36C77626Q0174.docx

SUBJECT*

Telephone Triage E-book (VA-26-00059489) | OVID | Hoffman/Flagg

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Program Contracting Activity Central

6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence OH 44131

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Erich T. Hoffman Erich.Hoffman@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

DESCRIPTION

Sources Sought Notice

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is currently conducting market research to locate qualified and interested potential sources to provide enterprise-wide access to the Ovid Technologies Briggs’s Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, 7th Edition eBook. This Sources Sought/Request for Information (SS/RFI) is for information and planning purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Please review the information contained herein and identify whether your company has the capability and interest to provide the services required. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be incurred by interested parties in responding to this announcement.

Complete responses to this notice will assist the VA in determining any potential set-aside for the requirement. Not providing all information requested in response to this notice may result in the VA being unable to determine a vendor potentially capable of satisfying the requirement and, subsequently, if the “rule of two” criteria is not met, a specific set-aside category may not be decided by the Contracting Officer. To qualify as a small business under a small business set-aside contract, the offeror must be considered a small business under the NAICS code assigned to the procurement.

NAICS Code. 519290 (size standard: 1,000 employees).

Requirements. See attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW).

Submittal Information. Contractors having ability to meet this requirement in its entirety, shall provide the following:

1. Entity Information:

Company Name and Address:

Point of Contact (POC) Name:

POC Email Address:

POC Phone Number:

UEI Number:

2. Mark if your firm is eligible for participation in one of the following small business programs. If so, please indicate the program:

[ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business (SB) [ ] yes [ ] no - HUBZone [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business 8(a) [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Women-Owned (WO) Small Business [ ] yes [ ] no - Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Large Business [ ] yes [ ] no - Other (please specify)

3. Are you an authorized reseller of the Ovid Technologies Briggs’s Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, 7th Edition eBook?

a. If yes, you must provide signed documentation supporting your authorization such as a notice from OVID Technologies stating your company is an authorized reseller. The documentation shall be no more than two years old.

4. Does your company offer this service via a General Service Administration (GSA) contract?

a. If yes, provide the contract number or attach the contract to the response.

5. Describe in detail how your company will comply with the applicable Limitation on Subcontracting requirements (e.g., VAAR 852.219-75 for SDVOSB/VOSB set‑asides, FAR 52.219-14 for small business set‑asides). The response shall, at a minimum, address:

a. The percentage of the total contract value (excluding the cost of materials, as applicable) the prime will perform with its own employees.

b. The percentage of the total contract value that will be subcontracted to:

i. similarly situated entities; and

ii. all other subcontractors.

c. The percentage for labor, materials, and other direct costs, clearly identifying which portions will be incurred by the prime versus each category of subcontractor.

6. In addition to providing the information requested above, responding companies are encouraged to include any relevant information to confirm the company’s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.

Note: Do not include Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in responses.

It is requested that the above information be provided no later than Friday, April 17th 2026, 13:00 Eastern. Responses should be emailed to Erich Hoffman at Erich.Hoffman@va.gov All Email Correspondence for this project must reference the Sources Sought Number, Project Identifier and Project Title in the subject line of the email. Example:

Sources Sought Notice: 36C77626Q0174 Ovid Technologies Briggs’s Telephone Triage No phone calls will be accepted.

RESULTS INFORMATION: Sources Sought responses will not be returned, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this Sources Sought.

DISCLAIMER: This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought Notice.

2026 eBook Purchase Briggs’s Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, 7th edition (from Ovid) A. General Information

1.0 Introduction:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Library Network Office (LNO), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), requires the purchase of a commercial off‑the‑shelf, web‑based ebook— Briggs’s Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, 7th Edition—from Ovid Technologies, Inc. This title will be made available throughout the VHA healthcare system.

VHA’s goals are to ensure uniform nationwide access to authoritative clinical decision‑support resources and to improve quality of care and patient safety through evidence‑based nursing and clinical guidance.

Performance Period: Purchase with perpetual access, base year.

1.1 Objectives

The desired goals of providing enterprise access to this ebook are as follows:

1.1.1 Initiate a nationwide, centralized purchase to capitalize on economies of scale offered by the vendor.

1.1.2 Establish a single, enterprise‑level contract to minimize duplicative contracting efforts, reducing workload and costs associated with multiple local procurements.

1.1.3 Provide uniform, point‑of‑care access to critical nursing triage protocols to support safe, timely, and standardized patient assessment across all VA clinical environments.

2.0 Scope of Work

2.0.1 The resource shall be accessible through the VA Gateway Internet Protocol (IP) addresses both onsite and via Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Citrix Access Gateway (CAG). Access shall be provided through a static Uniform Resource Locator (URL) within the VA Gateway IP firewall.

2.0.2 The vendor will provide all VHA facilities with enterprise‑wide access to the ebook via a web‑based platform (Ovid). The authentication mechanism shall be implemented through federated authentication (preferred), IP-based authentication, or referrer URL authentication.

2.0.3 An unlimited number of simultaneous users must be able to access the product from any web‑enabled VA computer. Authorized remote users with VA VPN or remote authentication access shall also have equivalent use privileges. A username/password access option shall be available for remote access if required.

2.1 Accessibility, Content, and Support

2.1.1 Product is 508 compliant (http://www.section508.gov/).

2.1.2 If product is not fully 508 compliant, vendor must describe the measures being taken to achieve compliance and provide a date, within 12 months of contract award, for full compliance.

2.1.3 If no 508 compliance work is planned, vendor must document the rationale.

2.1.4 Product must allow for unlimited simultaneous users across all authenticated sites and remote VHA users.

2.1.5 Full‑text chapters must be downloadable or viewable in PDF format for ease of use and printing.

2.1.6 Content from the eBook must be available to be copy and pasted into the VA’s electronic medical record.

2.1.7 All website hosting, maintenance, and technical support for the platform and content are the responsibility of the contractor. This includes technical assistance for VHA users nationwide.

2.1.8 System downtime must be minimal. Vendor shall notify the VA Library Network Office (LNO) at vhalno@va.gov of any outages or service interruptions.

2.1.9 Text and chapters must be easily printable or downloadable for personal reference use.

2.1.10 Vendor shall respond to all technical or access inquiries within two business days.

2.1.11 Vendor shall provide enterprise‑level usage statistics to the VA LNO at vhalno@va.gov.

2.1.12 Content should be accessible through standard web browsers and a variety of mobile or tablet platforms.

Title Information Vendor will supply URL access to the following ebook title:

1. Telephone Triage Protocols for Nurses, 7th Edition Format: One‑time purchase with perpetual access.

End of Document *= Required Field

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