36C26118Q9468-0003001.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

National Dashboard Contract

1.0 Project scope / Background:

The Program Evaluation and Resource Center (PERC) of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking services to design, program, and facilitate implementation of National Dashboards and clinical decision support to support quality improvement initiatives for mental or behavioral health treatment and suicide prevention.

2.0 Required Experience/Qualifications

2.1 Extensive experience and expertise with design, programming, and development of data extraction and write back in VA systems, which includes all of the following:

2.1.1 Interface with Medora Web Services

2.1.2 VA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW)

2.1.3 VistA

2.1.4 Use of Java batch programs to conduct daily extraction services

2.1.5 Creating Java based web pages

2.2 Extensive experience and expertise with Microsoft products including:

2.2.1 SQL (Structured Query Language)

2.2.2 SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services)

2.2.3 SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services)

2.3 Key personnel shall have at least 7 years’ work experience in deploying data-warehouse based clinical decision support (CDS) within VA architecture including, but not limited to, patient data extraction, clinical reasoning, and graphical user interface design. By clinical decision support this contract refers to SQL based reports that aggregate complex clinical data from large populations of patients and present actionable data at the point of care.

2.4 Key personnel shall have experience in design and testing of data-warehouse based clinical decision support systems for use in primary care and mental health settings. Experience in working with clinical data related to opioid and psychotropic prescriptions and safety protocols, and mental health assessments are highly desirable.

2.5 Key personnel shall have knowledge of monitoring the performance of data extraction, transformation, and presentation systems to support deployment of clinical decision support.

2.6 Key personnel shall have experience working with sensitive protected health information specifically related to mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

2.7 Key personnel shall have excellent interpersonal skills and sensitivity to clinical decision support usability, demonstrated by work experiences as a member of a collaborative team that has implemented clinical decision support tools within operational clinical environments.

2.8 Key personnel shall have data security, record retention, and medical record privacy policy expertise.

2.9 Key personnel will be required to work on-site with PERC staff at the VA Palo Alto

Health Care System (VAPAHCS) Menlo Park campus a minimum of two work days per week.

2.10 Key personnel must obtain Without Compensation (WOC) status within 45 days of contract initiation. This designation identifies that the individual is not on the VA employee payroll, but allows them access to VA data systems and other resources.

2.11 The contractor shall not assign any key personnel to this contract or hire any subcontractors who do not meet the criteria laid out in 2.1-2.10.

3.0 Specific Tasks

3.1. Create and deploy a library architecture that centralizes and exposes definitions of data variables and facilitates subject matter expert (SME) review and validation. The library will have three end users: subject matter experts who define and review library terms, developers who operationalize terms, and end users who want to understand definitions.

The library must meet the following requirements:

3.1.1. Centralize all PERC data definitions.

3.1.2. Be accessible by PERC and non-PERC staff on an internal VA server with customizable permissions.

3.1.3. Have an architecture that interacts with a variety of reports/webpages to allow backend querying and updates.

3.1.4. Have a graphical user interface (GUI) that the user can interact with, use to input data, and search data.

3.1.5. Have a GUI that facilitates searching in many dimensions for reports or metrics, such as searching for all definitions in a specific report or all reports that use a specific definition.

3.1.6. Have a GUI that can capture annotations and suggested revisions by SMEs who are vetting definitions as well as facilitate comparison across SMEs.

3.1.7. Allow for drill down pages to expose definitions in the library at varying levels of granularity.

3.1.8. Have an architecture that includes a management process to log all stages of the development of library terms such as intent of SME with templated options defined by developers, interactions with SMEs, operationalization by developers, dates and owner of library terms. This logged information should be exposed in the GUI as necessary.

3.1.9. Have a database backend that allows for seamless conversion of library terms into projects for operations deployment.

3.1.10. Capture historical data about changes in definitions over time.

3.2. Create and deploy the architecture to support help desk requirements across all PERC-supported products. The help desk architecture must meet the following requirements:

3.2.1. Allow for easy visualization of help desk email by project, subject, and other dimensions defined with PERC help desk staff.

3.2.2. Be accessible by PERC and non-PERC staff on an internal VA server with customizable permissions.

3.2.3. Create a tracking system for emails received by PERC help desks to monitor timely response, statistics about help desk use (such as number of emails), and time to respond by different categories.

3.2.4. Create a library of basic SQL queries (easy to search and identify) that help desk staff can use to troubleshoot requests.

3.2.5. Create a library of frequently asked questions (FAQ) searchable by help desk staff.

3.2.6. Have an architecture that is sustainable by PERC staff after the term of the contract.

3.3. Optimize and refine SQL code to improve performance, sustainability and scalability of Dashboards and Reports from the VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

Optimization and refinement assistance must meet the following requirements:

3.3.1. Reduce the number of logical reads and minimize the need to duplicate processes within PERC projects (among other potential strategies), enabling more efficient processing of millions of records of VA data.

3.3.2. Identify and document types of system issues that arise (e.g., problems with data extraction or dashboard performance), then troubleshoot and implement fixes taking into consideration and assessing the impact of the fixes on the sustainability of system architecture.

3.4. Create and deploy an improved system monitoring report for PERC SQL queries, jobs, and reports to facilitate troubleshooting any system performance issues. This system monitoring report must meet the following requirements:

3.4.1. Display the status of daily jobs, table updates (datetime and count of rows), and processes in an online report.

3.4.2. Be accessible by PERC and non-PERC staff on an internal VA server with customizable permissions.

3.4.3. Create and incorporate maintenance tools to facilitate updates in code.

3.4.4. Monitor report loading and usage.

3.4.5. Have an architecture that is sustainable by PERC staff after the term of the contract.

4.0 Deliverables

4.1. Progress report on GUI and database development for library that centralizes and exposes data definitions progress (bi-weekly).

4.1.1. Pilot of library architecture delivered (3 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.1.2. Updated version of library architecture delivered (6 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.1.3. Full Library architecture delivered (9 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.1.4. Training of PERC staff on how to maintain and update the system (10 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.2. Progress report on GUI and database development for helpdesk architecture progress (bi-weekly).

4.2.1. Pilot of helpdesk architecture delivered (5 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.2.2. Full Helpdesk architecture deployed (8 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.2.3. Training of PERC staff on how to maintain and update the system (9 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.3. Progress report on updates for code performance and maintenance processes (bi-weekly)

4.3.1. Written report and meeting to detail troubleshooting of any identified systems issues, impact on architecture, and recommendations. The meeting with the VA team will review contractor recommendations in the written report to determine priority and feasibility of deployment (bi-weekly from the beginning of the contract).

4.4. Progress report on developing system monitoring report (bi-weekly)

4.4.1. Pilot of system monitoring report delivered (4 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.4.2. Full system monitoring report deployed (7 months from the beginning of the contract).

4.4.3. Training of PERC staff on how to maintain and update the system (10 months from the beginning of the contract).

5.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Twelve months from the award date of the contract.

6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

6.1 The Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the

Contracting Officer with Monthly Progress Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Project formats.

6.1.1 Progress Reports can encompass the information provided in the

Deliverable schedules but should address progress on all four specific tasks. For example, the Month 3 Progress Report can include what was provided to PERC as Deliverable 4.1.1 but should also report on work on the other three specific tasks.

6.1.2 Progress Reports shall reflect the status of progress as of the last day of the preceding month, and will be submitted no later than 5 business days after the end of the preceding month.

6.2 The contractor shall be available to meet in person at PERC’s VA location (795 Willow Rd., Menlo Park) with one (1) weeks’ notice to discuss progress toward individual deliverables and discuss alternative methods of meeting deliverables with relevant members of the PERC team.

6.3 Key personnel on the contract shall be available to meet in person every two weeks to discuss progress toward meeting all contracted deliverables, including timelines and any barriers requiring timelines to be adjusted.

6.4 The Monthly Progress Reports shall cover the amount of hours and all work completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the Contractor shall provide an explanation including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. The Contractor shall keep in communication with the COR or designated representative accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues.

6.5 The vendor shall submit a monthly invoice, documenting the amount of hours completed during this reporting period. The invoice shall be submitted no later than 5 business days after the end of the preceding month.

7. CONTRACTOR’S QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM

The Contractor shall establish and maintain quality control to ensure all contract requirements are met. An original and one (1) copy of the Quality Control Plan (QCP) shall be forwarded to the COR and the Contracting Officer within two (2) weeks of contract award for approval. The COR and Task Managers will review the QCP and list any needed clarifications and return to the Contractor for response, if necessary.

8. TASK MANAGER QUALITY ASSURANCE MONITORING:

8.1 Task managers Dr. Jodie Trafton or Dr. Susana Martins shall meet at least once a month to review work completed and review delivery dates.

8.2 Task managers shall review work for completion on a bi-weekly basis and provide monthly feedback to COR for tracking in contractor folder.

8.3 COR shall ensure contractor meets all delivery dates.

9. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

Contractor shall have desk or cubicle work area and access to VA Computer and telephone when work is conducted on-site at the VA Menlo Park campus. Contractor must provide VA compatible computer, software, and telephone if work is to be conducted virtually.

10. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

VA Palo Alto Health Care System Menlo Park Division 795 Willow Road, Building 324 Menlo Park, CA 94025