MODIFICATION
R -- Medical Transcription Services
- Notice Date
- 6/29/2004
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- Attn: Department of Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, 10 North Greene Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
- ZIP Code
- 21201
- Solicitation Number
- 512(P)-49-04
- Response Due
- 6/30/2004
- Archive Date
- 7/30/2004
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact - Jacquelyn M. Walker, Contracting Officer, Ph: (410) 642-1104, Fx:(410) 642-1102, Contracting Officer - Jacquelyn M. Walker, Contracting Officer, Ph:(410) 642-1104, Fx:(410) 642-1102
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Jacquelyn M. Walker
(jacquelyn.walker2@med.va.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- Modification #2 to Previous Announcement. The following questions have been presented for answers. 1. Q: What is the Background Investigation cost for employees? A: The cost for Background Investigation for each employee is $200.00 - $250.00. 2. Q: Are all of the current sites (or any part of them) connected on telephone? A: Current sites are connected through telephone. 3. Q: SPECIFICATIONS #4, Item B. The solicitation refers to ?The operating system must be 28.8 or greater.? And will more modern methods of data transmission be considered (i.e. VPN, DSL)? A: The 28.8 is the modem speed and other current methods of transmission may be utilized. 4. Q: SPECIFICATIONS #4, Item M. Contractor to upload typed reports into VISTA. Is there presently an interface that will work in place and if so will that interface be provided by the VA or another vendor? A: Reports will be uploaded into VISTA by contractor, this can be accomplished through interface provided by VA through VISTA access. 5. Q: SPECIFICATIONS #4, Item T. Byte count and deducting for the number of bytes in a ?blank report template?. Inasmuch as you are requesting a price based on an 80-character line count, would this be truly necessary? Is this a simple matter of knowing how much ?storage? or memory you will need or is it reflective upon the count method used for billing? A: If templates are used, the actual typing performed will be reimbursed after deducting the number from the template. Bytes are used for space and not for billing. 6. Q: QUALITY CONTROL/ASSURANCE Item 12. Define the exact period of time the permanent retention of voice files will be necessary for the VA to perform its internal qualitative reviews, i.e. 30 days? Longer? A: Voice files should be retained for sixty (60) days after the report is transcribed. 7. Q: Are all the sites within the same telephone technology system or are they in different telephone systems? (i.e. can they just dial an extension from one site and reach another?) Do they have a T1 or T3 phone line? Are they connected with local access numbers? Or do they have a voice-over IP system so that they are connected via an internet connection A: All sites are not within the same telephone system and do not have extensions which can be dialed. T1, T3 phone lines are not available. Any calls would have to be charge calls. There is no provision for voice-over IP system. 8. Q: If 28.8 is the modem speed then we would most certainly need to know what the operating system is, i.e. DOS, Windows, Linux, Citrix? A: VA work in a Windows based environment. 9. Q: Is VA asking for an 80 character per line billing rate? A: One byte of memory is used per character. Billing would be by characters per line (80 characters per line). 10. Q: Can the service be outsourced off-shore? A: All verification and transcription MUST be performed in the United States of America. 11. Q: Is this a bid to just provide medical transcription services or do we also have to provide you with the digital recorders you need, any pc?s or printers you need, or other equipment or is that a different bid. A: Please read carefully ALL information contained on pages 1-17. The dictation for VAMHCS will be done into the vendor?s dictation system. 12. Q: What type of dictation system we have to interact with? A: At Martinsburg, Dictaphone system is used for radiology reports and Sudbury RTAS system is used for all other dictation. 13. Q: Page 10, Item T. What is the purpose of this if it is determined that a unit of measure for billing purposes is a defined character? In a true character count, either black characters or black and white characters, the total number of printable characters, or in the case of B&W characters, the total number of printable characters and spaces in between on a document or report would be divided by the given number (you?ve asked for 80, although the promotable unit of measure which can be validated by the client is 65) and that would be the number of billable lines. The number of strokes, bytes, pages, minutes of dictation, nor any other possible unit of measure would enter into this definition given in your statement of work. Please clarify, are you requesting a pricing proposal based on characters or are you requesting a pricing proposal based on bytes? A: Pricing is based on characters per line (80 characters per line). 14. Q: Item #R, Page 10. Are you asking the Contractor to bring up a dictation system in-house at the VA within 24-hours if the telephone system is inoperable? Whose telephone system, the VA?s or the Contractor?s? What kind of dictation system would the VA be requesting be brought on-line within 24 hours? Is the VA aware in order for the contract to get a DVI, Lanier, Dictaphone, whatever ordered, programmed, tested, the dictators educated, dictate stations and/or telephone programmed, would take months? This request, even given a much greater length of time will greatly affect your price per line. A: The VA will use tapes or alternative methods to record dictation and the vendor will transcribe the reports. 15. Q: Item #S, Page 10. I?ll have to check with our HIPAA Compliance Officer, but I don?t think we?re allowed to keep client records that long. I?m not sure we?re supposed to be keeping client records al all once it?s verified they?re in VISTA. A: HIPAA has nothing to do with holding the dictation for any length of time. 16. Q: Item #J, Page 12. I don?t recall having seen a TAT or QA penalty schedule, please explain. A: The TAT and penalties are included in the contract. Please read it. 17. Q: What is exactly meant by a line? It is referred to as an 80 character line. Is this anything on a line up to 80 characters, since the pitch is mentioned or is it characters and spaces + a line? A: It is 80 characters per line including spaces. 18. Q: In another section of the contract it state that the bytes of a report will be taken and the transcribed portion deducted from the total report is this how a line will also be calculated? A: No, it will be 80 characters per line. 19. Q: How much of an increase in work load with one week notice do you anticipate? A: Please refer to the contract for this information. 20. Q: We read that it is to be in Word? Can it also accommodate MS Word 2000? A: Yes. 21. Q: Could we replace all the dictation equipment with all state of the art technology? A: For Martinsburg, the dictation equipment will not be changes. VAMHCS will dictate into the vendor?s system so this is not applicable. 22. Q: Will the VA provide a VPN access or only dial-up access.? A: Either VPN or dial in access will be provided as deemed appropriate by IRM. 23. Q: Do the dictation servers need to be on site or can they be off site? If it is on site can we have net work access to maintain it? A: For Martinsburg, the dictation servers will remain on site. For the VAMHCS, this will not be applicable. 24. Q: Are the 50 ports you quote for both dictators and transcriptionists? A: Yes, for Martinsburg. N/A for VAMHCS. 25. Q: It sounds like the VA will be uploading the reports into VISTA, or will someone be available to assist us in writing a program to get them into VISTA via batch mode. A: The upload will be done by the vendor. VA will provide technical assistance only on how to do it. 26. Q: Who will we get the demographic information? We have programmers on staff that have written several demographic feeds. A: We would not require this. 27. Q: Will VA accept electronic proposals? A: No . Please read Page 14. Old notice/solicitation #512(P)-43-04 was unrestricted, and has been cancelled. New notice/solicitation #512(P)-49-04 is set-aside for Small Business, and quotes are due July 12, 2004, 4:00PM local time.
- Web Link
-
RFQ 512(P)-49-04
(http://www.bos.oamm.va.gov/solicitation?number=512(P)-49-04)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Maryland
- Zip Code: 21201
- Country: United States
- Zip Code: 21201
- Record
- SN00611923-W 20040701/040629211917 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |