36C79121R0008 QA_2 Final_V3 10052021 SMY.pdf

Questions and Answers 2

36C79121R0008

Date: 10/5/2021

*The answers to questions do not themselves change the terms of the solicitation and that any changes to the terms of the solicitation are expressly and separately indicated as such.

Q1 Does the VA require a particular cellular technology (3G? 4G?) or carrier?

A1 No. Vendor’s proposal must support the PWS requirements.

Q2 Does the requirement to “capture, store, and transmit any entered response, even if the patient fails to complete an element or a session” include both manual and direct/wireless captured biometric readings, or just patient responses to DMP questions?

A2 Yes, the requirement applies to both. Reference Attachment I 2.1.A – responses (DMPs, biometric, messaging)

Q3 Is the CCVW ever considered a “patient interface” and is it required to be 508 compliant?

A3 The CCWV is not a patient interface, however 508 compliance is required. Refer to section 5.5 Section 508 Compliance of the PWS.

Q4 In requirement “N”, please provide some clarity on the device requirements, bandwidth requirements, and connection type of the specified “modem.”

A4 Refer to attachment I section 4.3.E. Vendor’s proposed modem must be sufficient to connect proposed platforms and peripherals.

Q5 2.1P and 2.1Q seem to be contradictory. Is Spanish language delivery mandatory for interfaces or just messaging to patients?

A5 Both are required.

Q6 Would the VA please clarify the usage of "dialects" -- is support for multiple distinct dialects of Spanish required or should "language" be substituted for "dialects" in this requirement?

A6 Currently there is one additional Spanish dialect for Puerto Rico. Other dialects could be requested in the future based on patient needs.

Q7 Would the VA please provide the minimum supported version required for both iOS and Android versions of the mobile app?

A7 Refer to section 3.1.A #8

Q8 If vendor’s system includes a patient portal and/or mobile applications that collect survey responses, is it acceptable if those modules are accessible from the public internet?

A8 Please refer to Attachment I section 6.2.A for CCWV requirements.

Q9 Two Factor Authentication is not the same technology as Single Sign-On. Please clarify what 2FA systems VA uses and also what SSO technologies are required.

A9 Refer to section 3.1.A #2 for requirements.

Q10 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para B lists Internet Explorer as a major browser platform and that the CCVW must be compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer (in addition to Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome). However, Microsoft has announced that support for Internet Explorer will end in June 2022 and is recommending that all users switch to Edge. Is compatibility with Internet Explorer a requirement for the CCVW Platform? If it is a requirement, which version(s) of Internet Explorer?

A10 Internet Explorer will not be required after MS ends support in June of 2022.

Q11 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para C requires “cross-coverage”. If a system has user accounts which can be granted access to various groups of patients, does that satisfy the requirement?

A11 Proposal must meet requirements in attachment I section 6.2.C.

Q12 Is the interface requirement outlined in 6.2D bi-directional? Does the CCWV system need to send data out to, or just import data from, other systems?

A12 Refer to section 3.2.C in the PWS.

Q13 Is the Integration Control Number and/or Electronic Data Interchange Personal Identifier assigned by the EMR or by the CCVW Platform?

A13 EMR.

Q14 Could a single patient have both an Integration Control Number and an Electronic Data Interchange Personal Identifier?

A14 Yes, patients will have both.

Q15 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para G refers to a “longitudinal display of data for all currently enrolled patients”. Is this requirement to see longitudinal data for all/multiple patients on the screen in aggregate or rather than any individual patient record should display data?

A15 The longitudinal data describes individual patients.

Q16 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para G refers to patient data retrieval regardless of data center, but the RFP mentions that the system would be hosted at one primary data center. Would the CCVW system have multiple production instances in multiple data centers?

A16 Please refer to Section 3.1.A #4 VA Data Center Environment and Sustainment, of the PWS.

Q17 Are Category of Care selections always done manually by a Care Coordinator?

A17 Yes.

Q18 Section B2 4b states that software must be certified on "Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista) and future versions." Is this a requirement or does this require updating?

A18 Section B.2 is a standard clause in all VA IT contracts and is not tailorable.

Q19 What is the format and length of task order numbers?

A19 Reference Attachment Q.

Q20 How are task order numbers used in the patient care workflow?

A20 Task order numbers are used to track equipment ordered for each patient.

Q21 What reporting around task order numbers is required?

A21 Reference Attachment Q.

Q22 Are task order numbers always entered manually by the Care Coordinator or could they be imported from another system?

A22 Task orders are currently manually entered by the Care Coordinator.

Q23 Does the VA require any other frequencies for DMP sessions besides daily and weekly required?

Every single day, every other day, every week day, etc.

A23 Yes, Care Coordinators determine the frequency required.

Q24 Does requirement 6.2L state that, if a patient is using a Hub device, the DMP questions are answered via the Hub itself and that the question answering process and vital sign collection process are integrated and cohesive?

A24 Refer to attachment I section 6.2.L.

Q25 What changes must be included in the Audit Log? Just which user switched the patient from protocol A1 to C3? Or what questions changed in the protocol?

A25 All changes along with the identity of the Care Coordinator.

Q26 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para M refers to Objective Data. Are patient-specific alerts not required for Subjective Data?

A26 Reference attachment I section 6.2.N & 6.2.R.

Q27 Are Patient Risk Stratifications (no/low (Green), medium (Yellow), high (Red) and suicide (Purple)) done manually by a Care Coordinator or programmatically by the software based on Objective Data?

A27 Both programmatically by the software and manually set by the Care Coordinator

Q28 In requirement 6.2Q, is the 90-day data display for one patient at a time, or will multiple patients at a time be required in this view?

A28 Individual patients.

Q29 In requirement 6.2V, what is meant by “clinician’s display” in the requirement that Care Coordinators can determine “what data is presented on the clinician’s display, which patients can be displayed, and which data elements will be shown”?

A29 The Clinician’s display is the CCWV.

Q30 In requirement 6.2V, what is meant by “aggregate” in the requirement that “Displays the data collected for all patients in the panel with the ability to sort and aggregate for the whole panel”?

A30 Sort and combine data by groups.

Q31 In requirement 6.2V, is the requirement that data from multiple patients must be blended/averaged?

A31 No, currently that is not a requirement.

Q32 Attachment I makes reference to “Care Coordinators” and to “clinicians”. Are these distinct user types? If yes, do clinicians require an entirely separate User Interface or can they share the main UI used by Care Coordinators to track patient status and to view patient details?

A32 No, Care Coordinators and Clinicians are the same user type. However, some user types may require view only access.

Q33 In requirement 6.2V, if data on the patient dashboard is displayed in columns (Name, DMP, Last Response, etc.), is it a requirement that users can change the column order?

A33 Yes, care coordinators will determine the order of display elements for patient data.

Q34 Attachment I, Section 6.2, para X - is the reference to “Emergency Patient Classification risk stratification level (1, 2, or 3)”, the same risk stratification mentioned para R (no/low (Green), medium (Yellow), high (Red) and suicide (Purple))? If not, is this Emergency Patient Classification always set manually by a Care Coordinator?

A34 No it is not the same as the Red, Green, Yellow and Purple alerts. Yes, it is manually set by the Care Coordinator.

Q35 Is the requirement outlined in 6.3 para B to delete a read message from the patient’s device satisfied by only providing access to messages via a web browser (and therefore not stored on the device) and/or via a mobile app that requires a patient specific login?

A35 VA will evaluate desired capabilities upon receipt of a proposal/solution.

Q36 Would the VA please provide clarity of the usage of the term “modem” in the context of Requirement 9.2B?

A36 Vendor’s proposed modem must be sufficient to connect proposed platforms and peripherals.

Q37 What level of accreditation will be required for Development and Pre-Production environments?

Same as Production?

A37 Accreditation will be the same for Pre-production and production environments.

Q38 Is Off-Site storage required

A38 Data must remain on VA servers (primary and alternate)/VAEC.

Q39 Please confirm that BigFix and Nessus are provided by the VA.

A39 Yes to both.

Q40 Understanding the system categorization is MHM, what overlays will be required? Is there an inheritance guidance from the data center for controls (example: physical controls)

A40 That will be determined during the ATO process. Yes, there is inheritance guidance that will be provided during the ATO process (after award).

Q41 Is a PenTest required – will that be a government action or contractor?

A41 Yes, Pen test is VA provided.

Q42 Referring to GSF CLIN (1-1a or 1-1b); Does this mean only one at a time and we will deploy on-prem and then do a cloud migration at some point? Or that VA will award the cloud CLIN only and will be operational once ATO is achieved for the cloud solution?

A42 Refer to section E.10 Evaluation factors- "VA will consider its internal readiness to implement the cloud solution and reserves the right to award either “on premise” or “cloud” solutions, depending on which is in the best interest of the Government.”

Q43 Since the VA prohibits installation of contractor-owned software on the VA network, will the VA be purchasing the proposed solution software and entering into a licensing agreement? If so, under which CLIN should we price this purchase? It could be sold to VA, in this context, for $1, but a transaction needs to occur for VA to technically own the software.

A43 General Service Fee shall include items outlined in section 3.1.C “General Service Fee” (items 1-8) Please read entire section. (refer to section 3.1.C.8.n specifically)

Q44 Is the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration information up to date? IE7, Vista, and XP are all no longer supported by Microsoft. According to NIST, it is no longer called the FDCC anymore; it is the USGCB.

A44 Please reference attachment E - VA Windows Server Standard Baseline dated February 25, 2019.

VA guidance maybe updated as further guidance is released.

Q45 What is the average number of months that a patient is on service in the HT Program?

A45 For Veterans on Health Promotion Disease Prevention and Low Acuity / Low Intensity conditions current metrics estimate that on average patients stay on the program for approximately 6 months. For other chronic conditions the average is 9- 12 months. However, there are some outliers who are dependent on the program that may remain enrolled for several years.

Q46 Is this deliverable part of or the same as the “Configuration Management Plan” (Attachment B)?

Please clarify. If not, please confirm this plan is not due with the proposal.

A46 They are two separate deliverables. Please provide the DRAFT baseline configuration and implementation plan with the proposal for evaluation purposes. You must also Submit a copy of your company’s organizational change/configuration management policy using the template provided (Attachment B).After award, Vendors will receive further guidance during the ATO process regarding the final CMP.

Star M. Yeo Contracting Officer