SAMDaily.us | SNOTE | 70 | Notice of Intent to Sole Source

SAMDAILY.US - ISSUE OF AUGUST 08, 2021 SAM #7190
SPECIAL NOTICE

70 -- Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Notice Date: 8/6/2021 8:11:41 AM
Notice Type: Special Notice
NAICS: 541519 — Other Computer Related Services
Contracting Office: 255-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 15 (36C255) LEAVENWORTH KS 66048 USA
ZIP Code: 66048
Solicitation Number: NNG15SD198B_36C25521F0114
Response Due: 8/13/2021 6:00:00 AM
Archive Date: 08/28/2021
Point of Contact: Jeanine Wallace, Phone: 9139461968
E-Mail Address: jeanine.wallace@va.gov
(jeanine.wallace@va.gov)
Small Business Set-Aside: SDVOSBC Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)
Description: SUBJECT* NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE� � NNG15SD198B GENERAL INFORMATION CONTRACTING OFFICE�S ZIP CODE* 66048 SOLICITATION NUMBER* ARCHIVE 30 DAYS AFTER THE RESPONSE DATE RECOVERY ACT FUNDS N PRODUCT SERVICE CODE* 7A21 NAICS CODE* 541519 CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15 3450 S 4th Street Trafficway Leavenworth KS� 66048 POINT OF CONTACT* Contracting Officer Jeanine Wallace jeanine.wallace@va.gov 913-946-1968 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AGENCY�S URL URL DESCRIPTION AGENCY CONTACT�S EMAIL ADDRESS jeanine.wallace@va.gov EMAIL DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 15, on behalf of the St. Louis VAMC located at 915 N. Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63106 is issuing an intent to award a sole source, base year + two (2) one-year options to renew, firm fixed priced contract to Alvarez, LLC, via SEWP, SDVOSB for Clintegrity VA Clinical Documentation Improvement Professional (VA CDI Pro). Alvarez, LLC, is an authorized verified SDVOSB reseller of the Clintegrity VA Clinical Documentation Improvement Professional (VA CDI Pro) system and its related applications. All of Nuance�s applications are proprietary and therefore, can only be provided by Nuance directly or an authorized reseller of these products or support for these products. In accordance with 38 U.S Code 8127 the Veteran�s Health Administration using other than competitive procedures when such concern is determined to be a responsible source with fulfilling this requirement. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541519 and has a size standard of $30 million for this procurement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotes. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement and submit capability statement no later than 8:00am. CT, Tuesday, August 13, 2021 to jeanine.wallace@va.gov Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses received to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.� If no written response is received within the closing date of this notice, a sole source award will be made to Alvarez, LLC a SDVOSB without any further notice. Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a notice. STATEMENT OF WORK Licensure and Use of Clintegrity 360 VA CDI Pro September 1, 2021 1. GENERAL: The Vendor shall provide labor, equipment, materials, transportation, necessary to provide government software maintenance, use and annual licenses for Clintegrity VA Clinical Documentation Improvement Professional (VA CDI Pro) for the Veterans Health Administration, St. Louis VA Health Care System (VASTLHCS), St Louis, Missouri. 2. BACKGROUND: The VASTLHCS contains two main divisions and fourteen community-based outpatient clinics.� We provide acute medical, surgical, psychiatric, and long-term care. The primary location is in St. Louis, Missouri and provides primary, secondary, and some tertiary care. Annually, the VASTLHCS serves approximately 65,000 patients. 3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: One base year with the possibility of two more option year periods Base Year: September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022 1st Option Year: September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023 2nd Option Year: September1, 2023 to August 31, 2024 4. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: ��VA Saint Louis Health Care System (VASTLHCS) John Cochran Division, Building 2, 915 North Grand Boulevard, St Louis, Missouri. 5. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS: �� a. Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA). �� (1) The vendor shall deliver all upgrades to the program software released �� during the term of this SMA.� Upgrades are defined as: �� (a) Service packs to be issued on an as needed basis. �� (b) Software builds or versions which represent significant enhancements� �� to the pre-existing feature set of the covered software. �� (c) Coverage for third party software sold by vendor and used on this system. �� (2) Software and hardware included on the ALVAREZ Service Contract�� Quote number 117239.� Qty Model/Part No. Description Serial No. 1. QVA-CDI-MD-SVC Clintegrity 360 | VA CDI Pro Term, Annual IP Admissions License. Facility Annual License - 4 concurrent user licenses. 2.�QVA-CDI-USR-SVC Clintegrity 360 VA CDI Pro, Term, Annual user license (single facility) 1. VACDI-AST-PRO VA CDI Pro Assessment, including chart review and analysis and virtual or on-site presentation of findings Qty Model/Part No. Description Serial No. 1�VACDI-IMP-PRO VA CDI PRO Implementation - includes installation, configuration, project management, didactic training, 2 remote training sessions, 1 remote week of support, post Implementation follow up visit, 2 days of Peer to Peer Education 1.�VACDI-PIMPL-PRO VA CDI Pro Post Implementation Professional Services - online Strategy Academy available to users 24 hrs day/7 days a week per year , quarterly remote analysis by Vendor CDI Consultant of VA CDI Pro data, up to three clinical scenarios reviewed per year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)� Changes webcast for annual CMS International Classification of Disease (ICD 10) and ICD 10 (Procedure coding system) Production Coding System (PCS) code changes, and J A Thomas and Associates (JATA) Classroom access 3.�QCONSU-CON1 Consulting Fee, daily rate, 1 Consultant - ICD-10 Coding Essentials for CDS is an educational course designed to maximize CDI outcomes by educating or refreshing Clinical Documentation Specialist (CDS) on basic coding concepts to better bridge the gap between CDI and ICD-10 coding. Emphasis placed on coding guidelines that impact the role of the CDS. Content includes understanding medical DRG assignment & relationship to Veteran Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) impact, PCS-driven Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG�s), & focus on key topics. Up to 20 attendees from one VAMC per course may attend. The training will consist of four 4-hour modules and two 2-hour modules and will include 4 hours of trainer prep and admin time for a total of 24 hours delivered remotely. The vendor will allow the VA to the record the instructional events so that they may be used by others, at no additional cost. 1.QVERA-OP-PROS VERA Optimization includes $18,000 credit and honor VERA Analyzer bundle pricing for reduced custom CDI Team agenda with Provider Education Training via Train the Trainer. Purchase Order must include the following Notes 1, 2, and 3:� 1.Reports provided by Nuance Consultants from VERA Analyzer (will be used during the consulting engagement by NUANCE) used by St. Louis VAMC but must contain the Nuance logo."" 2. If information from reports is subsequently used in other VA documents by VA staff or others outside of Nuance (e.g., metrics/dashboard/or report), a notation must be included that the report data was created using Nuance reports. 3. VERA Analyzer will solely be accessed by Nuance staff during the duration of this service contract, unless the VA contracts separately for this solution. All services can be delivered remotely and during COVID-19, may require delivery remotely via web and phone delivery 6. VA will provide the following: Assistance to Vendor�s technician to help �troubleshoot� the problem remotely for the technician to diagnosis the fault. �� Running diagnostic test appropriate for the problem reported. �� Installation of service packs, components, updates, upgrades, and patches to address the problem. �� Contacting select third party vendors and facilitating immediate resolution or managing resolution plans Engineer to engineer collaboration between Vendor experts and customer for more complex issue resolution. � 7. Contractor will provide the following: �� A.� Solution Support The Contractor shall provide technical and Help Desk support for all capabilities and all additional/future capabilities for the VA CDI Pro Inpatient application including supplying and assisting with upgrades to new versions of the software when available, which contain fixes and feature additions. Contractor shall provide support staffed by technical professionals for VA Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time except for Federal holidays. Contractor shall provide telephone lines in adequate quantity to handle call volume with Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)/Service Desk functionality to record call date, time, hold times, and duration information, and electronic interface to all systems for monitoring and reporting. Upon receipt of a call from customer/user the call shall be logged by the Contractor, a tracking number assigned and given to the caller reporting the issue. Hand-off shall be made to the appropriate technician; Contractor shall work with callers/users to resolve issues. Tickets shall minimally include a unique identifier (ticket number); name of service requester; location; priority; description; resolution; and dates/times received, assigned, resolved, and closed. Nuance will use its best efforts to provide a Resolution to a support request without unreasonable delay.� If resolution for a critical issue that impacts availability of the application or severely limits user workflow and/or business processes cannot be made within four (4) hours, Contractor shall provide the VA COR with an email advising of the disruption and the estimated time to resolve and emergency repairs shall continue until completed and Contractor demonstrates normal operation to the VA COR. Routine/preventive maintenance shall occur during off business hours or on weekends. Contractor shall electronically notify all users within 4 hours of the scheduled and/or unplanned interruption and expected recovery timeframe. Users shall be notified immediately upon system availability. �� B. �Implementation Services and Upgrades. From time to time Updates and/or Upgrades on applicable Programs may result in the requirement or recommendation by Vendor that customer receives various services to implement the software effectively. Such services include but are not limited to user training, administrator training, software programming and project management. Any such necessary services shall be charged at the discretion of Vendor and are at the sole cost of customer. 8. CONTRACT PERFORMANCE MONITORING: MAJOR REQUIREMENTS: In order for the Contractor to accomplish the work under this task order/purchase order, it shall be necessary for the Contractor to complete the following tasks:� Milestones for Contract Performance Monitoring Project Kick-off / Contract Management Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Implementation Project Kick Off and scheduling calls for CDI key stakeholders. Nuance Project Manager is assigned to manage entire project through end of period of performance. Nuance Project Manager and STL staff as decided by VA COR or Project lead� Scheduled to occur within 30 days of accepted award. Nuance contacts main POC to schedule within 15 days of accepted award. VA CDI Pro Inpatient Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Pre-implementation assessment: Assess and evaluate hospital�s potential to improve CDI, Clinical review of 50 records by CDI Specialist Consultant remotely. Interviews (remote � or onsite) with HIMS, QM, finance, nursing, and other key medical staff as needed, Exit conference with leadership and exit briefing and final assessment document delivery. Nuance Project Manager and VA staff Within 90 days of accepted award as agreed upon by VA COR and Nuance Project Manager Can be scheduled after implementation as mid-cycle assessment, if preferred Installation of VA CDI Pro IP and software testing Installation and system configuration will be performed remotely by the Nuance Technical Services team and will require an IRM point of contact to work with the team. Staff member will need SSN level access to pull initial import files from the ARC (standard reports). Nuance Technical Consultant, VA Region COTS Team, and St. Louis staff member with SSN level access to ARC� Within 180 days of contract accepted award date Completion of pre-project preparation steps (including, but not limited to scheduling Didactic Training and on site VAMC training engagements, securing systems access for Nuance Consultants, etc., completion of pre-implementation VAMC worksheets)� Nuance Project Manager & VAMC POC Expected within 60-90 days of contract accepted award; systems access for Nuance staff required at least one month prior to scheduled training weeks 4-day CDI Strategies didactic training (self-paced; required for all CDIS; recommended for clinical liaisons for CDI program, CDI Manager, physician CDI leader) Nuance CDI Pro staff available by phone and VA CDI/HIMS staff completing training Access provided to staff within 60 days of contract accepted award date, should be completed by key staff before VA CDI Pro software training week 1 Physician leadership mentoring (2 days on site per VAMC); creates provider buy-in Nuance Physician, all stakeholders and VA physicians that need to be present Typically, within 120 days of accepted award as agreed upon by VA COR and Nuance Project Manager, but effective anytime throughout implementation period 4-day VA CDI Pro software remote training (week one implementation training. Site is �live� upon completion of first week of training. Nuance consultants & VA CDI/HIMS staff Within 120 days of accepted award, or as agreed upon between VA and Project Manager CDI Consultant available for phone calls from hospital CDI Team- concurrent reviews and workflow process training for one week during implementation period Nuance consultants & VA CDI/HIMS staff During week between CDI Implementation trainings 3-day remote VA CDI Pro software training (week two on site) Nuance Consultants & VA CDI/HIMS staff Within 150 days of accepted award, or as agreed upon between VA and Project Manager Initiate access to VA CDI Pro Post Implementation Support Package Nuance Consultants & VA CDI/HIMS staff Immediately following conclusion VA CDI Pro software training (week two) 3-day Post-implementation Consulting Engagement for workflow adjustments, mentoring, and refresher training as needed Nuance consultants & VA CDI/HIMS staff Within 30-60 days after implementation, or as agreed upon between VA and Project Manager Coding Essentials for CDIS Class Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Deliver Coding Essentials class over 3-day period or equivalent number of hours via web training Nuance consultants & necessary CDI staff, end users, and stakeholders Coordinated with CDI Manager, VA Project Manager and Nuance Project Manager VA CDI Pro Inpatient Post Implementation Consulting Services Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Completion of pre-project preparation steps (including, but not limited to scheduling consulting engagements, securing systems access for Nuance Consultants, completion of pre-implementation worksheets)� Nuance Project Manager VAMC project coordinator Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled Remote data analysis and audit Nuance Consultants Access provided to staff within 60 days of refresher training days Conduct refresher training with CDI staff (up to 3 days) remotely Nuance Consultants & necessary CDI staff, end users, and stakeholders Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled VERA Optimization Custom Service Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Completion of pre-project preparation steps (including, but not limited to scheduling consulting engagements, securing systems access for Nuance Consultants, completion of pre-implementation worksheets)� Nuance Project Manager VAMC project coordinator Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled Configuration of VERA audit software for use by Nuance Consultants only Nuance Tech Support Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled Remote data analysis and preparation for VERA Optimization service Nuance Consultants Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled VERA Optimization custom engagement; see VERA Optimization St. Louis Scope for more information Nuance Consultants & necessary VA staff, end users, and stakeholders Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled VA CDI Pro Inpatient Post Implementation Consulting Services Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Completion of pre-project preparation steps (including, but not limited to scheduling consulting engagements, securing systems access for Nuance Consultants, completion of pre-implementation worksheets)� Nuance Project Manager VAMC project coordinator Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled Remote data analysis and audit Nuance Consultants Access provided to staff within 60 days of refresher training days Conduct refresher training with CDI staff (up to 3 days) remotely Nuance Consultants & necessary CDI staff, end users, and stakeholders Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled Inpatient and Outpatient Peer to Peer Physician Training Milestones Item Responsible Party Timeframe and details Pre-seminar engagement and preparation call Nuance Project Manager VAMC project coordinator Medical Chief of Staff or designee Within 30 days of contract accepted award date Conduct CDI Peer to Peer Physician Seminars over 2 days (one 2-day engagement for Inpatient and one 2-day engagement for Outpatient) Nuance Project Manager VAMC project coordinator Within 180 days of contract accepted award date or as mutually scheduled The Government and the Contractor understand and agree that the services to be delivered under this contract by the Contractor to the Government are non-personal services and the parties recognize and agree that no employer-employee or master-servant relationships exist or will exist under the contract between the Government and the Contractor�s employees. 9. INVOICES: a. Payment will be made upon receipt of a properly prepared detailed invoice as services are delivered and software goes live,, prepared by the Contractor, validated by the Contracting Officer�s Representative (COR), and that has been submitted for processing through OB10 to VA FSC,�� P. 0. BOX 149971, AUSTIN, TX� 78714. b. A properly prepared invoice will contain: 1) Invoice Number and Date 2) Contractor�s Name and Address 3) Accurate Purchase Order Number 4) Supply or Service Provided 5) Period Supply or Service Provided 6) Total amount due c. The contractor shall provide milestone documents upon completion of services and or go live upon request. � 10. SECURITY/PRIVACY: �� a. PERSONNEL SECURITY: The vendor and all personnel employed by the vendor shall be required to observe the requirements imposed on sensitive data by law, federal regulations, VA status and Data Management and Systems (DM&S) policy and the associated requirements to ensure appropriate screening of all personnel because of the inherent sensitivity of data at the facilities concerned and the level of security clearance carried by the Health Care Facility (HCF) personnel for the function under contract. The Vendor shall ensure that their personnel meet the above restrictions and that confidential and proprietary information shall be divulged only to those officers and officials of the VA Medical Center that are authorized to receive such information. �� b. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Vendor personnel performing work under this contract shall satisfy all requirements for appropriate security eligibility in dealing with access to sensitive information and information systems belonging to or being used on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs. To satisfy the requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs a low risk level Background Investigation shall be conducted prior to performing work under this contract. Appropriate Background Investigation (BI) forms will be provided upon contract award and are to be completed and returned to the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OSL&E) within 30 days for processing. Access to VA protected health information and personally identifiable information cannot be made available until the Security Investigations Center submits the investigatory packet to OPM for processing. At that time the investigation is considered �initiated� and access can be provided. Vendors and Contracting Officers/COTR�s will be notified by VA OSL&E when the Background Investigation (BI) has been completed and adjudicated. The investigative history for vendor personnel working under this contract must be maintained in the databases of either the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Organization (DISCO). Should the vendor use a vendor other than OPM or Defense Security Service (DSS) to conduct investigations, the investigative company must be certified by OPM/DSS to conduct vendor investigations. � Further, the vendor shall be responsible for the actions of all individuals provided to work for the VA under this contract, In the event that damages arise from work performed by vendor provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the vendor shall be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident. � �� c. PRIVACY TRAINING: All Contractor employees and Sub Contractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems: 1) Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior course (TMS #10176) and complete this required privacy and security training annually; Sign and acknowledge (electronically through TMS #10176) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix D relating to access to VA information and information systems. 2) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access �� d. SYSTEM OF RECORDS:� The Veterans Administrations system of records to which the vendor personnel shall have access to in order to maintain patient medical records is described annually in the Federal Register. Vendor personnel who obtain access to hardware or media which stores drug or alcohol abuse, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), or sickle cell anemia treatment records or medical quality assurance records protected by code 38 U.S.C. 4132 or 3305, as defined by the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall have access only to those records absolutely necessary to perform their contractual duty for which access was obtained. Violation of these statutory provisions by the vendor or vendor employee as stated in agency regulations may involve imposition of criminal penalties. � �� e. CONTRACTOR� SYSTEM SECURITY:� If personally-identifiable information is stored on IT equipment, the vendor shall ensure adequate local area network (LAN)/internet, data, information and system security in accordance with VA standard operating procedures and Federal standards, laws and regulations as noted in VA directive 6504 which can be obtained at www.va.gov. The vendor�s firewall and web server shall meet or exceed the Government minimum requirement for security. All Government data shall be protected behind an approved firewall. The vendor must provide full desktop and laptop encryption on their systems. Any security violations or attempted violations shall be reported to the COR and VA Information Security Officer (ISO) immediately upon detection. The vendor shall adhere to applicable VA policies and procedures governing information security, especially those that pertain to certification and accreditation. Upon request, the vendor shall provide VA with access to information pertaining to the way in which the vendor maintains VA patient data and the steps taken on an ongoing basis to assure the privacy and security thereof. This includes, but is not limited, information regarding computer network architecture, configuration of firewall(s), routers, and other pieces of networking equipment, information about installed security software, and audits of patches of known security vulnerabilities. All relevant security-related patches and anti-virus updates must be installed within 15 days of initial release. The C&A requirements do not apply, and the Security Accreditation Package is not required. (Connection of vendor owned IT devices.) The vendor will be required to execute a Business Associate Agreement with the VASTLHCS. �
Web Link: SAM.gov Permalink
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Place of Performance: Address: Saint Louis, MO 63106, USA; Zip Code: 63106; Country: USA
Record: SN06087895-F 20210808/210806230118 (samdaily.us)
Source: SAM.gov Link to This Notice
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70 -- Notice of Intent to Sole Source