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

R -- SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE'S CLINICAL INFORMATION SERVICES DUE 090100 POC Sara M. Southard, Contracting Officer, 301/496-6546 The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is seeking small business sources for a 5-year requirement (base year and 4 option years) to provide support for its Clinical Information Services for the public. This project supports multiple clinical information systems on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and other Federal agencies. It is a highly complex requirement incorporating data and information from government and industry, and serves a broad audience that includes health professionals and the general public. This project requires a wide range of personnel with varied expertise -- health care professionals, medical informatics specialists, database experts, systems analysts, web designers, graphic artists, evaluation and usability professionals, translators, and administrative and clerical personnel. The contractor must have appropriate scientific, medical, and clinical trials knowledge as well as expertise in data abstraction, data entry, data validation, and the application of MeSH. This requirement includes four (4) major components that are highly integrated and must be performed with a high degree of scientific accuracy. In order to take advantage of new and evolving technologies, changes in policy, and feedback from users of these services, NLM anticipates substantial changes in the work requirements during the contract term. The four (4) major components of this project are as follows: (1) Support for the Information Program on Clinical Trials (ClinicalTrials.gov). This service was initiated as a result of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act of November 1997 which requires the DHHS, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to establish a registry of clinical trials for both federally and privately funded trials "of experimental treatments for serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions." The goal is to develop a comprehensive information system that provides patients, families and members of the public easy access to information about clinical research studies. The system will be a comprehensive resource that includes clinical studies funded by the Federal government and by private industry. NLM requires contractor support for ongoing data management that includes extensive quality control and assurance for the data, data abstracting and editing, data entry services, creation of databases, data transmission, user support to data providers, and development of related specialized materials. It is anticipated that this component of the overall project will grow substantially over the life of the contract and the contractor must have the business infrastructure in place, including staff, facilities and technology capacities, to immediately respond to both an expanding scope and increasing technical complexity. (2) The AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS) was created based upon the Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act (HOPE) in 1988 which required the government to disseminate HIV/AIDS clinical trials information to health professionals and the general public. This is an ongoing activity, currently providing a telephone service (1-800-TRIALS-A), a web site (www.actis.org), and databases (AIDSTRIALS and AIDSDRUGS), as well as development of supporting materials. ACTIS is strongly integrated with ClinicalTrials.gov through the provision of clinical trials data. ACTIS requires contractor support for abstracting and editing of clinical trial information, database maintenance, web site design and maintenance, analysis and abstracting of drug information, development and maintenance of specialized materials such as dictionaries (multilingual), and customer service including operating a telephone reference service in both English and Spanish, at a minimum. (3) The HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) is the central dissemination point for DHHS treatment guidelines through the ATIS web site (www.hivatis.org) and the ATIS telephone reference service. ATIS is supported through funding from a number of agencies. ATIS maintains many of the guidelines as "living documents" on the web site, reflecting the most current decisions of the guidelines panels. The guidelines are made available in several formats including a searchable database at NLM. ATIS also develops and makes available supporting resources to enable users to understand and make decisions about their treatment resources. ATIS users are varied in their level of education and expertise and the treatment-related materials provided to these users through the service reflect this diversity. Contractor support is required for working with treatment guidelines panels, dissemination and adaptation of treatment and prevention information, materials development, web site design, web site management and maintenance, and customer service, including a telephone reference service in both English and Spanish, at a minimum. (4) The NLM and other agencies of DHHS require a variety of support services related to the collection and dissemination of clinical and other types of information. These include exhibit/conference support; support of information outreach efforts; support for the dissemination of information via the Internet; indexing and abstracting services; development of new databases, and the development of targeted materials to support these services and activities. While the focus of these activities may be broad-based, NLM has a major initiative in clinical trials information, specialized topics including HIV/AIDS and environmental health, as well as a strong interest in working with diverse populations. The government anticipates that this project will require the effort of approximately 13 Full Time Equivalent (FTEs) a year. Options for up to an additional 58 FTEs of effort a year is also contemplated to address the potential growth anticipated by the government. Interested firms must submit capability statements that demonstrate their ability to perform the requirement(s) stated herein. At a minimum, interested firms must include the following information in their capability statements: (1) resumes of proposed personnel and staff size indicating background, experience and relevant academic preparation, training, availability and a detailed description of performance capabilities; (2) documentation to indicate how the offeror would respond to the Government's requirements for immediate increases or changes in staffing requirements and assignments, including methods for adapting to changes in data flow, formats, and work load (flexibility); (3) related corporate experience including at least three references (including current addresses and phone numbers) with knowledge of offeror's recent performance on relevant projects of similar complexity, size and scope to NLM's proposed project; (4) knowledge of, and experience with, data quality control procedures particularly with medical information; (5) identification and use of appropriate technologies to accomplish each component task; and (6) management structure for the proposed contract, including managing the separate, yet related components of this project. Interested parties shall also describe the availability and proposed utilization of appropriate staff, facilities and equipment required to successfully perform the work. The Small Business Industrial Classification (SIC) is 8999 (Services, NEC) with a size standard of $5 million. Interested parties should submit one original and five (5) copies of their capabilities statements described above to: National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions Management, 8600 Rockville Pike, Building 38A, Room B1N17, Bethesda, Maryland 20894, Attention: Sara Southard, Contracting Officer. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes, does not constitute an IFB or RFP, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Written responses to this request must be received within fifteen (15) days after the date of publication. Posted 08/15/00 (W-SN486199). (0228)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0117 20000817\R-0027.SOL)

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