36C25026Q0653.docx

SUBJECT*

Alaris Software Management Service

NIHCS

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Columbus Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center 420 North James Road Columbus OH 43219

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contracting Officer Margaret Thompson Margaret.Thompson@va.gov No phone calls accepted.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Northern Indiana Heathcare System

2121 Lake Ave.

Fort Wayne IN

COUNTRY

DESCRIPTION

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This is a Sources Sought Notice only and is issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 10 Market Research, to conduct market research. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or guarantee to issue a solicitation in the future. This Sources Sought Notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Not responding to this Sources Sought Notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation, if issued. This announcement is based on the best information available at this time and is subject to future modification. All known information at this time is presented herein. This notice will assist in the acquisition strategy for future services only.

· North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541511 – Custom Computer Programming Services

· Size Standard – $34 Million

· Product Service Code is DA10 – IT and Telecom – Business Application/ Application Development Software As A Service Purpose and Objectives This Sources Sought Notice is issued by VISN 10, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 10 located in Fort Wayne, IN for the purpose of collecting information about Alaris Software Management Services for the Veteran Health Indiana (VHI), Northern Indiana VA Medical Center.

The VA is seeking a contractor(s) to provide for this requirement for a base year with zero (0) option years.

Place of Performance:

· Services could be required for the VHI VAMC throughout the state of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky as needed for the Veterans enrolled in the VHI healthcare system.

Department of Veterans Affairs Northern Indiana Healthcare System 2121 Lake Ave.

Fort Wayne, IN 46805 Responses:

Please submit your response in accordance with the following instructions:

1. Responses shall be no more than 15 pages in length.

0. Responses are due by 06/26/2026 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

1. Responses shall be submitted via email.

1. Email Responses Only will be accepted.

1. No Phone calls.

1. Subject line of the Email shall include this 36C25026Q0653 – Firm Name – NIHCS Alaris Software Management Services.

1. If your response contains proprietary information you will place “Proprietary Information” in front of the Sources Sought Notice Number.

1. No marketing materials are allowed as part of this Sources Sought Notice. The Government will not review any other information or attachments included in your submission that is not listed herein or exceeds the 15-page limitation.

1. Commercial price list to include your pricing structure

1. Contractors Federal Supply Schedule Contract that carries the desired services

2. If you do not have a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract, you shall state “open market”

2. Provide your GSA/FSS/SAC Contract Number

2. Provide the SIN for each price point for services

2. If any of the items are not on your GSA/FSS contract you will mark which items are open market.

1. Contractor Point of Contact to include:

3. Name

3. Title

3. Phone

3. Email

1. Company Information to include:

4. Name

4. Address

4. SAM UID Number

4. Tax ID Number

4. Business Size

4. Names of any sub-contractors and business size to include SAM UEI number for each company that you would consider if awarded a contract.

4. Provide information as to what responsibilities of each company will be responsible for.

4. If you do not plan to sub-contract, please state will not utilize sub-contractors.

1. Business Size/Type: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), 8(a), Hub Zone Small Business, Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Small Business, or Large Business.

5. All prospective Contractors are reminded that in accordance with FAR 4.11 they shall be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database and shall complete annual Representations and Certifications in SAM prior to any offer. SAM is located at http://www.sam.gov and consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. There is no cost to use SAM.

5. FOR SDVOSB/VOSB ONLY: Please note that if responding as an SDVOSB or VOSB, your company must be registered and verified in the VA’s Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database, which is available at: Veteran Small Business Certification (sba.gov). Please include a copy of your VetCert certification with your response.

5. FOR ED/WOSB: Please note that as of 10/15/2020 firms can no longer self-certify. You will need to provide a copy of your confirmation from the Small Business Administration’s certification.

Determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Draft Statement of Work is attached and is subject to change through the acquisition planning process based solely on the needs of the Government. This is all the known information about this requirement currently.

Questions pertaining to set-asides, number of awards, and technical aspects cannot and will not be answered. This is not a solicitation, but information gathering to assist with acquisition planning and strategy only.

Sources Sought Notice

Sources Sought Notice

SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

The purpose of this procurement is to acquire infusion pump software management services (SMS) for use in Northern Indiana VA Medical Center (Fort Wayne- IN, Marion-IN and Mishiwaka-IN in VISN 10). The Contractor shall provide all software management services required to maintain and operate the Alaris Infusion System from BD (formerly CareFusion) currently located at Northern Indiana.

1. BACKGROUND

Software management services for the Alaris Infusion System includes software enhancements to server-based Alaris Infusion System software components; services that include internet, webinar and on-site training and clinical education; support ranging from remote monitoring of the Alaris Systems Manager to technical support for the Alaris Infusion System; and includes collection of data and providing analytics tools and services. Software enhancements do not include software updates or version upgrades to infusion device hardware.

The following components comprise the Alaris Infusion System located at Northern Indiana VA Medical Center for this requirement.

Table 1. Alaris Infusion System Components

Alaris Infusion System Description. Infusion system modules connect to an infusion controller (PCU). The PCU connects wirelessly to the VA enterprise network to transmit and receive data to and from the Alaris Systems Manager server. The Alaris Systems Manager resides on a server (virtual or physical) in a VA data center. Users will access the Alaris Systems Manager server to manage system configuration, retrieve pump connectivity data, capture data analytics, and upload infusion drug libraries. Users will also access software applications such as Guardrails Editor and CQI Reporter to manage drug library configuration and analyze reports collected from infusion data. Care Coordination Engines run on another server (virtual or physical) residing in a VA data center that allow for the infusion devices to wirelessly communicate interoperability parameters to the EHR. The Alaris System Maintenance software is utilized during performance of Alaris Infusion System maintenance.

The Contractor shall provide the SMS required under this contract for the following Alaris Infusion System equipment covered under this contract. All services performed shall support compatibility with the current infusion equipment.

Table 2. Supported Alaris Equipment and Software

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide software management services for the Alaris Infusion System server and software components identified in Table 2 above. The services shall be in accordance with the tasks and deliverables as described in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). For those components of the system subject to software updates, the Contractor shall complete all system enhancements and patching with clear communication and preparation. The Contractor shall communicate all enhancements and support activations required to keep the system running effectively to the primary point of contact (POC) or the contracting officer representative (COR). All maintenance and updates shall be scheduled at least three (3) days in advance with the COR.

3. Information Security Considerations All VA sensitive information shall be protected at all times, in accordance with VA Local site guidelines. The Contractor shall report any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information to the COR.

a. Any wireless connectivity to the VA network must be compatible with 802.11b/g/n and FIPS 140-2 compliant.

b. Any remote service support requires a Memorandum of Understanding/Interconnection Security Agreement (MOU/ISA) with the VA.

Security Requirements:

Service & Maintenance will follow the security requirements as per VA’s Medical Device Protection Program (MDPP) which protects VA’s medical devices through a comprehensive security initiative that encompasses pre-procurement assessments, medical device isolation architecture (MDIA), communication, validation, scanning, access control list remediation, patching, and secure remote connectivity.

General Security 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.

Check - In Requirements The contractor must report to their assigned contact to sign in before work begins. Upon completion of work, the contractor must report to their assigned contact to brief of work completed or available Staff if assigned contact is unavailable concerning completion of service, and then to sign out. At the end of each briefing, contractor will and must sign out.

SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION

Any VA External Computer System interconnections between VA Systems on the VA Network and VA Business Partner Systems residing outside the VA Network – will require a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Interconnection Security Agreement (ISA) collectively known as MOU ISA between the VA and the VA Business Partner.

4. DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform/provide the following services:

5. Training

a. The Contractor shall include on-site nursing clinical support training for practice reinforcement that can be used for compliance rounds and hospital best practices.

i. One time during the base year of the contract period and any subsequent option year, the Contractor must provide one eight (8) hour day of on-site clinical consulting at each facility. The training must include nursing staff interactions with the devices and recommending improved practices for medication safety. The COR will provide the Contractor with requested training dates for each facility during the base year of the contract and any subsequent option year. The Contractor will work with the COR in good faith to reasonably accommodate the requested training dates.

ii. The Contractor shall provide a written report to each facility for each practice reinforcement visit.

b. The Contractor shall include a workshop with clinical peers to support customer adoption of CQI Reporter software and enhance interpretation skills of CQI data.

i. Workshop shall be for a period of 2 days and hosted by the Contractor at within 50-mile radius of NIHCS VAMC once during the base year of the contract and each subsequent option year (annually). The COR will provide the Contractor with requested workshop dates for each facility during the base year of the contract and any subsequent option year. The Contractor will work with the COR in good faith to reasonably accommodate the requested workshop dates.

ii. Workshop shall cover defining and creating a systematic approach to analyzing Guardrails Reporter software alerts and refine drug libraries, dose limits, and clinical advisories to achieve maximum impact for the organization.

c. The Contractor shall provide access to online education. Video content must be made available, upon request, to VA education staff and allowed to be uploaded by the VA to internal learning management systems. BD will provide NIHCS VAMC with access to its online learning management system, the VA staff can access the learning management system as needed. The NIHCS VAMC is provided 2 annual tokens. Token options include clinical nursing, pharmacy, IT, Biomedical, and analytics. Tokens can be used for trainings as necessary, and any training would be mutually scheduled by both parties.

d. The Contractor shall include Suite training sessions with clinical peers to refresh skills on the use of CQI Reporter and Editor training. The training sessions shall be available monthly and can be used as needed.

e. The Contractor shall provide tuition annually for up to two (2) VA representatives to attend the System Data Workshop.

6. Support

a. The Contractor shall provide phone or email access to highly qualified Pharmacy Consultants and Clinical Infusion Data Consultants to address customer data set questions and concerns and assist with the interpretation of CQI data. The Contractor shall provide a resolution turnaround time of 48 hours from the initial phone call or email communicating a customer issue.

i. The Contractor shall provide access to qualified Pharmacy Consultants who hold the RPh credential and have at least 3 years’ experience working with BD Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) information to make recommendations for improved safety limits on specific pharmaceutical products.

ii. The Contractor shall provide access to Clinical Infusion Data Consultants (formerly CQI Managers) who must have at least 3 years’ experience working with BD CQI information to make recommendations for improved safety limits on specific pharmaceutical products and other data set parameters.

b. The Contractor shall provide live technical telephone support with BD authorized support professionals who are based in the United States. The team must be ready to assist and provide support for equipment covered in this contract from 5am to 6pm EST, Monday through Friday.

c. The Contractor shall provide Clinical Infusion Data Consultant data support via phone or email from 5am to 6pm EST, Monday through Friday, for questions related to the use of the software and interpretation, review, and consulting of data.

7. Data & Analytics

a. The Contractor shall provide real-time monitoring of the Alaris Systems Manager to ensure system uptime, functionality, optimization, and health in accordance with the national MOU/ISA between the Contractor and VA which is made part of this contract and is incorporated by reference herein.

b. The Contractor shall provide concise, actionable information on the hospital’s infusion management practices, without requiring analytical or reporting software installation or in-house technical resources. This includes unlimited access to a web-based portal defined by hospital with benchmarking tools and the ability to view all infusions. The Government can request a quarterly phone call or report with the data analyst to review the findings in this report.

c. The Contractor shall provide benchmarking tools and the ability to view all infusions (not just those outside of prescribed ranges). This information must be web-based and be accessible to an unlimited number of users per hospital. These services would require hosting on a vendor platform but must not contain any sensitive information, in accordance with the national MOU/ISA.

8. Software Updates & Maintenance If the Contractor releases updates to the applications or server identified in Table 2 to enhance the security or operation of the software, the Contractor shall deliver the enhancement to the Government in machine-readable form with instructions to assist the Government with installing the enhancement. These enhancements will be provided to the Government within 60 days of their issuance or data of first commercial availability, with no additional charge to the Government, for installed instances of the software. As applicable, the Contractor will install updates remotely through the Contractor’s remote access solution. The Contractor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to correct errors in the software that materially affect the functionality of the software.

All labor, time, materials, equipment, travel, service manuals, and supplies necessary to provide the services required under this contract shall be included in the contract price. One time during each annual period, the Contractor will perform one (1) on-site technical service visit for up to eight (8) hours for each 80 PC units to download CQI data and upload the Government’s drug library data set onto the licensed units. The Contractor shall provide telephone support to the Government regarding the operation of and potential errors in the software.

a. The Contractor shall provide enhancements to the Guardrails Suite MX and Guardrails Editor software when commercially available. This includes providing any updates to the Alaris Systems Manager that are required to install the newest version of Suite MX software.

b. The Contractor shall provide Alaris Systems Manager service patch management of the operating system, Systems Manager application, and other software components. The Contractor shall provide rigorous testing before deployment of software patches and updates, including customized patch cycles and notifications options. All software patches and updates shall be provided at no additional cost to the Government. Remote management of the server shall be delivered in accordance with the most current version of the national MOU/ISA between VA and the Contractor.

c. The Contractor shall provide CareFusion Coordination Engine (CCE) service patch management of the operating system, CCE application, and other software components. The Contractor shall provide rigorous testing before deployment of software patches and updates, including customized patch cycles and notifications options. All software patches and updates shall be provided at no additional cost to the Government. Remote management of the server shall be delivered in accordance with the most current version of the national MOU/ISA between VA and the Contractor.

d. The Contractor shall provide remote installation of server system patches, including the operating system, Alaris Systems Manager, and other system components which will be patched regularly.

e. Software update/enhancement installations shall normally be scheduled and performed outside normal business hours, 5am to 6pm EST Monday through Friday, of coverage at no additional charge to the Government. The COR may approve software installations outside of these hours to meet facility needs.

Unscheduled Maintenance (Emergency Repair Service)

a. The Contractor’s Field Service Engineer (FSE) shall respond via phone call to the COR or his/her designee immediately after receipt of telephoned emergency repair service notification twenty-four (24) hours per day. If the problem cannot be corrected by phone, the FSE will commence work (on-site or remote desktop response) within two (2) hours after receipt of the notification and will proceed progressively to completion without undue delay. This requirement for response time shall be the same for both service calls during the VA normal business hours and after-hour service calls. The COR will provide the Contractor with (a) an accurate description of the software error; (b) the steps necessary to reproduce the software error, if available; (c) if required, the data being processed at the time of the software error and associated log files; and (d) the severity of the software error, including the circumstances that lead to the software error. The COR and the Contractor will communicate and mutually agree on the severity level of the software error in writing.

Scheduled Maintenance

a. The Contractor shall perform patches and enhancements to the software components identified in Table 2 to ensure the Alaris Infusion System equipment and software perform in accordance with the latest OEM maintenance procedures and protocols. Patching shall be provided for all environments: pre-production, production, and training environments. Scheduled software maintenance shall be scheduled at least three (3) days in advance with the COR. An outline of the scheduled software maintenance procedures shall be provided to the COR. The Contractor shall provide and utilize procedures and checklists with worksheet originals indicating work performed, as applicable. This documentation shall be provided to the COR at the completion of the scheduled software maintenance. The Contractor shall provide written description of scheduled software maintenance. This description shall include an itemized list of the procedures performed.

b. Scheduled software maintenance services shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

i. Reviewing operating system software diagnostics to ensure that the system is operating in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications

ii. Performing remedial software maintenance of non-emergent nature

iii. Returning the equipment to the operating condition, per OEM standards

iv. Providing documentation of services performed

c. The Contractor shall perform scheduled maintenance services from 5am to 6pm EST, Monday through Friday. All exceptions to the scheduled software maintenance schedule shall be arranged and approved in advance with the COR.

9. Documentation & Reports The Contractor shall provide written reports detailing the software management services provided under the contract. The documentation shall include detailed descriptions of the scheduled and unscheduled software maintenance (i.e., emergency software repairs (ESR)) procedures performed, including updates and services required to maintain the software. The ESR shall consist of a separate report for the item(s) covered under this contract. Grouping reports of services performed under this contract with reports of services performed under other contracts on “one” ESR is prohibited. In addition, each ESR shall, at a minimum, document the following data legibly and in complete detail:

a. Contractor information:

i. Name of Contractor

ii. Contract Number

iii. Name of FSE who performed the services

iv. Contractor service ESR number/log number

b. Date and time (starting and ending), software downtime, and hours on-site for service call

c. VA purchase order numbers covering the call

d. Description of problem reported by COR

e. Identification of software to be serviced:

i. Software license and version number

ii. Inventory ID number

iii. Manufacturer name

iv. Device name, model number, and serial number

v. Any other manufacturer identification numbers

f. Itemized description of service performed:

i. Labor and travel

ii. Software patches

iii. Parts (with part numbers)

iv. Location of problem/corrective action

g. Total cost to be billed, if applicable (i.e., service rendered after normal hours of coverage)*

h. Signatures:

i. FSE performing services described

ii. Authorized VA employee who witnessed service described *Any additional charges for work performed outside the scope of this contract shall be coordinated with the CO (Contracting Officer) and COR before service is initiated.

10. Payments All invoices shall be submitted monthly in arrears. Invoices shall be properly prepared in accordance with FAR 52.212-4, shall contain sufficient detail, shall match with the service tickets for the work rendered, and shall match the contracting line-item numbers (CLINs). Invoices shall be sent electronically to the VA Financial Services Center for payment processing via their electronic e-Invoice system. At a minimum, invoices shall include the following details:

a. Contract number

b. Purchase order number (Correct purchase order number which will be issued by the Contracting Officer after the contract is awarded. Invoices without correct purchase order number shall be rejected and returned to the Contractor.)

c. Item(s) covered (to include License numbers)

d. Description of the services rendered

e. Billing period in which the services were rendered

f. Invoice number and date

11. Competency and Certification of Personnel Servicing Equipment

a. The Contractor shall provide fully qualified FSEs to perform the software maintenance and repair services required under this contract. “Fully qualified” is defined as having successfully completed OEM training required for the software components identified in Table 2 along with any associated equipment.

b. The FSEs shall be authorized by the Contractor to perform the maintenance services. All work shall be performed by fully qualified competent FSEs. Upon request, the Contractor shall provide copies of all OEM training certificates for FSEs showing types of software and equipment and dates of training for all software and equipment identified to be covered. When deemed appropriate, the COR reserves the right to prohibit Contractor personnel from working on VAMC software and equipment.

12. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Table 3. Performance Standards Deliverable Reference Paragraph

13. PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance (POP) shall be for July 27, 2026 to July 26, 2027,:

Normal hours of work are defined as Monday through Friday from 5am to 6pm EST, excluding Federal holidays or as otherwise arranged with the COR.

There are eleven (11) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows:

Under current definitions, five (5) are set by date:

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six (6) are set by a day of the week and month:

14. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Tasks under this PWS shall be performed remotely, when possible. The Contractor shall perform on-site work when required. Work may be performed at remote locations other than the Contractor’s facilities. If a problem requiring service cannot be resolved over the phone or remotely, then an authorized Contractor’s representative shall commence work on-site within the designated time identified and will proceed progressively to rectify the problem without undue delay without any additional cost to the Government with prior approval by the COR.

Table 4. Locations of Performance

15. RECORD MANAGEMENT

Federal Records related to this contract, regardless of medium, shall be created, maintained, and dispositioned in accordance with the VHA Records Control Schedule (RCS) 10-1, General Records Schedule (GRS) or another NARA-approved records schedule, if applicable.

Federal Records shall be stored per the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) Records Management, as described in 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Chapter XII Subchapter B.

16. REFERENCES

National MOU-ISA – CareFusion, LLC (A Becton Dickinson Subsidiary) (Pyxis, Alaris) VHA Records Control Schedule (RCS) 10-1.

General Records Schedule (GRS).

NARA Records Management, 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter B.