36C24419Q0619-001.docx

36C24419Q0619

PAGE 1 OF

1. REQUISITION NO.

2. CONTRACT NO.

3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE

4. ORDER NO.

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

6. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE

a. NAME

b. TELEPHONE NO. (No Collect Calls)

8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME

9. ISSUED BY

CODE

10. THIS ACQUISITION IS

UNRESTRICTED OR

SET ASIDE:

% FOR:

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

SEE SCHEDULE

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

RFQ

IFB

RFP

15. DELIVER TO

CODE

16. ADMINISTERED BY

CODE

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

CODE

FACILITY CODE

18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

CODE

TELEPHONE NO.

DUNS:

DUNS+4:

PHONE:

FAX:

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER 18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS CHECKED

SEE ADDENDUM

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

ITEM NO.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only) 27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED.

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA

ARE

ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN _______________

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. ___________________________________ OFFER

COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND

DATED ________________________________. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION

DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY

(BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE

ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED

SET FORTH HEREIN IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER) 30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) 31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

(REV. 2/2012)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

36C24419Q0619 04-24-2019 Will Schlobohm;William.Schlobohm2@va.go 878 271 6639 05-13-2019 00244 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 4

X X 518210 $32.5 Million X N/A X Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VAMC 3900 Woodland Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104

00244 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 4

Refer to VAAR: 852.232-72 (Electronic Submission of Payment Req)

(877) 353-9791

(512) 460-5429 See CONTINUATION Page This solicitation is for Cancer Registry Services in support of the (see block #15 above) in accordance with the Statement of Work.

This procurement is being completed in accordance with FAR Part 13.5. Any reference to FAR Part 15 is unintended and the vendor should seek clarification with the CO.

Award is intended to be a 5 year ID: Requirements Firm Fixed Price contract. Individual task orders will be issued for each period of performance contingent upon availability of VA funding.

All questions pertaining to this solicitation shall be emailed to william.schlobohm2@va.gov no later than 7 days prior to solicitation expiration date.

Anticpated award effective date is 7/1/19.

$0.00 See CONTINUATION Page X X William Schlobohm Contracting Specialist Table of Contents

See attached document: Additional IT Contract Security - Appendix B.

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR:

b. GOVERNMENT: Contracting Officer 36C244 Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 4

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

Refer to VAAR: 852.232-72 (Electronic Submission of Payment Req) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

Page 1 of

B.2 GENERAL PROCEDURES

1.1. The Contractor shall provide all necessary labor, personnel, equipment, supplies, materials, supervision and other related services necessary to provide Cancer Registry services in accordance with VA and all applicable national standards.

1.2. The goal of this procurement is to establish a safe and uniform process for maintaining an efficient & accurate cancer registry database in accordance with 100% of the current Commission on Cancer (COC) standards, VHA cancer registry requirements, and State requirements (where applicable).

1.3. This is a new requirement. Interested vendors shall have at least three (3) years of experience in providing cancer registry services and recent experience with the COC standards.

1.4 The contractor shall provide proof of adequate staffing to cover Cancer Registry Services at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Minimum requirement is (1) approved and cleared contractor serving as the POC Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR), assigned to complete and/or oversee the work at this facility. The vendor may provide additional CTRs to accomplish the work expected on a monthly basis.

1.5. No guarantees are made as to the estimated work or volumes, or the quantities. The estimate information provided in the scope of work is based on historical data and current backlog. The estimates and actual work are subject to change by the Government. Offerors shall work remotely outside of the VA, and will require VA Access, personally owned computers, and PIV Cards with Logical Access.

B.3 STATEMENT OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide all necessary staffing and resources needed to properly maintain the CMC VAMC Cancer Registry database services in accordance with 100% of the current American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Registry standards and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Cancer Registry requirements. VA reportable list will be shared with the receiving contractor after award. The Contractor shall have current experience managing a Cancer Registry program within the last two years and have recent experience with the American College of Surgeons (ACOS) Commission on Cancer (COC) Standards. The duties and responsibilities of the Contractor shall include but are not limited to:

1.1. Case Finding – The Contractor shall electronically screen and accept all cases into the Cancer Registry database and shall flag all cases as suspense with demographics and ensure cases are primary site coded. The Contractor shall be responsible for monthly review of disease indices, pathology reports, radiology reports, treatment logs, and other computerized methods to identify reportable cancer cases. The Contractor shall be responsible for transcribing and interpreting information from patient records regarding treatment of an estimated 800 new CMC VAMC cancer patients annually using the approved Veterans Administration (VA) abstracting software program (currently the Vista-Oncotrax and CPRS). The Contractor shall review all new cases for inclusion in the Oncotrax database in compliance with the industry standards of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICDC), American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) Staging Manual Criteria, VA Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) Reportable List, American College of Surgeons/Commission on Cancer (ACOS/CC) and the CMC VAMC Cancer Registry criteria. The Contractor shall return a monthly list of cases accessioned along with the Contractor's monthly invoice to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Clinical Point of Contact (POC).

1.2 Case Abstracting and Coding – Abstracting is defined as coding and entering patient and disease specific information into the Veterans Administration VistA Cancer Registry database or other databases as identified within this statement of work, e.g. the Rapid Quality Reporting System (RQRS database). The Contractor shall provide complete, accurate quality abstraction services and shall ensure that all cases are cleared (within pre-established timeframes) in terms of passing edits required by the VA Central Cancer Registry or by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, e.g., National Cancer Database edits, Vista Oncology package edits, Gen-edits, Program edits, etc. The Contractor shall abstract oncology cases with 100% accuracy and shall ensure that all Commission on Cancer requirements/standards are met. Contractor is responsible to transcribe and interpret information from patient records regarding treatment provided to new cancer patients annually using the approved Veterans Administration (VA) abstracting software program (currently the Vista-Oncotrax). The Contractor shall review and abstract the cancer patient’s medical record on an ongoing basis in compliance with the industry standards of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICDC), American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) Staging Manual Criteria, VA Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) Reportable List, American College of Surgeons/Commission on Cancer (ACOS/CoC) and the CMC VAMC Cancer Registry criteria. The contractor will be a Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR), and produce and provide proof of current credential status, to provide abstracting services. The Contractor shall abstract cases within 4-6 months of the cancer diagnosis. The Contractor shall return a monthly list of case abstracts completed along with the Contractor's monthly invoice to the COR and POC.

1.3. Follow-up- The Contractor shall complete data entry to include all required Commission on Cancer Registry fields, including but not limited to text, recurrence, treatment and required death information fields. The Contractor shall be responsible for tracking the care all patients receive in accordance with the current standard being-until the cancer survivor reaches the age of 100 years and following their cancer diagnosis at the CMC VAMC and at all other health care institutions. The Contractor shall provide the Cancer Registry function of follow-up as described in the Standards of the American College of Surgeons/Commission on Cancer (ACOS/COC), Facility Oncology Registry Data Standards (FORDS). These functions shall include computer input, data review and report generation tailored to the needs of the VA as described herein. The Contractor shall maintain follow-up at a minimum of 90% on all patients in the registry data base, this is required to use registry data for survival (outcome) analysis, which is industry standard. Cases are delinquent (lost) if the follow-up interval exceeds 15 months. The Contractor shall provide a monthly list of follow-up cases completed along with the Contractor’s monthly invoice to the COR and POC.

1.4. Consult Hours: The Contractor shall provide Consult Hours if requested by the facility, that shall include time spent working with the Cancer Committee and the Cancer Program Administrator. Consult hours shall also ensure all current ACOS and related Cancer Registry standards pertaining to the applicable VAMC Cancer Registry have been met such that all data entered the Cancer Registry is 100% accurate and all pre-established timeframes related to the Cancer Registry are met. Consult hours shall include but are not limited to producing reports, ensuring that the Cancer Registry Policy and Procedure Manual meets the Commission on Cancer Standards and is up to date, and assisting and advising all Cancer Program staff and related staff with Commission on Cancer survey readiness and preparation. Consult hours shall also include preparation of data for transmission to the State Tumor Registry and any other entity as required by the VA, such as the NCDB for American College of Surgeons. The contractor shall provide consultative services both by telephone and on-line webinars to assist in the Commission on Cancer approval process. At this time, the CMC VAMC Philadelphia is not accredited by the ACOS, and this procurement for services is to ensure CMC VAMC meets accreditation standards.

1.5. Rapid Quality Reporting System: The Contractor shall monitor the quality of the Cancer Registry data. The Contractor shall monitor the facility's performance based on the COC performance indicators, using the COC reporting tools for the Rapid Quality Reporting System (RQRS) if requested by the facility, when facility does not have subject matter experts. The Contractor shall keep the Program Manager, the Cancer Liaison Physician, and the Chair of the Cancer Program Committee and the Cancer Program Coordinator advised of the performance status as requested by the above-mentioned staff, and no less than once monthly. (RQRS is a real-time data collection program to assess hospital-level performance using National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed quality of cancer measures).

2. Quality Assurance Plan (QAP)

2.1. The Contractor shall provide quality work, complete work, and accuracy as evidenced by meeting Commission on Cancer, National Cancer Data Base, National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) and VA Central Cancer Registry standards and requirements. The Contractor shall perform a 100% quality assurance review on all newly abstracted cases for compliance noting any deficiencies or non-deficiencies prior to the submission of the invoice. The Contractor shall institute a Cancer Registry Quality Assurance Plan/Program to evaluate the quality of 100% of their staff’s Cancer Registry data and 100% of their staff’s Cancer Registry activities done on behalf of the CMC VAMC. The Contractors’ quality assurance plan shall do the following:

1. Set the review criteria

2. Set the quality control timetable

3. Specify the quality control methods, sources, and individuals involved

4. Specify the measures that require 100%

2.2. The Contractor shall conduct monitoring at least once monthly and shall send their Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) report findings to the Cancer Registrar monthly, at a minimum. The QAP report findings should also include the Contractor’s process for conducting monthly random case finding audits and include a sample of the audit findings to demonstrate that all eligible analytical cases are reviewed and processed. The Contractor shall send report findings back to facility Cancer Registrar and Administrative Officer monthly and upon request as applicable. Monthly abstracting quality control audit checks shall be performed on 100% of cases abstracted by the Contractor’s staff to ensure abstracts are 100% edit and error free prior to invoicing. Reports shall reflect the Contractor’s process for error corrections for all tasks performed by the Contractor’s staff and all tasks as required by the American College of Surgeons-Commission on Cancer for full accreditation; all errors identified either by the Contractor or by an applicable Government representative within one business week. The Contractor shall monitor each area of Cancer Registry activity and shall ensure all duties performed e.g. case finding, accessioning, follow up, edit corrections, data submissions, abstracting, etc. (i.e. all Cancer Registry tasks required by the American College of Surgeons- Commission on Cancer) are performed by a Certified Cancer Registrar. The Contractor shall provide written reports at least once monthly and upon request to the Cancer Registrar and/or applicable Administrative Officer and take corrective action on any areas that fall below the measures specified in the QASP.

2.3. The Contractors’ quality assurance plan shall do the following:

a. Set the review criteria

b. Set the quality control timetable

c. Specify the quality control methods, sources, and individuals involved

d. Specify the measures that require 100% surveillance.

e. Specify the measures that will be validated on a random basis.

2.4. QASP required activities include but are not limited to:

a. Case finding

b. Abstracting timeliness

c. Accuracy of abstracted data that includes but is not limited to:

(1) Class of Case

(2) Primary Site

(3) Histology

(4) AJCC Stage

(5) Collaborative Stage

(6) First Course of Treatment

(7) Follow-up information, including Date of First Recurrence, Type of First Recurrence, and Cancer Status

d. The percentage of information coded as unknown (usually coded as 9 or a string of 9s)

e. When required, Cancer Registry data submitted to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) shall meet the established quality criteria included in the annual NCDB. The NCDB data submission, correction of data errors, and resubmission of corrected data shall be accomplished seven days of receipt. Required accuracy, at this point, is 100%.

All other standards as outlined in the most current edition of the ACOS Commission on Cancer manual are met or exceeded Deliverables:

The Contractor performance shall be evaluated and deductions applied if performance is found deficient as per Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan as follows as required to maintain data and performance quality.

3. Education/CTR Certification: The contractor shall show proof that those providing abstracting services are Certified Tumor Registrars through the National Cancer Registrars Association. Contractor personnel functioning under this contract shall be certified by the National Cancer Registrars Association. The Contractor shall verify its personnel’s current certification status with the National Cancer Registrars Association and shall provide evidence of certification with their proposal submission. Ongoing cancer related education enhances knowledge and skills. All Contractor Cancer Registry staff who performs case abstracting must:

•• Hold a current Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) credential. The CTR credential is granted through the National Cancer Registrars Association, which provides details on eligibility, testing, and re-credentialing.

High-quality Cancer Registry data is essential to accurately access treatment outcomes and patient survival. Successful operation of the Cancer Registry requires credentialed staff that is trained and knowledgeable in all aspects of oncology data collection and case abstracting. Abstracting is defined as coding and entering patient- and disease specific information into the Cancer Registry data base. Certified Tumor Registrars apply knowledge obtained from formal education and work experience to correctly interpret and code cancer diagnosis and stage treatment and outcomes information for each case that is seen at the CMC VAMC that meets COC reporting requirements. The case abstracting responsibilities of the CTR are documented by the Contractor. In addition, the Contractor shall provide documentation upon request and annually that all members of their Cancer Registry staff are maintaining their CTR status this requires 20 CEUs every 2 years as in accordance with industry standards. Per the Commission on Cancer Standards, full-time and part-time registry staff for whom annual education is required are:

•• CTR staff •• Contract CTR staff who are contracted to work for 3 or more consecutive months during the calendar year, regardless of the number of hours worked •• Management or supervisory personnel This education could include topics in the following areas:

•• Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment •• Changes in cancer program standards •• Changes in data collection requirements

Educational activities that can be used to fulfill the standard include, but are not limited to, the following:

•• A cancer-related lecture offered by the program (local activity) •• A face-to-face meeting or workshop •• Local—involves 1 program or facilities located in 1 city (local activity) •• State—involves 1 state (state activity) •• Regional—involves more than one state organization working collaboratively to develop the workshop.

Agendas and meeting notices indicate the collaborative effort (regional activity) •• National—is sponsored by a national organization and targeted to a national audience (national meeting) •• A video conference (local activity) •• A webinar (local activity) •• A Web-based training module (local activity) •• Journal-based articles that offer continuing education credits (local activity)

Educational activities exclude patient management cancer conferences in any format. National organizations that sponsor national meetings include:

•• American Health Information Management Association (cancer-related educational activities) •• Association of Community Cancer Centers •• Commission on Cancer •• National Cancer Registrars Association •• National Comprehensive Cancer Network •• North American Association of Central Cancer Registries •• Policy for COC SAR documentation

4. Outcome Studies / Special Studies: The Contractor shall provide Cancer Registry data for outcome studies / special studies and assisting with preparation of the reports. The Contractor shall provide outcome studies / special studies for the medical staff, Cancer Committee, Cancer Conference / Tumor Board, Veterans Administration Central Cancer Registry (VACCR), and quality management upon request. The Contractor shall compare the data to the national data to determine effectiveness of treatment, programs and survival. The contractor shall also provide patient care evaluation studies for the annual cancer program report.

5. Other: At the time the CMC VAMC is prepared to seek accreditation through the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, the Contractor shall assist to obtain and maintain accreditation. This will ensure that requirements and initiatives are implemented and met; this includes ensuring all Rapid Quality Reporting System (RQRS) requirements are met and includes developing a Cancer Registry policy and procedure manual which meets the current Commission on Cancer Standards. If abstracts are inadvertently re-opened after being in the completed status (e.g. when Vista-Oncotrax patches are put in for example) , the Contractor shall maintain thorough documentation as to the reason the case reopened on 100% of the cases entered into by the Contractor, and shall resolve the issue within one working day after discovery and shall re-close the case and send the documentation to the POC, COR or designee monthly with the monthly invoice (this documentation may be reviewed by the ACOS Surveyor during the accreditation process). The Contractor may be asked to speak directly to an ACOS Cancer Program Surveyor; if requested, the Contractor shall speak with the ACOS Surveyor. The Contractor shall be responsible for preparing Cancer Registry reports for the Cancer Committee which meets 4-6 times a year as applicable to the CMC VAMC facility. The Contractor shall prepare reports on TNM staging completion, timeliness of abstracting, follow-up, and quality improvement of the Cancer Registry services. The Contractor shall bear all the costs of reports prepared for Cancer Committee meetings.

6. VA-Specific / Privacy Training - The contractor shall establish a VA Talent Management System account for completion of mandatory VA training. Each CTR shall complete the following courses on an annual basis in order to sustain access to the VA network:

a. DVA-002 Privacy and HIPPA

b. DVA-003 Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior

c. Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) in VISTA. VA will provide contractor with electronic access to CPRS for use by the Certified Tumor Registrars. Contractor employees are responsible to access the system a minimum of once every ninety (90) days. Failure to access VA system at least once every ninety (90) days will result in the contractor’s employees being locked out of the VA system. The VA will provide Contractor with remote access to the VA Network and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) in VISTA. It is expected that electronic access will be done monthly by Contractor’s abstracting personnel.

d. Vista-Oncotrax System Applicable system software functionality training will be provided by VISN Cancer Tumor Registry (CTR) staff as needed. Prior to commencement of work the Contractor and Contractor staff shall have a working knowledge and competencies required for effective utilization of the VA abstracting software programs and computer hardware. Work will begin within 30-60 days from date of contract award

7. Security Applicable staff background information checks and VA systems training, and certifications will be required before system access is granted by the Veterans Service Center (VSC) and the local facility Information Security Officer (ISO) prior to commencement of work.

a. The contractor shall submit or have their employees submit the following required forms to the COR:

· Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment

· Self-Certification of Continued Service

· Standard Form 85, Page 6 (Authorization for Release of Information)

· VA Form 0710, (Authorization for Release of Information)

· Contractor/Employee Fingerprinting Request Form #2 (This form is provided by the COR, and must be presented to a VA Medical Center for fingerprinting)

· PIV Sponsorship Form #3

· Request for VPN Access – This is a self-enrollment portal located at https://vaww.ramp.vansoc.va.gov/selfservice/pages/RAUserDetails.aspx?val=WTJlLcOoiqU=

8. CERTIFICATION/ Logs of monthly work completion

The Contractor shall prepare and submit to the CMC VAMC Cancer Registrar & medical facilities POC a Certificate of work completion with monthly invoices. The Certificate shall as a minimum contain the following:

a. Accession/Sequence Number of Cases/ works completed

b. Name of contract staff completing the case/ work

c. Date case/ work was completed

d. Comments from contract staff as needed

9. CONTRACTORS RESPONSIBILITIES

Contractor will be responsible for providing onboard documentation, Information Security, Rules of Behavior, Privacy Training, and completing the CMC VAMC VPN requests for computer access for each CTR who will be providing work under the contract.

10. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

The 10 holidays observed by the federal Government, i.e., New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and any other specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a Federal holiday. There is no expectation that the contractor will work during these recognized Holidays. CMC VAMC will certify deliverables received, not contractor hours, and therefore this paragraph is provided for vendor information only.

B.4 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE (Offeror shall complete all pricing fillable information below)

5 Year Estimated Total (Estimated 12 Month Cost x 5)

ESTIMATED 12 MONTH COST (use cost per each of the five (5) items below and their estimated 12 month quantities per “Note 1” below to calculate the estimated 12 month cost): $___________

1. COST PER EACH ABSTRACT PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION: $____________

2. COST PER EACH CASE FINDINGS, PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION: $____________

3. COST PER EACH FOLLOW UP: $____________

4. COST PER EACH CONSULT HOUR: $____________

5. COST PER EACH RAPID QUALITY REPORT SYSTEM DATABASE INPUT: $____________

*Note 1 - Estimated quantities below are just estimates and can change as needed depending on facility requirements:

ABSTRACT PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION (2,900 each per every 12 Months) CASE FINDINGS, PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION (11,400 each per every 12 Months) FOLLOW UP (10,600 each per every 12 Months) CONSULT HOUR (250 each per every 12 Months) RAPID QUALITY REPORT SYSTEM DATABASE INPUT (185 each per every 12 Months)

B.5 IT CONTRACT SECURITY

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY

1. GENERAL

Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor's employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor's information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA's information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA's sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/ subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/ created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor's firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA's minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA's prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR.

4. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

a. Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with FISMA, HIPAA, NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems. This includes standards for the protection of electronic PHI, outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (reference Appendix D of VA Handbook 6500, VA Information Security Program). During the development cycle a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the COR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6507, VA Privacy Impact Assessment.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall certify to the COR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and the common security configuration guidelines provided by NIST or the VA. This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista) and future versions, as required.

c. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default "program files" directory and silently install and uninstall.

d. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges.

e. The security controls must be designed, developed, approved by VA, and implemented in accordance with the provisions of VA security system development life cycle as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems, VA Handbook 6500, Information Security Program and VA Handbook 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle.

f. The contractor/subcontractor is required to design, develop, or operate a System of Records Notice (SOR) on individuals to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (as amended), Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Privacy Act may involve the imposition of criminal and civil penalties.

g. The contractor/subcontractor agrees to:

(1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies:

(a) The Systems of Records (SOR); and

(b) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor/ subcontractor is to perform;

(1) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals that is subject to the Privacy Act; and

(2) Include this Privacy Act clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a SOR.

h. In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the contractor/subcontractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.

(1) "Operation of a System of Records" means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the SOR, including the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records.

(2) "Record" means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and contains the person's name, or identifying number, symbol, or any other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint, or a photograph.

(3) "System of Records" means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

i. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as "Systems"), throughout the life of this contract and any extension, warranty, or maintenance periods. This includes, but is not limited to workarounds, patches, hotfixes, upgrades, and any physical components (hereafter referred to as Security Fixes) which may be necessary to fix all security vulnerabilities published or known to the vendor anywhere in the Systems, including Operating Systems and firmware. The vendor shall ensure that Security Fixes shall not negatively impact the Systems.

j. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, but in no event longer than 3 days.

k. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to the VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes within 3 days.

l. All other vulnerabilities shall be remediated as specified in this paragraph in a timely manner based on risk, but within 60 days of discovery or disclosure. Exceptions to this paragraph (e.g. for the convenience of VA) shall only be granted with approval of the contracting officer and the VA Assistant Secretary for Office of Information and Technology.

5. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

a. For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, contractors/subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy Act, FISMA, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerablity scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The contractor's security control procedures must be equivalent, to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA's network involving VA information must be reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation.

b. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII.

c. Outsourcing (contractor facility, contractor equipment or contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires certification and accreditation (authorization) (C&A) of the contractor's systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government- owned (government facility or government equipment) contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks.

d. The contractor/subcontractor's system must adhere to all FISMA, FIPS, and NIST standards related to the annual FISMA security controls assessment and review and update the PIA. Any deficiencies noted during this assessment must be provided to the VA contracting officer and the ISO for entry into VA's POA&M management process. The contractor/subcontractor must use VA's POA&M process to document planned remedial actions to address any deficiencies in information security policies, procedures, and practices, and the completion of those activities. Security deficiencies must be corrected within the timeframes approved by the government. Contractor/subcontractor procedures are subject to periodic, unannounced assessments by VA officials, including the VA Office of Inspector General. The physical security aspects associated with contractor/ subcontractor activities must also be subject to such assessments. If major changes to the system occur that may affect the privacy or security of the data or the system, the C&A of the system may need to be reviewed, retested and re- authorized per VA Handbook 6500.3. This may require reviewing and updating all of the documentation (PIA, System Security Plan, Contingency Plan). The Certification Program Office can provide guidance on whether a new C&A would be necessary.

e. The contractor/subcontractor must conduct an annual self assessment on all systems and outsourced services as required. Both hard copy and electronic copies of the assessment must be provided to the COR. The government reserves the right to conduct such an assessment using government personnel or another contractor/subcontractor.