Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center (90C), 1100 N. College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72703

Q -- UROLOGY PHYSICIAN SOL RFQ564-14-00 DUE 082100 POC Eleanor Dalmut (501) 444-5005 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information contained in this notice. This procurement is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation 1. Provide Urology Physician. Est. Qty. 1080 hours. ___________ Per Hour 2. On Call Services: _______________ Per Hour. 1. SERVICES: The Contractor shall provide to the VA Medical Center (VAMC), Fayetteville, AR the services of a Board Certified Urology physician to perform the requirements of this contract. The physician will have responsibility to perform ambulatory surgical procedures to include but not limited to cystoscopies, urethral dilatations, transrectal needle biopsies of prostate (ultrasound assistance with technician, with the expectation that urologist will obtain biopsy specimens). Urologist must be able to utilize flexible and rigid Storz instrumentation. a. To facilitate service, delineated clinical privileges are those currently approved by the Professional Standards Board and Medical Center Director. b. Other duties include, but are not limited to evaluation of patients: Evaluate patients who are presented for care or whose condition requires evaluation by a physician which include the following: ( 1) A detailed and complete history and physical will be accomplished. ( 2) Establishes plans for follow-up care including appropriate consultations and appointments. ( 3) Effective communication of plan of care with patient and/or family. ( 4) Admission privileges through full-time staff. ( 5) Write orders (including initial admission orders as well as to write changes in current treatment plan). ( 6) Write progress notes. ( 7) Orders and interprets appropriate diagnostic studies. ( 8) Write prescriptions (restricted to formulary). ( 9) Order diagnostic laboratory procedures for patients. (10) ICU privileges. (11) Peer review of selected cases. (12) Referral, when indicated, of patients with complex health problems to other providers within the medical center or the VA Medical Center at Little Rock; consultations with physicians and others, when requested, to augment the care of their patients. (13) The co-management of patients in consultation with and under the supervision of the attending physician. (14) Referral, when indicated, of patients with multiple health problems to other providers within the hospital; consultations with physicians and others, when requested, to augment the care of their patients. c. Emergency or Urgent Care: The physician shall report any patient's need of immediate medical attention (including surgery). d. The services specified in this contract may be changed by written modification to this contract. The modification will be prepared by the VA Contracting Officer and, prior to becoming effective, shall be approved by the Under Secretary for Health or designee. e. Other necessary personnel for the operation of the services contracted for at VA will be provided by VA at levels mutually agreed upon which are compatible with the safety of the patient and personnel and with quality medical care programming. f. The services to be performed by the contractor will be performed in accordance with VA policies and procedures and the regulations of the medical staff By-laws of the VA facility. g. The services to be performed by the Contractor will be under the director of the Chief of Staff, VAMC who will provide monitoring of patient care activities. This will be accomplished by utilizing clinical review and provider specific profiling. h. The VAMC will provide all necessary equipment and operating supplies for use in the performance of the work by the physician under this contract. The Chief of Staff is the final authority of what is or is not necessary equipment and operating supplies. i. The Contractor shall not supervise any VA employee and will perform only authorized contract work at the VAMC in strict accordance with the prices shown in the contract. 2. QUALIFICATIONS: a. Personnel assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall have an active, unrestricted license in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia. Physicians assigned by the contractor to perform the services covered by this contract shall be U.S. citizens or a permanent resident. b. The physician must be Board Certified in Urology by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialist (BOS). The only exception to being Board Certified is that physician who has less than four (4) years clinical practice after completion of an approved postgraduate training must become Board Certified within this four-year period or be removed from the contract. c. The qualifications of such personnel shall also be subject to review by the VA Chief of Staff, Chief, Medical Service and approval by the VA Facility Director. 3. TERM OF CONTRACT: This contract is effective one year from date of award. The contract is subject to the availability of VA funds. No service shall be performed by the contractor after September 30, until the Contracting Officer authorizes such services in writing. 4. WORK HOURS: a. The services covered by this contract shall be furnished by the Contractor as defined herein. b. The following terms have the following meaning: (1) Work Hours: Work hours shall be Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal Holidays. (2) National Holidays: The 10 holidays observed by the Federal Government are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Or, any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday. 5. ABSENCES: The nature of this contract does not provide for any absence (i.e., sick leave, holiday or vacation time). Shouldan unavoidable delay occur, the contractor shall immediately notify the COTR, or designee, at (501-443-4301, ext. 5673) Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 6. AUTOMATED INFORMATION SECURITY: Computer access and security is applicable to all contractor and subcontractor personnel engaged in the provision of any services under this contract: a. Contractor personnel shall each have a designated security level. b. To authenticate positively the identity of individual Contractor personnel user, all requests for system access shall be completed by the Service Application Coordinator. The Service Chief shall sign the access form after reviewing for appropriateness, after which the ITS Service Staff will coordinate the assigning of access and verify codes to individual Contractor personnel. c. Contractor personnel shall be trained in and be given a copy of the current Automated Information System (AIS) Security Policy by the Service AdPac. This training is required prior to accessing any sensitive information and annually thereafter. d. Personnel Clearances and Privacy Act considerations: All contractor personnel shall be required to observe the requirements imposed on sensitive data by law, federal regulations, DVA statutes and policy, VHS&RA policy, and the associated requirements to ensure appropriate screening of all personnel. Because of the inherent sensitivity of data at the facility concerned, the level of security clearance required of the Contractor shall reflect the same level of security clearance carried by their Health Care Facility personnel for the function under contract. The contractor shall ensure that his/her personnel and all involved subcontractor personnel meet the above restrictions and that confidential and proprietary information shall be divulged only to those officers and officials of DVA authorized to receive such information. e. The DVA system(s) or records to which the Contractor personnel will have access in order to maintain patient medical records and associated hardware is/are assigned by the Service Chief and will be subject to ITS control and AIS security. Contractor personnel who obtain access to hardware or media which may manipulate or store substance abuse, sickle cell anemia, HIV or AIDS treatment records or medical quality assurance records protected by 38 USC 4132 or 3305, as defined by the DVA shall not have access to the records unless absolutely necessary to perform their contractual duties. If access is obtained, these records will be seen by no more individuals than are absolutely necessary to perform the contracted duties. Any individual who has access to this data will disclose it to no one, including other Contractor personnel not involved in the performance of the particular contractual duty for which access was obtained. Violation of these statutory provisions, as stated in DVA regulations, by the Contractor or contractor personnel, may involve imposition of criminal penalties. 7. CREDENTIALING AND PRIVILEGING: a. The Contractor shall complete the Credentialing and Privileging process as prescribed in the VHA and VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, AR Bylaws and Policy and Procedures. No services shall be provided by any contract physician prior to obtaining approval by the VA Medical Center Physicians' Professional Standards Board Executive Committee of the Clinical Executive Board and Medical Center Director. As stated in the Bylaws, appointments should be acted upon by the Medical Center Director within 90 calendar days of receipt of a fully completed application including all required verifications, references and recommendations from the appropriate Service Chief and PPSB CEB. b. Privileges shall require renewal at least every two (2) years in accordance with Medical Center and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) requirements. Physicians assigned by the contractor to work at the Medical Center will be required to report specific patient outcome information, such as complications, to the Service Chief. Quality improvement dataprovided by the physicians and/or collection by the Service will be used to analyze individual practice patterns. The Service Chief will utilize the data to formulate recommendations for the Professional Standards Board to consider in the renewal of clinical privileges. 8. APPROVAL OF CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL: The Department of Veterans Affairs reserves the right to refuse approval under this contract or require dismissal from contract work of any contractor employee or subcontractor personnel who, by reason of previous unsatisfactory performance at the Medical Center or for any other valid reason, is considered by the Contracting Officer to be objectionable. 9. TORT CLAIMS: Contractor personnel are not covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act. When contractor physician has been identified as a primary provider in a tort claim, the contractor physician is responsible for notifying the contractor's legal counsel and/or insurance carrier. Any settlement or judgment arising from contractor personnel action or non-action is the responsibility of the contractor and/or insurance carrier. 10. INSURANCE: The contractor will attain and hold an in-force Professional Malpractice Insurance in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) during the contractual period. 11. PERSONNEL POLICY: The Contractor shall be responsible for protecting the personnel furnishing services under this contract. To carry out this responsibility, the contractor shall provide the following for these personnel: worker's compensation, professional liability insurance, health examinations, income tax withholding, and social security payments. The parties agree that such personnel shall not be considered a VA employee for any purpose and shall be considered employees of the contractor. 12. CONTRACT MONITORING PROCEDURE: a. The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative is the VA official responsible for verifying and monitoring contract compliance. The COTR will be the Chief of Staff. b. Any incidents of contractor non-compliance as evidenced by the monitoring procedures, shall be reported immediately by the COTR to the Contracting Officer. Failure of the physician to follow procedure may result in nonpayment or delay of payment. c. Record-Keeping Monitoring System: Services rendered will be verified by a record keeping system, maintained by the AA/Surgery which assures the VA pays only those services actually requested. d. The COTR will furnish a statement in writing to the Contracting Officer at the close out of the contract to include summary of contractor actions and a statement that all requirements of the contract were fulfilled as agreed. e. A summary evaluation of contractor performance, based upon the compliance or noncompliance of the contract requirements as evidenced under the monitoring procedures, shall be forwarded by the monitoring official to the Contracting Officer prior to exercising any option. 13. INVOICES AND PAYMENT FOR SERVICES: a. Payment for services rendered by the Contractor under the terms of this contract willbe made monthly upon receipt of a properly executed invoice. Invoice to be submitted within ten (10) workdays following the end of a month in which services were rendered by the Contractor. VA will verify services performed and certify invoice for payment within five (5) workdays following date of receipt. Any identified discrepancy(s) in billings shall be cause for extending provisions of this paragraph until such time as the discrepancy, or other identified problem with the billing invoice has been resolved. b. The Contractor shall accept payment for services rendered under this contract as payment in full and will not bill the veteran or their third party insurer for any services covered under this contract. c. A physician must be present at the VA facility and must be actually performing the required services for the period specified in the contract, or the contract cost will be decreased accordingly during each billing cycle. e. Contractor and VA will establish record keeping systems to verify contractperformance. All contracted physicians will sign in at the time of arrival and sign out at the end of their shift. This will be verified by on-site VA personnel. These records will demonstrate that the VA has received services called for under the contract and payment will be made in accordance with these records. 14. SUBSTITUTION OF PHYSICIANS: Contractor shall assign to this contract only those persons whose resumes, personnel data forms, or personnel qualification statements were submitted and approved as required. No substitution of personnel shall be made except as follows: a. All proposed substitutions must be submitted in writing at least 60 days in advance of proposed substitution to the Contracting Officer. Each request shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, a complete resume for the proposed substitute and any other information required by the Contracting Officer to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. All proposed substitutesshall have qualifications that are equal to or higher than the qualifications of the person being replaced. b. The Contracting Officer shall evaluate requests for substitution of personnel and promptly notify the contractor, in writing, of whether the request is approved or disapproved. The solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) 564-14-00. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through FAC 97-19 This acquisition is 100% small business set-aside and the SIC Code is 8099 with a small business size standard of $5.0 million. The VA intends to solicit quotes and award a firm-fixed priced, non-personal services contract for Health Care Resources in accordance with Public Law 104-262 and the authority of Title 38 USC Section 8153. Full text of clauses and provisions are available at Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR): http://www.arnet.gov/References/References.html and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR): http://www.va.gov/oa&mm/vaar. The following provisions apply to this acquisition and may be obtained from the web: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial Items; 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options in Solicitation; and the offeror shall submit a completed copy of provisions at 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items; and VAAR 852.219-70 Veteran-Owned Small Business with its quotation; 852.233-70 Protest Content; 852.233-71 Alternate Protest Procedure; 852.270-1 Representatives of the contracting officers. The following clauses apply to this acquisition and may be obtained from the web: FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions Commercial Items; 52.216-18 Ordering. Such orders may be issued for a base year, one (1) year from the date of award plus four (4) option years that may be exercised; 52.216-19 Order Limitations; 52.216-21 Requirements; 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services; 52.217-9 Option To Extend The Term Of The Contract-Services; 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification; 52.224-2 Privacy Act; 52.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance; VAAR 852.216-70 Estimated Quantities for Requirements Contracts; 852.237-70 Contractor Responsibilities (as required by the laws of the State of Arkansas); 852.270-4 Commercial Advertising; 852.271-70 Services. Provided Beneficiaries; 52.212-5 Contract terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. In addition to clause 52.212-5, the Contracting Officer has determined the following FAR clauses cited in the clause are applicable to this acquisition: 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; 52-217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract; 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting; 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35-Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Ear; 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers and Disabilities; 52.222-37Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; 52.232-18; Availability Of Funds; 52-232-19 Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year; 52.232-34 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Other Than Central Contractor Registration. 52.212-2 Evaluation -- Commercial Items (Jan 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: FACTOR 1: Prior Experience and Demonstrated Capability: a. Physician Continuity: Ability of the company to provide the same physician(s) over the life of the contract. b. Ability of the firm to meet the contract location requirement. FACTOR 2: Past Performance: a. Company Experience: Number of years in business providing the type of services required by contract; number of years in related business. b. A complete work history for the past five years. c. In order to assess the ability of the company to provide qualified physicians, the company shall provide the following: A minimum of five (a Posted 08/11/00 (W-SN485235). (0224)

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