36C77626Q0189.docx

SUBJECT*

Pharma Drug Database (VA-26-00058501) | POP 9/25/26 - 9/24/27 | Allen/Schoenecker

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Program Contracting Activity Central

6100 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 490 Independence OH 44131

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist Andrew Allen Andrew.Allen6@va.gov 216-447-8321

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

DESCRIPTION

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is in the process of planning a requirement in which a contractor will be required to provide Pharma Drug Database Subscription. Please see Statement of Work document.

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). Although the terms "proposal" and/or "Offeror" may be used in this SS/RFI, any response will be treated as information only.

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.

Requirements:

See attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW) and list of journals requesting.

The Government anticipates soliciting a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), single award, contract with a 12-month base period and four (4) 12-month option periods.

Submittal Information:

Contractors having ability to provide the listed titles 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 Pharma Drug Database Subscription?

a. If yes, you must provide signed documentation supporting your authorization such as a notice from Pharma Drug Database or the subscriber 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 and the SOW.

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, May 08, 2026, 10:00AM EST. Responses should be emailed to Andrew Allen at Andrew.Allen6@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: 36C77626Q0189 Pharma Drug Database Subscription 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.

Sources Sought Notice Sources Sought Notice

Sources Sought Notice

Statement of Work Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Online Drug Information Resource March 2026

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), requires an enterprise-wide online subscription to a commercial off‑the‑shelf, Online Drug Information Resource (hereafter referred to as the “ODIR”). This web‑based, searchable resource shall provide a comprehensive collection of evidence‑based drug and medical information to support clinical decision-making for VA health care providers, research staff, clinical trainees, and other authorized VA personnel requiring access in the performance of their official duties throughout the VA Healthcare System.

The ODIR shall improve patient outcomes, reduce medication errors, and enhance disease management by ensuring timely, consistent, and context‑relevant clinical information. Core capabilities shall include comprehensive drug monographs; interaction checking; medication identification; IV compatibility and administration guidance; toxicology; and complementary/alternative medicines content. Primary users include pharmacists, physicians, nurse practitioners, and other allied health professionals.

The ODIR shall provide synthesized, full‑text clinical knowledge designed to support efficient, reliable decision-making across the VA healthcare system.

BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employs more than 350,000 staff across 170 VA Medical Centers, over 1,193 outpatient clinics, and additional care and administrative sites. VA requires a web-based point-of-care drug reference resource that provides authoritative, peer‑reviewed, and evidence‑based information across diverse care settings, including remote work locations.

The ODIR will serve as a primary, clinical decision-support tool for drug, disease, and toxicology information, across the enterprise to physicians, advanced practice nurses, licensed independent practitioners, and other clinical staff. It must support efficient and reliable retrieval of current drug information relevant to patient care across diverse care settings, including VA medical centers, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, and remote work locations.

The ODIR will support VA’s clinical mission to enhance care quality and promote Veteran health by providing consistent, context‑relevant information that integrates seamlessly into clinical workflows. Its use is intended to improve provider efficiency, streamline care delivery, and reduce workflow disruptions.

To align with VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) initiative, the ODIR shall be accessible from VA’s electronic health record environments (VistA Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and Oracle Cerner environments) via standardized access methods defined herein.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The VA seeks an enterprise-wide subscription with a 12-month base period and four (4) 12-month option periods, exercisable at the Government’s discretion.

Acronyms used in this SOW:

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Contractor shall provide web-based access to the ODIR 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all authorized VA staff at facilities both on the VA computer network and remotely.

2. The ODIR shall be capable of supporting many concurrent users in disparate locations with simultaneous access via the Internet. From point of initial implementation, the ODIR shall grant unlimited and simultaneous user access, and there shall be no restrictions on the number of concurrent users or the volume of page requests.

3. Users shall be able to access the ODIR from any web-enabled computer (desktop/laptop) and mobile device both onsite and remotely. This access shall include providing access to users from any desktop, laptop, or mobile computing device including handheld devices such as tablets (e.g., iPads® and Android tablets) and smartphones (e.g., iPhones® or Android) or other equivalent electronic devices.

4. The ODIR 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, and, if required, via individual account login credentials and passwords for authorized users connecting from outside the VA IP firewall.

5. The authentication mechanism shall be implemented through federated authentication (preferred), IP-based authentication, or referrer URL authentication.

6. The ODIR shall also be accessible on mobile devices via dedicated mobile applications or mobile-optimized websites, as well as on any internet-connected computer.

7. The ODIR shall provide a consistent and seamless user experience across the platforms, providing the following features for both computer systems (“PCs”) (desktops and laptops running Windows©, macOS©, or Linux©) and mobile devices (smartphones and tablets operating on iOS© or Android©).

3.0 Technical Requirements

1. The ODIR shall operate as a standalone product that does not require the VA to purchase or subscribe to any additional products or services.

2. Ability to search across all databases contained within the resource with one search term.

3. Adherence to web usability standards for navigation and layout (e.g., left-hand navigation, bolded headers, and clearly identified sub-topics.)

4. It shall include evidence-based clinical drug information.

5. Content shall be updated routinely on a weekly basis whenever applicable, with urgent safety/clinical developments published within 24 hours of validation by the board of subject matter specialists (editorial review board). Date of last update is easily located on the updated page.

6. The ODIR shall be available at no cost to all authorized users and shall, at a minimum, provide access to the following through a single interface with a unified search platform. The drug reference resource shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a) Drug Interactions

b) IV Compatibility

c) Drug ID

d) Drug Comparison

e) Neonatal and Pediatrics

f) Toxicology & Drug Product Lookup

g) Formulary

h) Drug product and pricing data

i) Calculators (e.g., unit and dose converters, medical equations, clinical criteria, ability to search by specialties, pharmacology, nursing, medical statistics, math calculator)

j) Patient Education

3.1 Core Drug Monographs ̶ including, but not limited to,

1. Dosage and administration guidelines (adult, pediatric, geriatric, renal, hepatic, other special populations) – must include standard, initial and maintenance doses,

2. All dosage forms and preparations – including package sizes available, generic drug names, cost data

3. Conversion dosages from one form to another (e.g., oral to intravenous; intravenous to oral; immediate release (IR) to sustained action (SA); SA to IR; etc.).

4. Pharmacokinetics information – including absorption, distribution, protein binding, metabolism, bioavailability, half-life elimination, time to peak, and excretion as applicable

5. Pharmacodynamics

6. Pharmacogenomics – comprehensive clinical pharmacogenomic (PGx) resource database with ability to support and expand PGx knowledge, implementation and education.

7. FDA and non-FDA indications

8. Contraindications, warnings & precautions – searchable

8.1. Do-Not-Crush – clear link available and searchable

8.2. Do-Not-Confuse, Sound-alike, and Look-alike - clear link available and searchable

8.3. Toxicology/poison control management/overdose signs/symptoms

9. Adverse effects, side effects, risk assessment

10. Clearly stated monitoring parameters for all clinical practices, especially nursing and pharmacy practices

11. Off-label uses with evidence grading

12. Active ingredients and formulation, drug excipient information (beyond active ingredient and dyes)

13. Mechanism of action & pharmacology

14. Drug interactions

15. Population-specific considerations (pregnancy, lactation, geriatrics, pediatrics, renal/hepatic impairment, etc.)

16. Storage and stability

17. Hazardous drug status and handling considerations

18. Include pharmacologic class (when applicable)

19. A chemotherapy regimen resource that includes label and off-label oncology indications, dosing, administration, combination regimes, precautions, adjustments.

3.2 Drug Interactions

1. Drug interactions (including drug-drug, drug-food, drug-herbal, drug-allergy, drug-lab, drug-tobacco, drug-pregnancy, and drug-lactation).

2. Provide an advanced, comprehensive, and searchable tool for identifying drug interactions and IV compatibility, with drilled-down capabilities for additional information or references.

3. Interaction severity classification & management guidance.

3.4 Intravenous (IV) Compatibility

1. IV Compatibility and administration guidelines

2. Intravenous admixture compatibility - Provide detailed intravenous drug administration information, including rate, dilution concentration, appropriate diluents, stability, and any special handling requirements (e.g., in-line filter, do not shake, refrigerate, protect from light, low-sorb tubing, etc.)

3. Treatment of IV extravasation – chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy medications

4. Present results in a table form that can be filtered, one-sheet, printable.

5. Conversion between drugs in the same therapeutic class (i.e., formulary changes and patient tolerability guidance)

3.5 Drug Identification

1. Drug identification tools for both U.S. and foreign countries, with search fields by product characteristics (e.g., drug/product imprint, formulation, shape, color, name, manufacturer, imagery for identification verification)

2. Reverse lookup by description or inscription

3.6 Toxicology

1. Poison and toxicology information for management and treatment protocols for exposures to drugs, plants, household products, and other substances.

2. Poison management resource providing comprehensive coverage of toxic agents, overdose management, antidote information, and exposures to household and chemical agents.

3. Overdose and toxicity reversal protocols, including monitoring, supportive care guidance

4. Comprehensive toxicology information, detailed reproductive risk data, covering a full range health effects from drugs, chemicals, and physical environmental agents.

5. Comprehensive toxicology information, that includes antidote information and emergency treatment recommendation.

3.7 Medication Safety & Alerts

1. Black box warnings, Risk, Evaluation, and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) requirements, storage requirements

2. Precautionary alerts (e.g., medication errors; pregnancy, lactation, and teratogenic effects)

3. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

4. Drug shortage and/or recall information

3.8 Supply & Formulary Information

1. Dosage forms, manufacturers, NDC codes, unit pricing

2. On/off formulary status with therapeutic alternatives

3.9 Clinical Calculators & Clinical Decision Support Tools

1. Calculators (e.g., unit and dose converters, medical equations, clinical criteria, ability to search by specialties, pharmacology, nursing, medical statistics, math calculator)

2. Dosage calculators (e.g., creatinine clearance, body surface area (BSA), ICU-specific drug calculators), and laboratory calculators

3. Renal/hepatic dosing calculators, body-weight adjustments infusion rates

4. Customized reports comparing drug attributes, side effects, and contraindication

5. Advanced drug interaction tools, dietary interactions, and allergy interactions

6. Comparative drug evaluation and comparative efficacy evaluation tables with primary literature summaries

7. Links to primary literature and clinical guidelines (including hyperlinks to PubMed or primary literature) to support recommendations and therapeutic indications.

8. Tools for medication administration recommendations, warnings, contraindications, and pharmacogenomics

3.10 Patient Education

1. Patient medication and condition information customizable handouts in English and Spanish

2. Access to FDA-approved medication guides

3.11 Alternative/Complementary Medicine

1. Evidence-based monographs on herbal supplements and natural products

2. Complementary and alternative medicine, including international coverage with an international directory providing formulas, synonyms and therapeutic courses of drugs and drug derivatives.

3.12 Special Populations

1. Includes content related to, but not limited to, geriatrics, pregnancy and lactation, neonatal and pediatric, chemotherapy, renal and hepatic impairment.

2. ICU-focused critical care content (e.g., high alert medications, titration protocols, sedation/vasopressor guidelines)

3. Pregnancy and lactation information, including teratogenic risk and content equivalent to Brigg’s Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation.

3.13 Updates and Revisions

1. Updates and revisions maintained by a review board of allied health professionals. Routine weekly content updates

2. Urgent safety/clinical developments published within 24 hours of validation by the board of subject specialists (editorial review board).

4.0 Accessibility & Integration

1. The ODIR shall be web-based with Internet and Intranet capabilities and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via a static URL within the VA network and remote access through Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Citrix Access Gateway (CAG).

2. The ODIR shall be accessible through the VA Gateway Internet Protocol (IP) addresses both onsite and via VPN and CAG. Access shall be provided through static Uniform Resource Locator (URL) within the VA Gateway IP firewall, and, when required, through individual login credentials for authorized users connecting from outside the VA IP firewall.

3. The authentication mechanism shall use federated authentication as the primary preferred method. If federated authentication is not technically feasible, the Contractor shall provide referrer URL authentication or IP‑based authentication may be used as alternatives.

4. The ODIR shall be available as a mobile app to support point-of-care decisions-making and shall be fully compatibility with iOS and Android devices.

5. The ODIR shall integrate with VA Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems to enable easy access to the resources via static URL, providing context -appropriate access within clinical workflows.

5.0 Patient Education

1. Provide consumer-appropriate health information on medications, procedures, diseases states, condition information sheets, and alternative products.

2. Patient Education materials will be in both English and Spanish at no higher than a sixth reading level, in alignment with recommendations from the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Materials will be printable and customizable to meet individual needs.

3. Ability to “brand” both web and printed patient education materials with VA logos and contact information.

4. Provide access to FDA-approved medication guides.

6.0 Training Requirements

1. The contractor shall provide training in multiple formats to accommodate end users of all experience levels. Training shall be hands-on, web-based, or delivered via Microsoft Office Teams or similar platforms at no additional cost.

2. The Contractor shall provide trainings at least once per year and shall furnish all associated training materials.

3. Upon request, the Contractor shall provide live remote and on‑site training, tutorials, webinars, briefings, and updates on the use of the ODIR to facilities within the VA Network, including specialized sessions for VA library staff and VA pharmacy staff.

4. The Contractor shall provide synchronous and asynchronous training through national webinars and online tutorials.

5. All training activities shall be coordinated through the VA Library Network Office.

7.0 System Maintenance & 508 Compliance

1. The Contractor shall be responsible for all site content, maintenance activities, and technical support, and shall perform all necessary maintenance, system updates, and upgrades to ensure continuous system functionality throughout the contract period at no additional cost to the VA.

2. The Contractor shall provide written email notification of any scheduled maintenance at least five (5) business days in advance to the designated points of contact, including the Program Manager, Contracting Officer Representative (COR), and the Library Network Office. Weekend scheduling is preferred.

3. Browser compatibility with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Firefox and other most used web browsers, with cookies enabled. To ensure privacy, the system must use session cookies rather than persistent cookies.

4. The product shall comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards for all functionalities. Vendor shall provide accessibility compliance documentation upon request.

8.0 Product Support and Reporting

1. The Contractor shall promptly address and resolve any questions, issues, or problems reported during system use. After-hours support for system outages shall be provided for critical system outages, where the ODIR is completely inaccessible, nonfunctional, or unable to deliver essential content required for clinical decision-making, patient care, or operational activities (e.g., system failures, platform errors, or interruptions originating from the Contractor’s systems or services).

2. The Contractor shall provide written instructions and a telephone number for reporting outages. This information shall be made available to the Library Network Office and to staff at VA healthcare facilities and network program offices nationwide.

3. The Contractor shall provide technical support with a (2) hour response time from the moment a VA facility reports platform issues. Contractor support shall continue until the issue is fully resolved. If the ODIR becomes inaccessible due to a Contractor-side problem, the Contractor shall notify the VA Library Network Office within (2) hours and provide an estimated time to resolution. If the outage is expected to exceed 24 hours, the Contractor shall provide an alternative method for accessing the information at no additional cost to the VA.

4. The Contractor shall notify the VA Library Network Office within (2) hours of any updates to the ODIR’s URL; advanced notice is preferred whenever feasible.

5. The Contractor shall provide direct technical and customer support for concurrent active users as needed. Customer service shall be available to troubleshoot website and connectivity issues via telephone and email. Any issues not resolved within one (1) business day shall be reported by the Contractor to the Library Network Office (LNO) at vhalno@va.gov and/or another email address designated by LNO.

6. The Contractor shall provide the Library Network Office with technical reference documentation that includes instructions for system use, and troubleshooting. A designated account representative shall be assigned to support the Library Network Office or the Contracting Officer Representative in addressing any concerns that may arise during the term of the contract.

7. A single primary (and alternate) contractor point of contact for customer service issues shall be named, available by both phone and email, and assigned to the VA Library Network Office (LNO) Program Manager or their representative. These points of contact shall be available via telephone and email during normal business hours and shall not have excessive business travel or all-day training commitments. Notification of any scheduled out of office time must be communicated to the LNO Program Manager with a minimum of 7 days’ notice. The contractor’s primary and alternate points of contact shall be fully knowledgeable of and familiar with the physical and administrative structure of the Veterans Health Administration. See: https://www.va.gov/landing2_locations.htm.

9.0 Usage Statistics

Upon request, the Contractor shall provide:

1. Monthly usage statistics for each facility, including the Network Program Offices.

2. Usage reports shall be delivered via email or through login access to a designated website. Reports may include, but are not limited to, the number of sessions, searches conducted, total document retrievals, and usage by component, title, or VA sites.

3. The Contractor shall provide the COR/Program Official with tracking tools that supply include monthly usage statistics for all system components, including session counts, search counts, total searches or content views, components accessed, access point (e.g., web vs. mobile app, on-site vs remote/VPN), and facility-level usage metrics.

10.0 Compliance and Regulatory Standards

1. HIPAA compliance and adherence to all VA information security standards.

2. The system shall undergo regular updates and improvements to remain aligned with current clinical guidelines and regulatory requirements.

11.0 Academic Use Permissions

1. VA clinical staff, research staff, and teaching staff require access to the ODIR clinical content for purposes of sharing clinical knowledge to: support VA patient care quality, foster an environment of collegial continuous learning, deliver presentations at academic and professional conferences internal and external to VA, and provide demonstrations, presentations and other didactic teaching to trainees such as medical students, clinical Residents and Fellows, research interns and trainees, and to VA staff enrolled in VA created and/or VA based training courses for federal staff, including federal partners and temporary trainees.

2. To this end, the vendor's agreement with the Government shall permit authorized VA users to share provided drug reference resource content — including but not limited to clinical reference material, images, and graphics —with other VA users, federal partner staff and trainees, as described in the preceding paragraph. Content sharing may occur through various methods, including but not limited to, live or recorded presentations delivered in person or via telephonic or web-based platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Webex, or Zoom. Such sharing shall occur at no personal financial cost to recipients and with no personal financial gain to presenters. Content may also be shared via email among VA colleagues, federal partners, and trainees. The ODIR content used for these purposes shall be properly attributed to the resource as the original source.

12.0 Documents and Policies (Documents, policies, etc. which affect this requirement)

1. Joint Commission Resources Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals, Information Management (IM.03.01.01), dated 2022, https://vaww.qps.med.va.gov/divisions/qm/ea/jointcommission.aspx IM.03.01.01 : Knowledge-based information resources are available, current, and authoritative.

1. The hospital provides access to knowledge-based information resources 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. VHA Directive 1108.07, General Pharmacy Service Requirements, Appendix A, A-3, dated November 28, 2022, retrieved from: https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=10045

(e) PROFESSIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

(1) Information is central to the practice of modern pharmacy. Pharmacy is a profession where clinical pharmacists apply clinical drug information that directly impacts patient care. Pharmacy has evolved into a clinical knowledge-based profession where the clinical pharmacist interprets and uses drug data aimed at the optimal utilization of drugs in patients. Pharmacy Service gathers and maintains current information on drug products, pharmaceutical techniques, clinical drug therapeutics, adverse events, and other developments in the use of drugs.

(2) The pharmacy service must maintain sufficient resources to complete the patient care, education, and research missions of the pharmacy program.

3. ASHP Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Residency Programs, dated effective July 2023, retrieved from: https://www.ashp.org/-/media/assets/professional-development/residencies/docs/examples/ASHP-Accreditation-Standard-for-Postgraduate-Residency-Programs-effective-July-2023.pdf

5.1.d Infrastructure: The pharmacy department has sufficient resources to support its work including:

5.1.d.1 Access to appropriate resources necessary to provide the scope of services.

Guidance:

· 5.1.d.1: Pharmacy employees have access to resources needed to perform daily tasks, including the electronic health record/pharmacy database, patient assessment and clinical decision support tools, drug information resources, equipment, and technology.”

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