RFI 7-3-2024.docx

The WASHINGTON DC VAMC is conducting this Sources Sought to identify contractors who possess capabilities to provide the services described in the Statement of Work below.

As permitted by the FAR Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for the informational and planning purposes. Your responses will assist the Government in the development of its acquisition strategy.

Response is strictly voluntary – it is not mandatory to submit a response to this notice to participate in formal RFQ process that may take place in the future. However, it should be noted that information gathered through this notice may significantly influence our acquisition strategy. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitation posted as a result of this sources sought notice.

Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. We appreciate your interest and thank you in advance for responding to the sources sought.

This service will be implemented using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 493110.

If a small business is interested in this procurement, they must provide at least 51 percent of the services rendered.

NOTES

All Capability Statements/Responses to this Sources Sought Notice shall be submitted via email only to jennifer.elkins2@va.gov. Telephone, Fax, or any other form of communication inquiries will not be reviewed or accepted. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be received no later than July 11, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). This Sources Sought Notice may or may not assist the VA in determining sources only. A solicitation is not currently available. If a solicitation is issued, it may or may not be announced at a later date, and all interested parties shall respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this Sources Sought Notice.

STATEMENT OF WORK

VA MEDICAL CENTER, WASHINGTON DC

Top of Form

1.1. Module 1: Transcription Outsourcing Using VA Provided Dictation Equipment.

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC has a requirement for traditional and speech recognition, and correction editing transcription services for anatomic pathology specimens. The contractor must provide transcription services utilizing the existing telephone lines to electronically accessing or downloading VHA’s digital dictation voice files while meeting VHA information security requirements. The contractor is not to subcontract the work or any portion thereof to another firm without prior approval from the Contracting Officer (CO).

1.2. Service Requirements

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC has a required service turnaround time within 8 to12 hours from receipt of dictations. All dictations by contractor must be completed by no later than 7am Monday-Friday. Contractor must be able to provide corrected transcriptions within four hours after completion of dictation. Contractor must have a current Business Associate Agreement (BAA) as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) and defined at 45 CFR 160.103 and amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) with the Department of Veteran Affairs.

1.3. All transcription and verification services must be performed in the United States of America, including US territories. There are No Exceptions.

1.4. Gross line: A gross line is defined as any line containing one or more visible characters and typically includes all header and footer information. A character is defined as any letter, number, symbol or space. A black line with no visible characters is not counted as a gross line.

1.5. Security and Privacy

Contractors shall comply with all national guidelines for security and privacy including the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) as amended (44 U.S.C. §§ 3541 et seq.), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), (Public Law 104-191), it’s implementing regulations, the Privacy, Security and Breach Notification rules located at 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 160 and subparts A and E; the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579; and any additional Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) or VHA directives or requirements for compliance.

2. System Access:

2.1. Any remote access to VA systems that contain sensitive information must be done through the One-VA Virtual Private Network (VPN). After contract award and prior to VA granting VPN access, the contractor will be required to complete all security requirements.

2.2. Contractor must be able to secure and maintain all necessary clearances for all transcriptionist to access VISTA system and meet all security requirements for Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC Staff to use existing telephone lines to transmit data for transcription.

3. QUALITY ASSURANCE VIA QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

3.2. The contractor shall return transcribed notes to VA using one of two methods at the discretion of the facility: (1) direct entry into VISTA system, or (2) uploading directly to VISTA for the respective VA facility. The contractor will be notified of any changes to the method of returning reports thirty calendar days in advance of the change. The contractor shall have thirty calendar days to identify any changes or adverse impact to the CO and COR.

3.3. Reports will meet the professional quality standards set forth below including the body of the text as well as the information in the header and the footer. All transcription must be completed in accordance with prescribed formats. Completed work will contain no blanks from dictation, which is unintelligible to the VA. Contractor must maintain a quality control system to assure complete and accurate reports. The contractor will maintain a high level of accuracy with a quality assurance standard of 98% accuracy based on error to lines.

3.4. Any transcribed documents considered unacceptable, in the opinion of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or the Quality Assurance Evaluator, will be re-typed at the Contractor’s expense

3.5. QUALITY MONITORING: The Contactor will perform a random sampling at least once per month by comparing the completed report with the voice dictation. The random sampling may be either a sampling of all reports or a subset of reports. Any report with three or more blanks may also be included in this sampling. If significant errors (non-compliance) are determined, the contractor will be requested to provide a corrective action plan to the Quality Assurance Evaluator.

3.5.1. All transcription services required during the month will have an accuracy rate of 98%.

3.5.2. Failure to meet the 98% accuracy rate for two consecutive months will result in a 10% reduction in payments until the 98% accuracy rate is re-established.

3.6. HEADER ERRORS: Headers include but are not limited to: Incorrect work type/title, patient name, SSN, date of service, author, date/time of dictation, attending or supervising pathologist/expected cosigner, and transcriber. Errors in the header shall not exceed five in one month.

3.7. Uploading reports to a wrong VHA facility is considered a privacy/security violation and is a reportable incident under HIPAA.

4. ANALYSIS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE VIA QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

4.2. Performance Evaluation: VA shall use the monitoring methods cited within the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) to determine whether the performance standards and performance levels have been met. If the contractor has not met the minimum requirements as stated in the QASP, it may be asked to develop a corrective action plan to show how and by what date it intends to remediate issues.

4.3. Reporting: At the end of each quarter, the Quality Assurance Evaluator will prepare a written report for the CO and contractor summarizing the overall results of the quality assurance surveillance of the contractor’s performance. This written report, which includes the contractor’s submitted monthly report and the completed quality assurance monitoring forms, will become part of the contract documentation. It will enable the government to demonstrate whether the contractor is meeting the stated objectives and performance standards, including cost, technical, and scheduling objectives.

4.4. Reviews and Resolution: The CO and the COR may require the contractor to meet with the CO, COR, and Quality Assurance Evaluator as deemed necessary to discuss performance evaluations. The CO and COR will define a frequency of in-depth reviews with the contractor, including appropriate self-assessments by the contractor; however, if the need arises, the contractor will meet with the CO, COR, and Quality Assurance Evaluator as often as required or per the contractor’s request.

4.5. The CO, COR, Quality Assurance Evaluator and contractor should jointly formulate tactical and long-term courses of action. Decisions regarding changes to metrics, thresholds, or service levels should be clearly documented via a contract modification. Changes to service levels, procedures, and metrics will be incorporated as a written contract modification signed by the VA CO.

5. GENERAL:

The Contractor shall provide transcription service for anatomic pathology specimens. The Contractor will secure and maintain all necessary clearances for all transcriptionists to access VISTA and will meet all security requirements for our staff to use existing telephone lines to transmit data for transcription. The contractor must have a current Business Associate Agreement with the Department Of Veterans Affairs to provide this service. This transcription service will be provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington DC (VAMCDC), 50 Irving St. NW Washington DC 20422.

6. REQUIREMENTS:

· Using existing equipment (phone line), the dictation will be phoned to the vendor’s site for transcription Monday through Friday (no holidays or weekends.)

· No extra government effort (IT or equipment) should be required to connect with vendors' systems.

· The turn-around time must fall within 8 to 12 hours from receipt of the dictation, and all transcriptions must be completed by no later than 7 AM Monday through Friday.

· Transcribers must know of and be familiar with the medical vocabulary and terminology associated with anatomical and medical pathology.

· Reports must be transcribed accurately and precisely; transcription has no room for assumptions or abbreviations.

· Transcription of corrected reports must meet the same standards as above, with the exception of having a shorter turn-around time. All corrected transcriptions must be ready within four hours after completion of dictation.

· Vendor must have a backup system to avoid any delays in transcription and to maintain turn-around time.

· Vendor must maintain the capability to access VISTA so all information can be applied to the patient’s record within VISTA and CPRS.

· Vendor must have a current Business Associate Agreement (BAA) as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) and defined at 45 CFR 160.103 and amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) with the Department Of Veterans Affairs

7. INVOICES: Payment will be made upon receipt of a properly prepared detailed invoice, prepared by the Contractor, validated by the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR), and submitted to VA FSC, P. 0. BOX 149971, Austin TX 78714 or faxed to the Austin Processing Center at 512-460-5540.

An adequately prepared invoice will contain:

a. Invoice Number and Date

b. Contractor's Name and Address

c. Accurate Purchase Order Number

d. Supply or Service provided

e. Total amount due

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