National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions Management, Building 38A, Room B1N17, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20894

D -- HEALTH APPLICATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE POC Daniel J. Hartinger, Contracting Officer, 301/496-6546 The National Library of Medicine (NLM) awarded contract N01-LM-6-3540 to the University of Alaska Anchorage, Applied Science Laboratory, 3231 Providence Drive, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, to plan and carry out an evaluation of the impact of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) on health care, research, or public health. The NLM proposes to negotiate on a sole source basis with the University of Alaska Anchorage to extend the current contract number N01-LM-6-3540 for five months to continue gathering post intervention data evaluating the impact of telemedicine in Alaska Native rural clinics, to continue training and support for community health aids and rural health care providers, and to add 7 additional non-Native clinical sites to gather additional data to evaluate telemedicine satisfaction. The University of Alaska Anchorage is currently providing and evaluating telemedicine support for 27 Native rural clinics, focusing on the most single most common complaint, otitis media. Evaluation of telemedicine includes whether the introduction of the otitis media application influences retention of health professionals in rural Alaska, patient and health professional satisfactions, and cost-benefits. Authority: 41 U.S.C. 253 (c)(1) as set forth in FAR 6.302-1. Unique capabilities for providing services, inherent duplication of cost to the government and unacceptable delays in completing this project make competition unfeasible. The University of Alaska Anchorage has established a network in which four regional hospitals each serve as a hub to the remote clinics within their regions. Using this network, otitis media is diagnosed and recorded via a clinical record and electronic otoscopic images transmitted from a spoke clinic, where a health aide provides care, to a physician located in a regional hub hospital. This system allows the physician to observe the inner and middle ear condition and thus prescribe appropriate treatment, which is delivered by the health aide. By transmitting electronically rather than transporting patients by car or, for the remote clinics not connected to a hospital by roads, by air evacuation, saves money, time, and inconvenience while providing correct and prompt treatment. The seven additional sites, which serve Native and non-Native people, will allow telemedicine evaluation data to be gathered from non-Native rural clinics. By virtue of their expertise and experience gained through networked transmission to off-site locations under the current contract, the University of Alaska Anchorage is uniquely qualified and the only source capable of carrying out these required services in the required time frame and without undue delays. This notice of intent is not a Request for Proposals (RFP), nor is an RFP available. See numbered Notes 22 and 26. Posted 04/28/00 (W-SN449752). (0119)

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