36C24623Q1368_1.docx

36C24623Q1368

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.

UEI:

EFT:

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. NOV 2021)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

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

36C24623Q1368 09-20-2023 James Risbon 757-728-7128 09-25-2023

10:00 AM

EDT

James Risbon Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton VA 23667 X X 334111 1250 Employees Net 30 N/A X Department of Veterans Affairs Salem VA Medical Center 1970 Roanoke Blvd Salem VA 24153 James Risbon Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton VA 23667

Department of Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center

PO BOX 149971

Austin TX 78714-9971 512-460-5049 512-460-5221 X See CONTINUATION Page

DSS

LiveData

PeriOp Manager/ PeriOP Planner System Fully integrated with Salem's VA Systems (VISTA and CPRS), OR areas - software licenses, software instillation, implementation set up, training, travel, hardware, hardware instillation, to ensure a complete system integration)

- See Statement of Work This is a Brand Name or Equal Requirement Brand name or equal means that items must meet all the salient physical, functional and performance characteristic of the brand name product. Salient characteristics listed in Section D.

New Equipment Only; NO remanufactured or "gray market" items. All items must be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

See CONTINUATION Page X X X James Risbon Contracting Officer Table of Contents

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 36C246 Jerry Mann James Risbon Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 6 100 Emancipation Drive Hampton VA 23667

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.

Vendors are required to submit payment requests in electronic form in order to enhance customer service, departmental productivity, and adoption of innovative information technology, including the appropriate use of commercial best practices. Please go to this website:

http://www.tungsten-network.com to submit electronic invoices.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

36C24623Q1368

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B.2 STATEMENT OF WORK

STATEMENT Of WORK DSS LiveData PeriOp Manager System Surgical Solution Application Requirements:

1. Collect procedure specific data (start/stop times, room open/room closed, first case starts, turnaround time, OR utilization, OR block time, overtime, out of block utilization, surgeon/anesthesia arrival time) via clicker to eliminate mistyping and data entry errors.

2. Collect data from the OR, e.g. "Time Out " with the use of a wireless device inside the operating room thereby eliminating keyboarding errors.

3. Display overall information on the perioperative process and progress of the patient through the process in the OR on multiple screens and for multiple audiences in order to maintain privacy requirements when/where necessary. Each display screen should display only the relevant information for each patient in each of the following areas: patient check in, preop / day surgery, operating room, family waiting room, OR control desk / command center, and SPS.

4. Have the ability to schedule patients for surgery.

5. Have the ability for bi-directional integration with VistA and Cerner.

6. Have a schedule board view and allow for “drag and drop” to reschedule patients on any day of surgery.

7. Have an appointment book view (both daily and monthly views) that can display if a given surgery schedule block is at capacity or not.

8. Have a means to allocate and track surgery services scheduling block by day of the week and by operating room.

9. Have a means to edit master block schedule to maximize utilization of operating rooms.

10. Have the ability to create a surgery case by entering in specific patient, procedure, staff and operating room data.

11. Have a means to create surgical patient’s pre-operative work up and track its completion.

12. Anonymize patient information and align with HIPAA regulations.

13. Capable of sending SMS text messages to track patient’s surgical journey

14. Capable of printing a HIPPA compliant document from a web native board for friends and family who are waiting to track their loved on a screen.

15. Capable of displaying Patient’s COVID status.

16. Ability to proactively improve KPI metrics with real time data collection.

Reports Requirement The solution shall:

1. Include a report generator to document:

A. Pre-operative events.

i. Total time to complete Pre-Op prep/checklist process

i. Total length of stay in Pre-Op

ii. Order in which the Pre-Op prep/checklist was completed

iii. Time to complete each Pre-Op Checklist item

iv. Time Patient occupied Pre-Op bed/bay after Pre-Op checklist was completed B. Operating room events.

i. Time into OR / Time out of OR

iii. Operative Time (Incision time to close time)

iv. Turnover time

v. OR Block Utilization by Surgeon (Percentage of OR time utilized as compared to OR time allocated/blocked for a given surgeon)

vi. OR Block Utilization by Service (Ortho, Urology, General, etc...)

vii. Time out procedure time (Time safety checklist is started to time safety checklist has been completed).

C. Schedule events.

i. Total number of ORs anticipated and actually running each day

ii. Total number of patients on the surgery waiting list

1. Provides easy data access for further site-level analysis The reports would use the measures listed above but be customizable by the facilities. No additional measures, other than those listed above are required to be included in the ad-hoc reports.

Interface Requirements The system provided shall interface with:

1. Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) Surgery Package- Solution shall supply all VA defined required data elements to VistA Surgery at defined trigger points in the Surgery Scheduling and tracking process; VistA Surgery will continue to supply data to other VistA modules per current processes.

2. VistA Integration – Accepts and filters information from VistA to allow views of VistA data elements i.e. labs, surgery scheduling. Proposed solution shall have an interface capable of accepting patient demographic information and order messages received from the VistA Surgery package. These data elements should be provided in real time and updated automatically.

3. Text Integration Utilities - Solution shall search TIU Notes for specific note titles to alert staff of preoperative milestone completion.

4. Patient monitors – Proposed solution shall receive vital signs related information from the patient monitors located in the operating rooms.

Server Requirements

1. VA shall provide and manage the virtual servers required for the solution.

Display Board Workstation Requirements The Display Board workstations shall:

1. Provide computer and associated software licenses in the specified quantities A. Have an OS shall be a currently supported OS B. Provide three-year warranty coverage for physical hardware.

2. Commercial grade monitor and quantity as defined below:

A. Facility, Surgical Suites/ ORs B. Pre-Op units C. Patient Waiting Rooms and additional units D. Anesthesia Workrooms E. Other Area’s F. Includes mounting brackets and associated cables G. Any necessary data line pulls, patient waiting area, Pre- Op Holding, PACU, OR suites, Anesthesia work rooms, SPS, break rooms, scheduling desk, main OR hallway, and any other indicated area(s).

Installation and Configuration Requirements

1. The Installation shall consist of the following:

A. The selected contractor shall conduct site surveys of each of the designated locations within 60 days following contract award.

B. Each site survey shall include all electrical and IT cable drops necessary.

2. Complete installation of each display board workstation:

C. Any necessary electrical work required to power monitor and associated PC

3. Configuration shall consist of:

A. Interface testing, with the following documentation:

i. Kids build for VistA Interfaces

ii. Patch descriptions

iii. Test scripts

iv. Installation guides

v. Implementation and back out plans B. Pre-operative events display information configuration requirements:

i. Work with the VHA clinical staff to document pre-operative milestones and process flow for each of the milestones.

ii. Map VistA/CPRS data elements to pre-operative milestones and document milestone completion criteria.

iii. Document criteria for marking a patient ready for transport to Operating Room for planned surgical procedure.

iv. Setup alert conditions and appropriate notification mechanism.

v. Setup access control for access to Pre-Op milestone completion.

vi. Identify locations where read-only Pre-Op dashboard displayed for use by perioperative staff.

C. Operating Room events display information configuration requirements:

i. Work with the VHA clinical staff to document clinical process flow

ii. Verify mapping of VistA/CPRS data elements to display board.

iii. Configure display board to accept data from physiological monitors

iv. Configure site-specific checklists.

D. Scheduling events display information configuration requirements:

i. Identify locations where read only OR-Schedule dashboard will be displayed for use by perioperative staff

ii. Define dashboard configuration for each of the locations.

iii. Define access control list for users who can modify the day of surgery schedule

iv. Define application URL and mechanism to deploy URL for use by authorized users.

E. Family Waiting display information configuration requirements:

i. Work with hospitals’ perioperative staff to configure

ii. Identify locations where display monitor will be located for use by patients loved ones.

iii. Define display board workstation configuration for each of the locations.

F. Analytics Package configuration requirements:

i. Configure predefined reports

ii. Configure analytic to host data for above reports

iii. Define access control list for users who can access these reports

iv. Define application deployment method for authorized users.

· Clinical applications training for super-users, nurses, physicians, and other clinical staff shall be provided onsite during go-live

· Training shall be provided on the user interface, application, and its features

· Training shall provide super-users and end-users with the capability of being self-sufficient in operating the system by the end of the training session.

ii. Provide quick notes or reference guides during on-site training during the Go Live Training.

Scope of Services:

1. PreOp Board A. Must work with the VHA clinical staff to document PreOp milestones and process flow for each of the milestones.

B. Must map VistA/CPRS data elements to PreOp milestones and document milestone completion criteria.

C. Must document criteria for indicating patient readiness for transport to Operating Room for planned surgical procedure.

D. Must setup alert conditions and appropriate notification mechanism.

E. Must setup access control for access to PreOp milestone completion web forms.

F. Must identify locations where read-only PreOp dashboard is displayed for use by perioperative staff.

G. If software is deemed by VHA I.T. or VHA ISO to require PIV card authorization enabled, Contractor must develop software to enable PIV card reading and authorization.

H. Contractor must train end-users in use of the software system I. Contractor must train CAC, Surgical ADPAC and super-users in use and maintenance of the software system

2. PeriOp Planner A. Must visually coordinate the patient’s steps from first referral through preparation to scheduling B. Must maximize efficiency and block utilization C. Must interface with VistA Surgical package to allow for scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation of cases, which will then populate the VistA Surgical Scheduling package.

D. Includes Integrated tools - A. Service Block Planner which is a separate application that allows surgical service team members the ability to allocate block time by surgical service line in both a Master or repetitive view and in a week to week view to allow for block time changes by service by week; B. Surgery Planner which includes both an Appointment book view by month and by week and an OR-Schedule Board view. All views of Surgery Planner can drag and drop surgical cases to allow for easy rescheduling of surgical cases into alternative operating rooms and / or dates and times.

E. Surgery Planner also allows surgical service team members the ability to create a surgical case for a given patient and document all the required data elements into it to make the request for surgery per the VistA surgical package. Surgery Planner also allows surgical team members to create the preoperative workflow checklist for each patient thereby creating a specific tracking tool that ensures each patient is ready for surgery for which ever date they are scheduled on.

F. Includes daily alerts for surgery team members to be alerted to cases by patient last name, principal procedure, primary surgeon, surgical specialty, and case state.

G. PeriOp Planner allows surgical service team members to search for case or patients by: date, preop workup completion, surgical service or specialty, case ID, patient name, patient ID, principal procedure, operating room, planned principal procedure code, principal preop diagnosis, principal preop ICD diagnosis code, in/out patient status, case scheduled type, surgeon, attending surgeon, principal anesthetist, and a word search.

H. PeriOp Planner includes surgical capacity and planning analytics tracking a given patient's state and preoperative workflow completion during the timeline from consult to surgery.

3. Patient Flow Board

a. Must allow for a smooth patient check-in process for Veteran patients.

b. Must allow for patient’s loved ones receive text message updates on patient’s case progress

c. Must allow for patient status to be communicated from surgical check-in throughout the perioperative unit to the surgical team members via a schedule board and to the patients’ loved ones via text and/or a family waiting board

4. OR-Dashboard A. Must work with the VHA clinical staff to document clinical process flow.

B. Must verify mapping of Vista/CPRS data elements to OR-Dashboard (ORD) visuals.

C. Must be able to configure site-specific pre-procedure checklist and indicate via visual alert/alarm if checklist is incomplete.

D. Must enable setup controls for remote access, if necessary, via VPN, to ORD by authorized hospital staff.

E. If software is deemed by VHA I.T. or VHA ISO to require PIV card authorization enabled, Contractor must develop software to enable PIV card reading and authorization.

F. Contractor must train end-users in use of the software system.

G. Contractor must train CAC, Surgical ADPAC and super-users in use and maintenance of the software system.

5. OR-Schedule Board A. Must work with hospital’s perioperative staff to configure.

B. Must identify locations where read only OR-Schedule dashboard will be displayed for use by perioperative staff.

C. Must define dashboard configuration for each of the locations.

D. Must define access control list for users who can modify the day of surgery schedule and allow Surgical ADPAC to modify individual authorized software access.

E. If software is deemed by VHA I.T. or VHA ISO to require PIV card authorization enabled, Contractor must develop software to enable PIV card reading and authorization.

F. Must define application URL and mechanism to deploy URL for use by authorized users.

G. Contractor must train end-users in use of the software system H. Contractor must train CAC, Surgical ADPAC and super-users in use and maintenance of the software system

6. Family Waiting Board A. Must work with hospital’s perioperative staff to configure B. Must identify locations where dashboard will be displayed for use by patients loved ones.

C. Must define dashboard configuration for each of the locations.

D. If software is deemed by VHA I.T. or VHA ISO to require PIV card authorization enabled, Contractor must develop software to enable PIV card reading and authorization.

E. Contractor must train CAC, Surgical ADPAC and super-users in use and maintenance of the software system

7. Analytics Package A. Must work with hospital’s perioperative staff to configure predefined reports.

B. Report queries must be able to include ability to extract the data record for each unique VISTA surgical case record entered.

C. Must define access control list for users who can access these reports.

D. Must define application deployment method for authorized users.

E. Contractor must train end-users in use of the software system F. If software is deemed by VHA I.T. or VHA ISO to require PIV card authorization enabled, Contractor must develop software to enable PIV card reading and authorization.

G. Contractor must train CAC, Surgical ADPAC and super-users in use and maintenance of the software system H. Contractor must train Service Line members, Surgical Workgroup CIS/ARK Sub-Committee members in use of the analytics package, including electronic conversion of reports to Excel spreadsheet and/or current VHA database and/or SharePoint.

Post Implementation Support Post Implementation support is subject to the following terms and conditions: Contractor VHA Support Services will provide the following services as requested:

During the contract period, the Contractor shall provide technical support service, Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:00 am – 8:00 pm (excluding federal holidays). Contractor will supply support for the duration of contract. Any offsite server or network maintenance or support provided by the Contractor can only be done via CAG access. This shall include all interfaces, remote service or application access, and telephone technical or application support.

· Patient safety issues as defined by VA Directive Number 19-0201 “Patient Safety Notifications” June 2004

· Loss of production data and no procedural work around exists

· Complete loss of a core organizational or business process where work cannot reasonably continue.

· Systems that have failed over into backup or redundancy mode, or that have cut over to Continuity Management or similar availability.

Examples:

· Site is down (server crash).

· One or more applications are inaccessible to all users.

· No workaround is available.

· Any issue where data completeness or accuracy is in question.

(2 business days)* High – A high incident is a problem where a system is functioning but in a severely reduced capacity.

The situation is causing:

· Significant impact to portions of the business operations and productivity.

· No loss of production data and / or a procedural work around exists.

· The system is exposed to potential loss or interruption of service. Includes incidents that significantly impact development and/or production, but where an alternative operation is available.

· Examples:

· One or more users impacted from completing their task, but work around exists.

· Trainers or installers are on site and their activities are impaired or halted.

(3 business days)* Medium – A medium incident involves partial non- critical functionality loss. A medium incident impairs some operations but allows the user or an application to continue to function. This may be a minor incident with limited loss or no loss of functionality or impact to the user’s operation and incidents in which there is an easy circumvention or avoidance by the end user.

Examples:

· Quarterly update, one or more components are more than one quarter behind.

· Any component not installed on workstation(s).

(4 business days)* Low – A low incident has no impact on the quality, performance or functionality of the system. Low incidents have minimal organizational or business impact.

Examples:

· Any issue that does not prevent use of the application.

· Quarterly updates with no components more than one quarter behind.

· Server migrations.

· Requests for additional training or web casts.

· Requests to add user to e-mail list.

* Indicates timeframe in business hours

Support Services will respond within the timeframes listed above using the contact information provided by the person submitting the request for support. A response is defined as an acknowledgement of receipt of the issue, an action plan or request for additional information in order to complete an action plan, and, if possible, an estimated time to resolution.

3. Customer Service Escalations: If requests for support are not being handled within the VHA IRMS staff’s expectations as defined within this SOW then a customer service escalation policy must be available.

4. Constraints/Dependencies: There are a few items that may impact or compromise the ability of Contractor to provide the Services outlined in this document. These include, but are not restricted to:

A. Missing Information. In order to configure the system, Contractor needs information from the VHA clinical staff specifically relating to the surgical process flow. This specific information includes but not limited to milestones, milestones completion criteria, alert conditions, email groups and addresses for alert notification. If all this information is not received, then the application deployment will be delayed until it is collected which may impact the commitments extended in this document.

B. VHA IRMS Staff Non-Response. In order to configure and deploy the application, Contractor needs to be able to communicate with the VHA IRMS staff. If the VHA IRMS staff is non- responsive to fulfilling infrastructure needs, then the application deployment will be delayed until it is completed which may impact the commitments extended in this document.

C. Hardware. A Contractor approved contractor(s) may be responsible for placement and mounting of large monitors, where appropriate along with PCs and cabling needed to drive the monitors. VHA approved contractors are responsible for the appropriate data network and power connections for this hardware. If all of this is not received, then the application deployment will be delayed until it is ready which may impact the commitments extended in this document.

5. Exclusions: There are some boundaries for these Services, both internal and external:

A. on-site Contractor Product updates B. VistA system updates and support, C. non-Contractor. and non-Contractor partner applications including the operating system, D. infrastructure, E. hardware, F. on-site support G. staff augmentation H. unlicensed Contractor products

B.3 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 30 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 10 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. The contractor/subcontractor must take appropriate and timely action (this can be specified in the contract) to correct or mitigate any weaknesses discovered during such testing, generally at no additional cost.

f. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally-owned or contractor/ subcontractor-owned equipment or software on VA's network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All of the security controls required for government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment.