MODIFICATION
D -- RFI for Authorized release of Medical Information through integration with the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)
- Notice Date
- 7/8/2009
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 622110
— General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
- Contracting Office
- Social Security Administration, Office of Budget, Finance, and Management, Office of Acquisition and Grants, 1st Floor, Rear Entrance, 7111 Security Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland, 21244
- ZIP Code
- 21244
- Solicitation Number
- SSA-RFP-10-1001
- Archive Date
- 8/6/2009
- Point of Contact
- Syreeta Gay,
- E-Mail Address
-
SSA.HIT.Draft.RFP.Comments@ssa.gov
(SSA.HIT.Draft.RFP.Comments@ssa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RECOVERY--THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This request for information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal, or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire services. Response to this RFI will be treated as information only. The Government will not pay for information provided in response to this RFI or any follow-up information requests. The information provided may be used by the Social Security Administration in developing its acquisition strategy and statement of work. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to exchange information with industry related to its efforts to improve the speed and quality of its Disability Determination Process. BACKGROUND: SSA is responsible for the Nation’s two primary Federal Disability Programs: Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. Due to the significant growth in disability applications over the last 5 years, the increased complexity of those applications, limited resources, medical advances, changing health information technology, and outdated policies, our ability to process disability applications have fallen short of our own expectations. We request an estimated 15-20 million medical records each year from healthcare facilities (hospitals, clinics, physicians, psychologists, and other health professionals) across the country to obtain evidence of an individual’s medical condition. Providing medical records is very labor-intensive and expensive for healthcare facilities. In addition, some facilities require the use of their own forms and some do not respond to our requests for medical records at all. As a result, we are forced to obtain and retain paper originals of authorization forms and in some instances schedule consultative examinations when medical sources do not respond to our requests. The current process results in significant burdens on applicants, providers, and the government. OBJECTIVE: While there is no single solution to improve our disability determination process; one of SSA’s proposed solutions is to expand our current Medical Evidence Gathering and Analysis through Health Information Technology (MEGAHIT) project by recruiting additional health care providers and networks to automate the exchange of medical records. Automating the solution for Release of Information will save time and money for the providers and will also make SSA’s decision determination process more efficient and effective. To achieve this goal, SSA contemplates awarding fixed price contracts to expand the number of healthcare providers participating in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). This will be done through a full and open, competitive, fixed-price request for proposal (RFP) contracting process. SSA hopes to award contracts to organizations representing Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs), General Medical Service Providers/Facilities and Specialty Care Providers/Facilities. This effort will be funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds and payment will be made to awarded contractors upon successful completion of the implementation and successful response to several production requests from SSA with the transmission of verified Continuity of Care Documents (CCD). Information submitted in response to this RFI will be used to gauge interest of healthcare providers willing to participate in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), develop the capability to receive standardized electronic requests for medical evidence of record (MER), patient authorization and respond to requests with structured medical information through a CCD(s). SSA will also use the RFI responses to help develop a Request for Proposal that will lead to contracts for the implementation of the MEGAHIT project. SSA seeks information from industry for preliminary planning purposes ONLY. This RFI will allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the government’s requirement and to affirm that there is a general understanding of the requirement. This RFI is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or to award a contract. The Government will not pay for information provided in response to this RFI or any follow-up information requests. A detailed description of the project is contained in the attached DRAFT RFP. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website at www.fbo.gov. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation. In addition, this effort will be funded with Recovery Act funds; therefore the solicitation will contain the clauses at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-5, Alternate II, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items. Specifically, the following: •52.203-15 – Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Mar 2009) •52.204-11 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - Reporting Requirements (Mar 2009) •52.215-2 Alternate I, Audit and Records-Negotiation Responses from industry MUST be submitted via email to SSA.HIT.Draft.RFP.Comments@ssa.gov by July 22, 2009. No phone calls will be accepted. The subject line of the submission should be “RFI for Authorized release of Medical Information to SSA through integration with the NHIN”. Responses must include the following information: 1. Company/Facility name, address, point of contact, phone number and email address. 2. Type of healthcare organization (Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs), General Medical Service Providers/Facilities and/or Specialty Care Providers/Facilities). 3. Does your company use an electronic health records system? 4. Who is your electronic health records software vendor? 5. Does your company have experience in exchanging electronic health records? If so, with whom? 6. What additional information from the Government would you need to develop a proposal? 7. Describe the risks associated with participating in this effort (business, operational, technical) and what actions could be taken to mitigate these risks? 8. If we issue a Request for Proposals, would you submit a proposal? If not, why? 9. Do you have any other concerns/comments or recommendations regarding the Draft RFP or proposed acquisition approach? Specifically, we seek input on the following documents: -Statement of Work (RFP Section B-1) -Electronic Health Records Content Checklist (RFP Section E) -SSA’s Implementation Guide (www.socialsecurity.gov/hit) -Instructions to Offerors (RFP Section F) -Proposed Evaluation Criteria (RFP Section G-1(d)) 10. Though contracts awarded as a result of a Request for Proposals will not include payment for the receipt of medical information, what would you consider a fair price (based on actual costs incurred) for your company to provide a patient's medical information in response to our request for medical information, assuming that the process is entirely automated? Please explain the rationale for your answer. 11. Should we adjust the price over time? If so, what price is fair in the short-term? What price is fair in the long-term? Please explain the rationale for your answer (including how you would define short-term). We emphasize that this RFI is for planning and information purposes. No solicitation exists; therefore, requests for copies of a solicitation will not be honored.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/SSA/DCFIAM/OAG/SSA-RFP-10-1001/listing.html)
- Record
- SN01869353-W 20090710/090709001419-303793136169eaf948255b5b1cf09c43 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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