36C24126Q0120.docx

Presolicitation-Special Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

CONTACT INFORMATION

VA Connecticut

950 Campbell Avenue West Haven CT 06516

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Officer Deidra Thomas deidra.thomas@va.gov

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE TO LB OEM_MEDBRIDGE PLATFORM IS PROPRIETARY & EXCLUSIVE TO MEDBRIDGE INC

Presolicitation Notice Presolicitation Notice

Presolicitation Notice

INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE: Medbridge Rehabilitation Resource Subscription

THIS IS NOTICE OF INTENT TO SINGLE SOURCE FOR A ONE-YEAR MEDBRIDGE REHABLITATION RESOURCE SUBSCRIPTION FOR VISN-1: 36C241-26-AP-0223: This is not a request for competitive proposals. This is not a solicitation or request for offers. No solicitation package is available, and telephone requests will not be honored.

The Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 1 New England intends to award a one-time, Firm Fixed Price, sole source award to Medbridge Inc. for the purchase of a one-year subscription for the Medbridge Rehabilitation Resource Platform. The specific licenses will provide software updates and support for the Specialty Rehabilitation Platform in use at VISN 1 for the Period of Performance: 12/11/2025 - 12/10/2026.

The required Medbridge Rehabilitation Resource subscription is exclusive and proprietary to the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Medbridge Inc. No other vendors are authorized to provide the required subscription.

The authority for applying this statute implemented for restricting competition on this procurement is FAR OVERHAUL12.102(a): only one reasonably available source, per the requirements of FAR OVERHAUL 6.103-(b).

The intent is to procure the Medbridge Rehabilitation Resource Platform mentioned above on a sole source basis. No solicitation will be posted to Contract Opportunities. The primary North American Classification System Code (NAICS) is 513210. The most current Business Size Rating for this NAICS is $47M.

Capable parties may identify their interests and authorization to respond to this requirement by December 22ND, 2025, at 11:00 AM (EDT).

A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed award upon response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Contracting Officer.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification for Single Source Awards IAW FAR 13.106-1 For Over Micro-Purchase Threshold but Not Exceeding the SAT ($250K) Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C241-25-AP-0223

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 1, Knowledge Information Service,

2. Brief Description of Supplies/ Services required and the intended use/Estimated Amount: VISN 1 Knowledge Information Services requires a VISN-wide institutional license and subscription to MedBridge, a reference and teaching platform specifically configured for VA Rehabilitation Service organizations for use across the VISN1 network and its CBOCs. The licensing and subscription include offsite/remote and mobile access. This platform is the access point for continuing education, live webinars, certification preparation, compliance, and patient education and will provide VISN 1 physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech/language therapists with information to directly support patient care in the rehabilitation realm.

3. Unique characteristics that limit availability to only one source, for the reason that no other supplies or services can be used: The MedBridge platform is unique in its content and presentation of clinical and rehabilitation exercise animations and life videos combined with certified education units (CEUs). The MedBridge Platform provides certification preparation modules plus patient engagement content: the ability to provide patients with exercise video instruction, and the capability for patients to access video instruction via a mobile device app. The MedBridge Platform is peculiar in its ability to customize the video instruction to address specific individual Veteran patient issues. No other staff assessed Knowledge Information Service platform contains the same wide range of material or applications as MedBridge. MedBridge is in use throughout VISN1 for other applications. MedBridge Educational Platforms are listed under the VA Approved SaaS Products Catalog.

The Medbridge platform is the preferred platform in the PT (Physical Therapy), OT (Occupational Therapy), SLP (Speech-Language Pathologists) professions. The preference for MedBridge in the Government and medical industries is supported by high access and usage statistics month to month.

The Knowledge Information Service staff assessed the use of MedBridge and conducted a comparative search to follow up on any leads for similar platforms. Of the six resources assessed, the MedBridge Platform is the only platform in the market that will fully satisfy platform requirements for their practice.

4. Description of market research conducted and results or statement why it was not conducted: An SBA search for NAICS “513210” and keyword “Medbridge” returned 0 results. The Large Business (LB) Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Medbridge, Inc has provided a sole source letter stating the MedBridge Rehabilitation Resource Subscription required is unique and proprietary to Medbridge. No other vendor is authorized to provide the MedBridge Rehabilitation Resource Subscription.

GSA Advantage, GSA E-Library, and the FPDS websites were searched for Medbridge Subscription. The required product is not available on any GSA FSS Schedule. Market research was conducted to seek SB opportunities to the maximum extent practicable. Based on the research recommendation is for a sole source. The Rule of (2) does not apply; there is no NMR Waiver for NAICS 513210.

The Library Team examined (6) on-line subscription platform resources advertised as tools for rehabilitation therapy specialists, i.e. physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language specialists. The Library Team assessed each subscription platform according to established requirements and the ability and quality of fulfillment of the requirements. The platform requirements were focused on Patient Education. Each platform was assessed for:

· Breadth of Therapy and Exercises: Offerings for potential Veteran patients

· Therapist Education

· Quality of Therapist Education

· Ability to gain CEU’s (Certified Education Units)

· Supervisor ability to assign training courses and track therapist progress; functionality

· Process by which the information conveyed/material could be printed:

· Can the patient access the exercise on computer, mobile phone?

The resources reviewed by the Library Assessment Team were: Net Health Physical Therapy; Population Manager, Forward Health Group Inc; Vcita; Axial Exchange; Rehabilitation Reference Center by EBSO and MedBridge (the current resource). To meet VISN1 therapy and education platform requirements the team divided resources reviewed into two groups:

· Therapy Resources:

· The assessment team compared platforms based on their configuration for an individual clinic entity with a business component combined

· The assessment team compared platforms based on their capabilities as a resource entirely focused on therapist and patient education as a point-of-care tool.

The assessment team concluded that platform resources that included the business component were not adequate. They were limited in the functionality of presenting therapy education, the CE credit for the therapist was very limited and appeared to be COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf).

The MedBridge Platform meets requirements established by the VA Rehabilitation Team. This therapeutical reference and education platform provides the highest quality continuing education, patient engagement, and enterprise tools.

The review indicated that there were only two (2) therapy and education platform resources focused solely on the therapists arena of patient assessment and which also provided appropriate exercise selection, and therapist education were EBSCO’s (Elton B. Stephens Company’s) RRC (Rehabilitation Reference Center) and MedBridge.

The Medbridge Resource and Education Platform was the only platform that met the criteria for providing customized, dynamic exercise illustration capability to customize instruction, and provided an exercise video capability that can be accessed through mobile devices. This capability is crucial; mobile devices are becoming the default personal device.

MedBridge affords users access on mobile devices. This allows therapists to designate a therapy exercise instruction video or animation for a patient, where the patient can access the link on his or her personal mobile device. MedBridge also provides the therapist flexibility to record a highly specialized exercise for a very specific patient issue, and display results for the patient. MedBridge resource access statistics demonstrate reliability; user rate for Jan 2022 to June 2023 has exceeded 50% for 290 users.

The Library Team reviewed user access statistics to compare RRC to MedBridge, RRC had a 10% to 15% user range for approximately 230 therapist users. MedBridge consistently demonstrates a solid 60% to 66% usage level. The MedBridge statistics are extraordinary for any digital resource. Thes statistics support MedBridge as being the leading clinical resource platform for VISN1

Conclusion: The VISN1 Library Team and the rehabilitation service patrons found MedBridge to be the only platform in the market that will fully satisfy platform requirements for their practice.

5. Contracting Officer's Certification: Purchase is approved in accordance with FAR 12.102(a). I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Deidra Thomas Date Contracting Officer

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Special Notice