Inactive

PURPOSE This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE / REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI); not a pre-solicitation notice or solicitation for proposals/quotations. The purpose of this notice is to: Determine if sources ... PURPOSE This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE / REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI); not a pre-solicitation notice or solicitation for proposals/quotations. The purpose of this notice is to: Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exist; Determine if commercial items suitable to meet the agency's needs are available or could be modified to meet the agency's requirements; and Determine the commercial practices of company's engaged in providing the needed service or supply. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. The Veterans Affairs Commodities and Services Acquisition Services, in support of Veterans Health Administration (VHA), are contemplating the need and requirements for Standardized Functional Outcome Metric. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Prosthetic and Rehabilitation is committed to providing the highest quality physical medicine and rehabilitative care to Veterans. To this end, it is incumbent upon VA medical rehabilitation practitioners to evaluate the outcomes of rehabilitation programs, demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of care, provide focused case management and compare favorably to the outcomes achieved among different VA service providers, and in some instances with the private sector. There has always been a need to document the severity of patient disability and to establish rehabilitative outcome standards based on each specific severity level. DESCRIPTION The VA is interested in the continuing participation in an international functional assessment data analysis and reporting for medical rehabilitation for disabled veterans. Functional assessment data of each patient admitted to and discharged from rehabilitation bed-services collected will be submitted to the contractor. Enrollment data system entitles VA to compare data to a large group of private sector rehabilitation facilities that also hold membership with the contractor. All facilities within the VA continuum of care can enter their functional assessment data for patients treated at any bed location. From this data, a contractor can compile quarterly outcome reports that are made available to each member facility. VA is asking interested vendors to submit capability statements in comparison standardized functional outcome data from non-VA facilities across the U.S. This RFI is issued to understand the participant’s limitation or any additional information interested parties are willing to provide. The VA is interested in the participation of non-VA entities and the capability for their information technology to ensure compliance with VA data security requirement. 3.0 DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. Additionally, this RFI does not obligate the Government to the issuance of a Request for Proposal. All information received in response to the RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.202 (e), responses to this notice are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Capability Statement Instructions: In response to the attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW), VA hereby solicits capability statements from interested contractors. These statements shall be no longer than 15 pages (double-spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins and 12 point font). Interested parties having the capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements may submit capability statements. This notice is provided as information to the marketplace and is an invitation for potential offerors to express interest and provide information regarding their relevant capabilities. Information submitted in response to this notice may be used as a basis for a future solicitation and/or as a basis for more in-depth research of an organization's capability. If a solicitation is issued at a later date then the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) anticipates awarding a single award Base Year plus 4 Option Years under resulting contract. All Contractor and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal security and privacy laws, regulations, standards and VA policies as VA, including the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. §552a, and VA personnel, regarding information and information system security. Contractors must follow policies and procedures outlined in VA Directive 6500, Information Security Program which is available at: VA Publications and its handbooks to ensure appropriate security controls are in place. The Contractor will have access to Sensitive Information contained in Veterans’ or Service members' records. All Contractor's and subcontractor's personnel working with VA Sensitive Information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of regular VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level of background security investigation will be in accordance with VA Directive 0710, Handbook 0710, which are available at: VA Publications and VHA Directive 0710 and Implementation Handbook 0710.01, which are available at: https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/publications.cfm?pub=2. Contractors are responsible for screening its employees. 4.0 SUBMISION AND CONTACT INFORMATION Please submit responses to the questionnaire via email in Microsoft Office format by 08/02/2023 to the Contracting Office at the below listed address. You may also submit supplemental materials such as brochures etc. to the Contract Officer, Caroline West, at the same address. All supplemental material must be received by deadline date. Email and responses should be mailed to the following address: Email: caroline.west@va.gov. Questionnaire Name of Organization/Corporation: Corporate Address: DUNS Number: Point of Contact Name & Title: Phone Number: Email Address: Socio-Economic Category (if known): HUBZone 8(a) Small Business Veteran Owned Small Business Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Women Owned Small Business North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS), please list all codes: B.3 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT TITLE OF PROJECT: Standardized Functional Outcome Metric (SFOM). B.3.1 INTRODUCTION The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Commodities and Services Acquisition Service (CSAS) and the Denver Logistics Center (DLC) manage holistic supply chain management for the VA National Audiology, Prosthetics, and Telehealth Programs and supports VA and other Government agencies with professional acquisition and logistical services. The CSAS and the Office of Rehabilitation and Prosthetics has been tasked with a requirement to procure the Standardized Functional Outcome Metric (SFOM). The purpose of this acquisition is to establish a Service source that will provide the contracted services to be purchased by the Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC). Additionally, an Integrated Product Team (IPT) was not formed due to an exception listed in Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2017-05 Applicability, this policy only applies to all acquisitions valued above $7 million (including options) and are required for complex acquisitions valued at less than $7 million when there is considerable technical, program, or business risk to the Government. This acquisition is simply well below $7 million and not a complex acquisition. The SFOM requirement falls under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541690, Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services and Product Service Code (PSC) B506 – Special Studies/Analysis- Data (other than scientific). The size standard for this NAICS code is $12.5 million. The contracting Officer determined that this requirement is a commercial service in accordance with FAR 2.101, as the services are provided in commercial marketplace at market prices and sold competitively under standard commercial terms and conditions. a. The Department of Veterans Affairs is concerned with providing the highest level of care within the rehabilitation services provided veterans. It is incumbent upon rehabilitation practitioners of medical rehabilitation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention, the efficiency in terms of benefits and costs, and to compare favorably to the outcomes achieved among different service providers within VA and in the private sector. b. The need to objectively document the functional status of patients and to establish rehabilitation outcome standards based on each patient’s severity level has always existed. Through this contract, VA has access to the Standardized Functional Outcome Metric (SFOM) assessment tool, the rehabilitation industry standard of severity measurement, and through the use of the SFOM have access to gather the outcome standards it seeks. Functional assessment data of each patient admitted to and discharged from rehabilitation bed-services is collected and submitted to the Netsmart at the 11100 Nall Ave Overland Park, KS 66211 Enrollment entitles VA to a comparison data base that represents historical outcomes from approximately 1,400 private sector rehabilitation facilities that also hold Netsmart membership. All facilities within the VA continuum of care also can enter their functional assessment data for patients treated within Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS) at any bed location. From this data, Netsmart compiles quarterly outcome reports that are made available to each member facility while VACO is provided corporate roll-up reports. Program evaluation methodologies, total quality management practices, and managed care prototypes are made possible through careful use of this data. Since this is a request to continue a contract with Netsmart, the needs remain the same, and it is important to note our continued reliance on this contract to provide us with outcome standards. Additionally, it is through this contract that VA facilities with rehabilitation bed units are “credentialed” in the SFOM data collection process. A facility rehabilitation bed unit team is considered “credentialed” if 80% of the rehabilitation professionals providing rehabilitation services to the patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation unit take and pass a written exam provided by Netsmart. The exam consists of a series of case histories designed to test the knowledge required to properly assess the rehabilitative needs of a patient using SFOM assessment tool. Once a facility has achieved “credentialed status,” its data is considered by Netsmart to be valid and reliable. VA facilities participating as part of the continuum of care will have at least 2 staff members credentialed. With valid and reliable data in place, Netsmart provides VA with valid and reliable outcomes comparisons to the private sector. The VA performance is very similar to the private sector data in many of these outcomes comparisons, but additional opportunities to improve continue to surface. It is considered essential, however, to continue this contractual agreement with Netsmart if we hope to continue to improve our overall performance. d. The VA does not have, nor does it anticipate having, the availability of adequate internal resources to undertake the services contemplated by this effort. In addition, Netsmart is the owner of the SFOM assessment tool, which is the basis for our data utilization. In order to satisfy the requirements of this acquisition, VA has considered the following acquisition alternatives: 1. Doing without the services: This is not a feasible solution as VA does not have alternate solutions to make comparisons of rehabilitation outcomes with private sector data. As Netsmart is the owner of the SFOM assessment tool, VA would be unable to continue use of this tool, from which data is drawn for strategic planning purposes, quality performance measures, and local patient treatment planning. 2. Using the GSA Schedule. Netsmart is the owner of the SFOM assessment tool, which would preclude continuing VA’s utilization of this data via the GSA Schedule. VA has had a long term relationship with Netsmart and has established a large data base from which VA data can be drawn when looking at rehabilitation care. 3. Award Fixed Price contract. An IDIQ, fixed price type contract with options will serve as the contractual mechanism for the requirements. B.3.2 BACKGROUND This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) directive describes policy and procedures for the mission, purpose, organization, provision of standards of rehabilitative care, business practices, performance improvement strategies, and responsibilities regarding physical medicine and rehabilitation programs and services. Amendment dated April 4, 2022, incorporates current VHA policy on collecting outcomes associated with inpatient rehabilitation, eliminating the mandate to use the SFOM by adding the option to utilize Section GG of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) - Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI) to measure functional performance outcomes. NOTE: This amendment incorporates policy on physical medicine and rehabilitation outcomes for inpatient rehabilitation units. VHA Directive 1225, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Outcomes for Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, dated February 8, 2017 is now rescinded via VHA Notice 2022-03, Rescission of VHA Directive 1225 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Outcomes for Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, dated March 25, 2022. VHA Handbook 1170.03, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services Procedures, updated procedures and requirements for comprehensive continuum of rehabilitation care provided to Veterans with disabilities and injuries, including outcome collection across the continuum. B.3.3 SCOPE OF WORK The overall project purpose is for VA to continue to participate in a nationally recognized SFOM, obtain private sector comparative data on a quarterly basis, actively participate on research activities utilizing collected data, and maintain a valid and reliable VA database of rehabilitation outcomes. With the ongoing emphasis for high quality rehabilitation care, the need to identify more efficient and effective rehabilitation programs is a high priority. VA rehabilitation managers and administrators, with the help of the SFOM tool, will be better positioned to understand their patient and program outcomes, and to make changes in their everyday practice. B.3.4 MINIMUM SERVICE REQUIREMENT The Contractor shall provide the following services: Program Management Rehabilitation Bed Service Enrollments Subscription. Approximately 135 subscriptions are needed for this requirement. The contractor shall provide subscription memberships for each rehabilitation bed service within VA. These services shall include: Online training materials, Web based training, Online credentialing services, Online quarterly outcome reporting, and Support Services Credentialing Services for Non-Bed/Continuum Programs. The contractor shall provide credentialing services for each non-bed/continuum program within VA. These services shall include: Online training materials, Web based training, Online credentialing services, Online quarterly outcome reporting, and Support Services Secure Data System The contractor will ensure a secure data transfer system to receive VA SFOM data from VA users (Rehabilitation clinicians, therapists, and coordinators). This secure database will be used for analysis and reporting and will include a secure web based user portal for access to training materials and facility outcome reports. Provide Agency Wide Reports The contractor shall produce valid and reliable VACO agency wide roll up reports for all rehab and non-bed facilities on a quarterly basis, these reports shall contain a summary of the credentialing activity at each facility, clinical activity and SFOM. Content for the agency-wide reports will summarize the facility-level reports. SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES The Contractor shall perform the following: Contract Management: The Contractor shall assign a Project Manager (CPM) who will provide oversight of all contracted efforts. The CPM shall communicate with the COR on all issues related to project outcomes. The CPM shall attend a virtual kick-off meeting to discuss the project approach, schedule, milestones, and points of contact. Kick-off Meeting: The Contractor shall attend a virtual kickoff meeting, with all VA partners to establish a baseline of understanding after the contract award or as directed by the Contracting Officer. Participants will include all key Contractor personnel and VA staff. At the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall present the details of its strategic vision, intended approach, and approximated project schedule for review and approval by VA. The kick-off meeting will serve to resolve strategic questions, refine goals, define success, and explore the biggest challenges and breakthrough opportunities for VA. Deliverables: Action item list Meeting minutes Contractor Project Management Plan: The Contractor shall provide, develop, update and follow a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP). The CPMP shall include scope definition and schedule to be reviewed and approved by the COR prior to start of work on any implementation effort. The CPMP shall also include technical approaches; deliverables; dates for deliverables; tracking tools; risk management mitigation strategies; communication strategies and materials; implementation strategy; and project closeout activities. The Contractor shall employ a management approach that is in compliance with Project Management professional standards. The project schedule shall be delivered in MS Project 2010 .mpp digital format that includes all deliverables and milestones, as well as the activities or tasks required to produce the deliverables. The Contractor shall submit a CPMP with Quarterly updates. Deliverable: CPMP with Quarterly Updates Weekly Progress Meetings: The Contractor shall hold weekly virtual meetings with VA during the first quarter to provide updates on progress, identify critical issues, discuss next steps, and the plan for ongoing success. The weekly Meeting time will be determined by the COR. Deliverable: Weekly Meeting Status Report Quarterly Progress Meetings: The Contractor shall hold quarterly virtual meetings with VA after the first quarter to provide updates on progress, identify critical issues, discuss next steps, and plan for ongoing success. The quarterly meeting time will be determined by the COR. Deliverable: Quarterly Meeting Status Rehabilitation Bed Service Enrollments Subscription The contractor shall provide subscription memberships for each acute and sub-acute rehabilitation bed service within VA. The subscription includes training materials on the SFOM, credentialing services to ensure baseline knowledge on application of the SFOM, quarterly reports summarizing bed service activity and outcomes, and support services from contractor’s Clinical and Technical help desks. Support services will include, but is not limited to, scoring recommendations based on a specific case scenario, password and technical assistance for its website, and general support. Each enrolled site will be issued an online account with multiple user accounts for each bed unit which hosts the SFOM training materials, credentialing testing and quarterly report postings. Quarterly reports provided in the subscription will include the acute (comprehensive medical rehabilitation - CMR) and sub-acute (skilled nursing facility – SNF) rehabilitation bed service reports provided to each participating VA bed unit location. Reports will contain aggregate data breaking down the diagnostic and demographic composition and characteristics of the patients, as well as summarizing their outcomes. A separate summary report providing a parallel aggregate breakdown of non-VA bed units will be made available to the VA facilities as a comparative reference. Reports format will be as consistent as possible with reports provided to proprietary facilities, with special emphasis on impairments signifying brain injury, stroke, amputation and orthopedic conditions. No future changes to the reports will be made without written agreement from both parties. Deliverable: Online training materials Online reports Credentialing Services for Non-Bed/Continuum Programs The contractor shall provide proficiency credentialing services through an on-line credentialing system. In support of the VA training and credentialing activities the contractor will provide access to the following educational documents online: • SFOM Clinical Guide • Credentialing Examination Packet/Information The contractor shall provide web-based training at VA request on topics related to the SFOM and analysis of the reports. Topics may include: SFOM Accuracy Training and Credentialing b. Continuum report interpretation & analysis c. Rehabilitation Bed Unit (Comprehensive and Subacute) report interpretation & analysis d. Advanced report interpretation & analysis for performance improvement. The contractor will be available to address related questions from the field facilities and will supply online reports to each field facility and a summary report to VACO regarding the credentialing results. Quarterly reports will be provided to each participating VA facility providing rehabilitation services within the continuum of care (Facility Level VA Continuum Reports). Reports will contain aggregate data breaking down the composition and characteristics of the patients, as well as summarizing their outcomes. Reports format will be as consistent as possible with reports provided to VA medical rehabilitation programs, with special emphasis on impairments signifying brain injury, stroke, amputation and orthopedic conditions. No future changes to the reports will be made without written agreement from both parties. Deliverable: Online training materials Online reports Web based training sessions Secure Data System The Contractor shall provide a secure database in accordance with VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems – Tier 3: VA Information Security Program”, VA Handbook 6500.1, “Electronic Media Sanitization”, VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Data Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)”, and VA Handbook, 6500.5, “Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle”, to support the data collection, analysis and reporting requirements to support use of the SFOM. VA users will be provided with a secure web based login to access training materials and enter project information based on their associated role. The system will be restructured as needed to ensure it is comprehensive and user friendly and comply with current Information Technology (IT) standards. The Contractor shall administer and provide project oversight for the secure database. The Contractor shall provide analysis of system and site performance based on key analytics generated by the system. The Contractor shall provide user administration, monitoring, testing, optimization and user support. Deliverables: Fully configured Database, updates NTE 2 annually Reporting and data export capability Secure login for VA staff Access to training materials Quarterly monitoring reports on system availability and user access Agency-wide Reports The contractor shall produce valid and reliable VACO agency-wide roll up reports on a quarterly basis, henceforth referred to as “Special Reports”. These reports will contain a summary of the credentialing activity at each facility, clinical activity and SFOM. Content for the agency-wide reports will summarize the facility-level reports. Contractor will provide data analysis and consultation in support of any report modification at the request of the VA. An overview of the agency-wide reports is as follows; A. Bed programs: Separate agency-wide reports will be provided for acute and sub-acute rehab programs. These detailed reports shall provide SFOM data for each enrolled facility, VISN region. The agency-wide report series will provide relevant outcomes data and charts in several reports. Comparative reports including aggregate data from proprietary facilities will be included for the bed programs. b. non-bed programs known as Continuum Reports: Summary information on all cases for rolling twelve and most recent quarter with breakout detail for stroke, brain, amputation and orthopedic cases including severity adjustment. Deliverable: Online agency-wide reports B.3.5 VA Information Custodial Language Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for, or developed by the contractor/subcontractor in, performance or administration of the contract shall be owned by VA and used in accordance with this contract 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). VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractor’s/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems to ensure that VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure that data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor while performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management; and its Handbook 6300.1, Records Management Procedures; applicable VA Records Control Schedules; and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self- certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA CO within 30 calendar days of termination of the contract. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if National Institute Standard and Technology (NIST) issues or updates applicable Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations, and policies in this contract. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, then after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12. If a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) contract is terminated for cause, the associated Business Associate Agreement (BAA) must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated. The contractor’s/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA CO for response. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above-mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA CO for response. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require Certification and Accreditation (C&A) or memoranda of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the PM/COR. B.3.6 Information System Design and Development Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems. This includes standards for the protection of electronic Personal Health Information (PHI), outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (refer to Appendix D of VA Handbook 6500, VA Information Security Program). During the development cycle, a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the PM/COR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6508, VA Privacy Impact Assessment. The contractor/subcontractor shall certify to the PM/COR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Co...