RO Services Assessment Services 2025_DRAFTv2.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Radiation Oncology Services Assessment Services

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Project: Radiation Oncology Services Assessment Services for National Radiation Oncology Program, (NROP) 11SPEC22.

2. Scope of Work: The essential services to be performed by a subject matter expert with knowledge and experience with VHA National Radiation Oncology Program. The contractor will perform the following tasks:

2.1. Review and Recommendations:

Comparison of non-VA radiation oncology facility practices with NROP Office established performance guidelines and providing recommendations for approvals, and coordination of approval notifications to community practices.

2.2. Coordination of Credential and Chart Reviews:

In collaboration with NROP, the contractor will review and assess training and qualifications of therapeutic medical physicists to ensure quality and safety of patient care in highly complex radiotherapy treatments, and staffing disparities among radiation therapy team members by providing recommendations to NROP leadership.

2.3. Data Management:

Perform complex, short-term projects for NROP to evaluate credentialing data reports and to provide some development assistance for NROP to manage data for purposes of reporting at micro and macro levels.

2.4. Conference Coordination:

Organize and manage logistics for conferences hosted by the National Radiation Oncology Program, including conference approvals, contacting speakers, and handling pre- and post-conference relevant tasks.

2.5. Travel Requirements:

Travel to industry conferences as necessary to ensure smooth execution of conference-related duties.

2.6 Conduct Surveys:

Conduct customer satisfaction surveys in the field as required by SCPO

3. Background: The National Radiation Oncology Program provides clinical oversite for the 41 VHA radiation oncology services/sections, setting policies for radiation therapy delivery and organizing and developing current infrastructure.

Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in NROP initiatives to include radiation oncology quality surveillance, prospective reviews of VHA treatment plans by national experts, coordinated equipment purchases and vault construction/renovations with life cycle, radiation oncology expansion to other sites, community care dashboard, legislative proposals and more. Based on the nature and complexity of the specialty, the administrative integrity of the Program requires assessment services to ensure the development of best practices for the ongoing needs of the program.

4. Type of Contract: Fixed-Price

5. Performance Period: The period of performance is a twelve-month base with two, twelve-month option periods

6. Place of Performance: Work will be performed remotely.

7. Specific Tasks:

7.1. Assessment Services:

· Contractor shall provide consultative and assessment services of radiation oncology community practice staffing, equipment and treatment data; training qualifications of therapeutic medical physicists; perform complex, short-term projects for National Radiation Oncology Program and radiation oncology data management reporting.

· Coordinate credential and chart reviews for internal staff.

7.2. Data Management

· Manage HR salary data for radiation oncology staff/facilities to ensure Special Salary Rates and other incentives are available to improve recruitment in VA for critical and hard to fill positions.

· Assist Radiation Oncology facilities with data for market pay and relevant reports

7.3. Conference Coordination

· Reach out to potential speakers for conferences hosted by the National Radiation Oncology Program Office.

· Logistics coordinator for guest speakers.

· Travel to conferences to support the Program Office.

Deliverables:

· Assessment Reports: Comprehensive reports on the evaluation and recommendations for external practices providing radiation therapy services to Veterans.

· Credentials and Chart Review Reports: Detailed summaries of the credentialing and chart review processes and outcomes.

· Conference Coordination Plans: Detailed plans for each industry conference, including schedules, speaker lists, and logistical arrangements.

· Travel Requirements: The Contractor will be required to travel to various conferences hosted by the National Radiation Oncology Program Office to fulfill their duties effectively. All travel-related expenses shall be the responsibility of the contractor and travel details are described in Section 9 below.

Reporting Hours: Contractor shall provide electronic timesheets to COR for hours worked on this project monthly and payment will be made once date entry is validated, not to exceed 2,080 hours.

8. Government Furnished Property/Equipment/Information: The National Radiation Oncology Program Office will issue a PIV card, provide a laptop computer to perform services. Directions and instructions to perform these specialized services will be provided by the NROP’s National Program Executive Director and Administrative Officer.

9. Travel: Travel is a reimbursable item and shall be reimbursed in accordance with VA/Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). Each contractor invoice must include copies of all receipts that support travel costs claimed in the invoice. Travel must be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Travel must be priced separately in the price schedule. Local travel within a 50-mile radius from the contractor’s facility is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed. This includes travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time. Travel performed for personal convenience and daily travel to and from work at the contractor’s facility will not be reimbursed. Travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel beyond a 50-mile radius of the contractor’s facility are authorized on a case-by-case basis and must be pre-approved by the COR.

The Government anticipates travel under this SOW to include program-related meetings, conferences, and site visits during the period of performance. All requested travel is contingent upon the VHA National Radiation Oncology Program office receiving VA/VHA approval for the event in accordance with VA directive 0632, Conference Planning, Execution, Reporting, and Oversight, published December 2013, and any subsequent VA travel regulations or other federal regulatory guidance.

Travel costs will not exceed amount agreed upon in the contract.

10. VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy The contractor, their personnel, and their subcontractors shall be subject to the Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks regarding information and information system security as delineated in this contract.

11. Access to VA Information and VA Information Systems

a. The program manager or supervisor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for the contractor 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.

RISK Level: LOW

c. The C&A requirements do not apply, and a Security Accreditation is not required.

12. 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 COTR.

13. Training Contractor employee requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

1.) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

2.) Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

3.) Successfully complete the appropriate VA Privacy and HIPAA training and annually complete required privacy training.

a. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

b. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.