American Nurses Association, 600 Maryland Ave, SW, Suite 100 West, Washington, DC 20024-2571

A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT -- THE AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION (ANA) IS SOLICITING SOL DNPCNP050198 DUE 050198 POC Rita Munley Gallagher, PhD, RN,C (202-651-7062) <RGallagher@ANA.org> WEB: Click here to download a copy of the RFP for Costing Nursing's Quality Indicators, http://www.nursingworld.org. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the contracting officer via e-mail, RGallagher@ANA.org. Introduction: There is a critical need for more definitive data to show the links between nursing interventions, staffing levels, patient outcomes and cost. The focus of this Request for Proposals/Information (RFP/I) is to solicit bids for the development of a methodology for costing Nursing Quality Indicators and the implementation of the methodology with ANA's acute care setting indicators. The Nursing Report Card for Acute Care Settings (1995) identified, defined, and described twenty-one (21) nursing quality indicators that are likely related to the availability and quality of professional nursing services in hospitals. A ten (10) element subset of these indicators was selected for pilot testing. This subset of elements is employed in the Quest for Quality Health Care Project, which is an ongoing project to collect these quality indicator data and examine their relationship(s) to nurse staffing and nursing interventions. Currently, participating acute care settings are forwarding their data ona quarterly basis to the ANA. The project consists of two (2) phases. Phase I is focused on the development of a methodology for costing Nursing Quality Indicators. Phase II begins with implementation of the methodology with ANA's acute care setting indicators, analysis, and reporting. The elements of each phase are described below. Please address in detail your ability to meet these elements as noted in the section on Qualifications. Phase I: (Completion of Phase I is expected within 90 days of contract signing) 1. Development of a reliable and valid generic methodology to be used for the purposes of measuring the cost effectiveness of using registered nurses (RNs) to deliver care with the best possible outcomes using the following initial 10 quality indicators as data elements. Quality Indicator Data Elements: Nosocomial Infection Rate Patient Injury Rate Maintenance of Skin Integrity Mix of RNs, LPNs, and unlicensed staff caring for patients in acute care settings Total nursing care hours provided per patient day Patient satisfaction with nursing care Patient satisfaction with pain management Patient satisfaction with educational information Patient satisfaction with care Nurse staff satisfaction (with work environment) 2. Development of a costing structure that: is on-line, machine-independent and operating-system independent; the database must be transferrable to any other site and/or computer system without requiring additional programming to achieve compatibility; supports query language(s) that are easy to learn, allow(s) full manipulation of all data within the database, and is/are portable; protects organizational identities but includes a coding system that allows authorized individuals to identify organizations as needed, along with appropriate maintenance processes and procedures; is compatible with the database structure of the ANA's National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators. Phase II: 1. Implementation of the methodology with ANA's acute care setting indicators. At a minimum, the costing methodology must accommodate the ability to aggregate each data element independently and in ad hoc combinations (e.g., on a state-by-state basis). 2. Development of standardized quarterly reports of the results of data analyses. 3. Development of processes to collect, incorporate into the database, analyze and report additional nursing quality indicators as they are identified by ANA. Identification of nursing's quality indicators is an ongoing project and the database must accommodate the inclusion of new indicators at any time. Qualifications: Finalists in the selection process will be invited to make a presentation on the proposed project to selected parties at the ANA headquarters in Washington, DC prior to the awarding of the contract. The selected contractor will: 1. Demonstrate the ability to produce the solicited product by providing: a. Description of plan for developing a methodology for costing out the indicators. b. Description of plan for developing processes to implement the above methodology. c. Description of data analysis capabilities -- software packages which will be used -- what specific statistical approaches are anticipated -- how data quality will be determined -- rationale for selection of statistical packages and the analysis plan d. A list of references with contact information e. Samples of previous similar work f. A list of current projects g. A list of current clients h. Description of planned process for integrating the costing methodology into the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators . i. Description of planned costing structure j. Sample reports for institutions -- include a sample report of a current quarter's data and data for previous quarters in calendar year, and a sample report with a comparative analysis for the institution k. Sample reports for ANA -- include a sample report of a current quarter's data for each participating hospital in a state anda sample report of a comparative analysis of a current quarter's data for all participating institutions in a state 2. Demonstrate the ability to maintain confidentiality and security of the data, as well as protection of the participating institution's anonymity by providing policies and procedures pertaining to: a. Maintenance of data integrity from external sources b. Maintenance of data integrity from software/hardware sources c. Data integrity and security during electronic transmission d. Protection of data systems from internal and external hazards e. Human access to data f. Data system backups g. Off-site backup storage h. Policies for project employees 3. Demonstrate the ability to assign qualified employees to this work by providing: a. Description of each employee's role in the project b. Credentials and curriculum vita or resume for each employee who would be working on this project 4. Demonstrate the ability to obtain appropriate consultation for the project by providing a list of confirmed consultants, including: a. A description of each consultant's role in the project b. Curriculum vita or resume for each consultant c. Hours to be committed to the project by each consultant 5. Demonstrate business stability by providing the following information: a. Number of years in business b. Statement of incorporation c. Total number of employees d. Annual gross revenues for the past 5 years e. Annual reports: most current plus previous 2 years 6. Provide estimated costs for project, including: a. Phase I b. Phase II start up c. One full year of Phase II activities d. Overhead costs (include: rates, time job will take, materials, expenses, and any other overhead) (0084)

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