DHHS, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, ADP Branch, Room 5-95 Parklawn Bldg., 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857

D -- EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE FOR DATA TRANSMISSION SERVICES PROVIDED BY COMPUSERVE NETWORK SERVICES POC Marie L. Sunday, Contracting Officer; Marc L. Long, Contract Specialist (301)443-6550 E-MAIL: Program Support Center, mlong@psc.dhhs.gov. The Division of Acquisition Management intends to award a modification to extend Contract 213-96-0008 for an additional four (4) months (September 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998). The contractor, CompuServe Network Services, provides data transmission services between customers of the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and the Systems Research and Applications Corporation, i.e., the contractor that maintains the operation of the NPDB for the Government. Electronic querying and reporting capabilities are provided to NPDB customers through the use of a software product called "QPRAC" which has CompuServe's proprietary TMAIL software incorporated in it. 14,000 customers utilize QPRAC to submit their queries and reports via CompuServe's secure, store-and-forward, proprietary InfoPlex service. The NPDB is a system mandated under Title IV of Public Law 99-660, Health Care Improvement Act of 1986, as amended, to assist State Licensing Boards, hospitals and other health care entities in conducting independent investigations of the qualifications of the health care practitioners they seek to license, hire or grant clinical privileges. A follow-on contract was awarded to National Computer Systems (NCS) on November 1, 1997. This sole source extension of services will allow the additional time required to transition services between CompuServe Network Services and NCS. A Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) has been certified, justified, and approved under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 to support this extension. No solicitation document exists. All reasonable responses to this notice shall be submitted in writing to the attention of Marc L. Long, referencing Contract 213-96-0008. (See Note 22). Posted 07/09/98. (0190)

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