaction of VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service, Chief of Staff, and the Contracting Officer s Technical Representative (COTR). Services rendered will be verified by a record keeping system maintained by Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service and Fiscal Service at VANTHCS, which assures that the VA pays for only those services actually requested, and only for valid patients of VANTHCS. Contractor shall provide to the COTR the methodology and ranges for results on any tests that are requested. Security Requirements: VA Protected Health Information is provided to the vendor under this contract. This contract is to enable a HIPAA Covered Entity to provide clinical services on behalf of VA. A patient s consent is not required (1605.1P24). The vendor is required to secure the PHI as required by HIPAA. SECTION B: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS DEFINITIONS: LAB ADVISORY COMMITTEE: An individual or group of laboratory directors (Chiefs) or their designees that evaluate the medical/technical/service/quality qualifications of offerors labs. During the life of the contract, this group monitors the quality and service provided by the contractor. SPECIAL HANDLING: Unusual circumstances may dictate the need for a specimen to be picked up specially, run out of sequence or at a special time, or reported within a shorter than usual time. CONTRACTING OFFICER: The Contracting Officer (CO) named below is responsible for the overall administration of this contract. Contractor is advised that only the Contracting Officer, acting within the scope of his/her duties and responsibilities, has the authority to make changes to the contract, which affect contract prices, terms and conditions of this contract: VA North Texas Health Care System Contracting Officer 90C 4500 S. Lancaster Road Dallas, Texas 75216 CONTRACTING OFFICER TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE: A Technical Representative of the Contracting Officer (COTR) will be designated to represent the Contracting Officer in furnishing technical guidance and advice under this contract. The foregoing is not to be construed as authorization to interpret or furnish advice and information to Contractor relative to the financial or legal aspects of the contract. Those matters are the responsibility of the Contracting Officer and shall not be delegated. LAB REPORTS: All specimen containers and lab reports shall contain at a minimum the following information: Patient s full name Physician name Type of specimen Patient s Social Security Number Patient Date of Birth Requesting Facility REPORTING OF LAB REPORTS RESULTS: All lab reports shall be reported via fax, and a hard copy of all lab results shall be sent via mail in addition to electronically. CONTRACTOR POINT OF CONTACT: Contractor shall provide the following point (s) of contact when immediate inquiry regarding the status of a pending test (s) is required: A) Person (s) name (s): ____________________________________________________ B) Telephone number: ____________________________________________________ C) Fax number: _________________________________________________________ PAYMENT: The VA shall not be responsible for payment for services which were not requested in accordance with contract. TRANSPORTATION OF SPECIMENS: Contractor shall transport specimens in such a manner as to ensure the integrity of the specimen. Frozen specimens shall be shipped on dry ice, provided by contractor. Contractor is also responsible for completing hazardous goods forms and proper labeling. CONTRACTOR SECURITY CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS: The Vendor is a HIPAA covered entity providing a service for VA in conjunction with the healthcare of the Veteran; a Business Associate Agreement is not required. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. In such an event, the contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages for each affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following: Notification; One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports; Data breach analysis; Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution; One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall successfully complete the appropriate privacy training and annually complete required privacy training, or VA equivalent. If a vendor that anticipates that the services under the contract will be performed by 10 or more individuals, the Contractor Rules of Behavior may be signed by the vendor s designated representative. By signing the Rules of Behavior on behalf of the vendor that the designated representative agrees to ensure that all such individual review and understand the Contractor Rule of Behavior when accessing the VA s information and information systems. Contractor and any subcontractors must adhere to the provisions of Public Law 104-191, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. This includes both Privacy and Security Rules published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As required by HIPAA, HHS has promulgated rules governing the use and disclosure of protected health information by covered entities. The covered entity component of VA is the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). LICENSING AND ACCREDITATION: Contractor shall have all licenses, permits, accreditation and certificates required by law. Personnel assigned by the contractor to perform these services covered under this contract shall be licensed in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. The lab must be accredited by the College of American Pathologist (CAP) or have JCAHO and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) (Public Law 100-578) certifications or C LIA waiver. Contractor must submit proof of JCAHO and CLIA certifications/waiver along with their offer. Laboratory Director shall be a licensed pathologist, physician, or biologist. QUALITY CONTROLS: By the 20th of each month following the end of the quarter, the contractor shall provide to the COTR a cumulative (year-to-date) summary report by test. The report shall include the TAT for each test order during that quarter. The VA shall have access to inspect the contractor s facilities, equipment and records. The results of these inspections shall be published and given to the contractor. Contractor shall immediately advise the COTR of any changes in methodology, procedure, reference ranges and any new test introduced, including CPT code. Contractor shall provide the following information upon request during the life of the contract: For quality purposes, tests routinely performed in duplicate should be indicated. Indication of average monthly volume of specified tests listed in this contract. Coefficient of variation of quality control samples of all tests or specified tests the laboratory performs. Provide address of processing sites under contract, including subcontracted testing location sites. Proficiency testing data shall include a list of tests outside of the -+2SD range for the past two (2) years. Contractor shall notify lab of any test falling outside -+2SD range during contract period. The contractor(s) facilities, methodologies (defined as the principal of the method and the references), and quality control procedures may be examined by representative of the VA at any time during the life of the contract. The contractor shall provide telephone number(s) and contact personnel to the VANTHCS laboratory to make specimen problem inquiries and problem solving at all times, including weekends and holidays. The contractor must also include names and telephone numbers of technical directors and pathologists available for consultation. Contractor agrees to maintain the minimum acceptable service, reporting systems and quality control as specified herein. Immediate (within 24 hours) notification must be given to VA upon adverse action by a regulatory agency. Contractor shall assign a specific local account representative to each facility. The Government may evaluate the quality of the professional and administrative services provided, but retains no control over the medical professional aspects of services rendered (e.g. professional judgments, diagnosis for specific medical treatment). CANCELLATION: The government may terminate this contract at any time upon at least 30 days written notice by the contracting officer to the contractor. The contractor, with written consent of the contracting officer, may terminate this contract upon at least 30 days written notice to the contracting officer. INVOICING: Invoices must contain at a minimum the following information. Contractor shall provide this information on one original invoice: Contract number Patient (s) Name (s) Social Security Number Proper CPT and LOINC Code Unit Cost Total Cost Date of Service GOVERNING LAW: This contract shall be governed, construed and enforced in accordance with Federal Law. MARKETING: Contractor shall not advertise or use any marketing material, logos, trade names, service marks, or other material belonging to the VANTHCS without the VANTHCS consent. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE: The terms, conditions, and attachments referenced herein, including any formal written modifications thereto, constitute the complete agreement between the parties and take precedence over any other language, oral or written. RECORDS MANAGEMENT All records (administrative and program specific) created during the period of the contract belong to VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) and must be returned to VANTHCS at the end of the contract. NARA Records Management Language for Contracts (May 2017) 1. Contractor shall comply with all applicable records management laws and regulations, as well as National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records policies, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. chs. 21, 29, 31, 33), NARA regulations at 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B, and those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). These policies include the preservation of all records, regardless of form or characteristics, mode of transmission, or state of completion. 2. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, all data created for Government use and delivered to, or falling under the legal control of, the Government are Federal records subject to the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, and the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended and must be managed and scheduled for disposition only as permitted by statute or regulation. 3. In accordance with 36 CFR 1222.32, Contractor shall maintain all records created for Government use or created in the course of performing the contract and/or delivered to, or under the legal control of the Government and must be managed in accordance with Federal law. Electronic records and associated metadata must be accompanied by sufficient technical documentation to permit understanding and use of the records and data. 4. VA North Texas and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of VA North Texas or destroyed except for in accordance with the provisions of the agency records schedules and with the written concurrence of the Head of the Contracting Activity. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. In the event of any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records, Contractor must report to VA North Texas . The agency must report promptly to NARA in accordance with 36 CFR 1230. 5. The Contractor shall immediately notify the appropriate Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent or unauthorized disclosures of information, data, documentary materials, records or equipment. Disclosure of non-public information is limited to authorized personnel with a need-to-know as described in the [contract vehicle]. The Contractor shall ensure that the appropriate personnel, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is properly protected. The Contractor shall not remove material from Government facilities or systems, or facilities or systems operated or maintained on the Government s behalf, without the express written permission of the Head of the Contracting Activity. When information, data, documentary material, records and/or equipment is no longer required, it shall be returned to VA North Texas control or the Contractor must hold it until otherwise directed. Items returned to the Government shall be hand carried, mailed, emailed, or securely electronically transmitted to the Contracting Officer or address prescribed in the [contract vehicle]. Destruction of records is EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED unless in accordance with Paragraph (4). 6. The Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, contracts. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and VA North Texas guidance for protecting sensitive, proprietary information, classified, and controlled unclassified information. 7. The Contractor shall only use Government IT equipment for purposes specifically tied to or authorized by the contract and in accordance with VA North Texas policy. 8. The Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any non-public VA North Texas information that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. 9. The Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected from public disclosure by an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act. 10. The VA North Texas owns the rights to all data and records produced as part of this contract. All deliverables under the contract are the property of the U.S. Government for which VA North Texas shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. Any Contractor rights in the data or deliverables must be identified as required by FAR 52.227-11 through FAR 52.227-20. 11. Training. All Contractor employees assigned to this contract who create, work with, or otherwise handle records are required to take VHA-provided records management training, Talent Management System (TMS) Item #3873736, Records Management for Records Officers and Liaisons. The Contractor is responsible for confirming training has been completed according to agency policies, including initial training and any annual or refresher training.