BNJ_PEXIP_CCPC cdpV2_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

BRAND NAME

CONNECTED CARE PRODUCT CATALOG

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Acquisition Operations

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 10300 Spotsylvania Ave, Suite 400 Fredericksburg, VA 22408

2. Description of Action:

The purpose of this action is to justify VA’s need for Pexip brand name items for the Connected Care Product Catalog (CCPC) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Contracts, specifically a commercial-off-the-shelf software (COTS) software license, which includes maintenance and technical support, that is used to deliver VA health care services to Veterans. VA’s connected care technology network includes the combined VA ecosystem of clinical video equipment and software; store and forward technologies; web and mobile health applications; software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies; commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software products; mobile medical devices, peripherals, and wearables; remote patient monitoring technologies; online health portals; future connected care technologies; and ancillary items. The network supports the delivery of Mobile Applications and Telehealth services, including Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT) via the Clinical Enterprise Video Network (CEVN), Store and Forward Telehealth (SFT), and Home Telehealth (HT).

This Brand Name Justification (BNJ) for brand name products only covers a portion of the procurement (1 out of 266 contract line items) and the brand name, as detailed below, is required for seamless operation of the connected care technology network.

Aside from the 1 line item and separate BNJs, the procurement will be solicited as Full and Open Competition and conducted utilizing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 in conjunction with FAR Part 13.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

OCC established a connected care technology network for the distribution of health care, self-care, and related services that consists of telehealth devices, web and mobile medical applications, and online health platforms. These connected care technologies expand the operations of VA’s expansive health care network by remotely connecting Veterans with health care professionals who can best meet their needs. The scale of VA’s connected care program and its basis is unique. The products and services provided by OCC comprise the largest, most innovative virtual care program in the US, used throughout all 50 states and US territories.

Historically, all products and contractor support for VA’s connected care technology network have been delivered through the single-award Clinical Enterprise Video Network (CEVN) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) (VA119-15A-0131), awarded in 2015, and the follow-on, single-award OCC Equipment and Services Transition Requirements Contract (36C10G21D0016), awarded in 2021. Acquisition planning for future connected care technology network support has resulted in the development of three distinct and separate contracts to leverage innovation and flexibility to meet mission needs by establishing:

a) Program Support Integration (PSI), planned as a single-award IDIQ responsible for all program and project management functions required by OCC, including program integration and program support; project, release, and implementation management; communications; and training.

b) Connected Care Integrated Network (CCIN), planned as a single-award IDIQ responsible for all technical support services required by OCC, including product ordering, inventory, and asset management; help desk support; connected care technology software and mobile medical application design, development, enhancement, and remediation; infrastructure and architecture support.

c) Connected Care Products Catalog (CCPC), planned as a catalog of multiple BPAs and outlined below.

VHA will utilize the CCIN contract for product ordering, distribution, and inventory and asset management services. The CCIN Contractor will place orders against the CCPC Product List, which will be formed by awarding Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), suppliers, and authorized resellers of connected care technologies (referred to as “BPA Holders”).

This procurement will establish multiple BPAs in direct support of VA’s Connected Care Program. This procurement is a key element in the success of the program as the BPAs will provide the mechanism that will supply connected care products for distribution to VHA facilities located in the United States (US) and US Territories. The CCPC Product List will include supplies awarded under BPAs.

The period of performance (PoP) is anticipated to be 60 months from the date of award.

This BNJ covers the Pexip brand name item throughout the PoP. The justification for the brand name item is included in the sections below:

Product Description: Since 2017, Pexip, a virtualized meeting platform, has been the video conferencing software solution that allows VA providers and patients to securely participate in live-video medical appointments. The Pexip video conferencing solution is deeply integrated into an end-to-end video telehealth customer experience that is branded by VA as VA Video Connect (VVC). VVC runs on VA-procured Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) hardware. VA has integrated Pexip into VA’s cloud-based solution and deployed it in Amazon Web Service (AWS) as an expansion due to the COVID-19 response. VVC needs to maintain compatibility with industry innovation, standards, and end-user devices. Specific to telehealth, the Pexip software solution

The brand name product identified in the CCPC solicitation is proprietary to the manufacturer listed above. As described and justified more fully in Section 3, the brand name product is a major component of VA’s connected care technology network and is essential to the Government’s requirements. Based on extensive market research, as described in Section 8 of this document, it was determined that only Pexip can meet the Government’s requirements. If VA were to acquire a different brand video solution for use within VVC, it would require duplication of extensive integration efforts and those duplicated costs would not be recovered through competition.

Use of other than the identified brand name product would cause a significant interruption to direct patient care, create unnecessary risks to patient safety, and introduce potential security vulnerabilities, at a level unacceptable to VA’s mission, and the connected care technology network. Additionally, the Government would experience a significant increase in costs associated with delays in the delivery of connected care technology products and services and a disruption of VA’s ability to deliver virtual patient care.

During a time of growth of connected care provided by VA, including the significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, any delays and/or disruptions to the connected care technology network would have an even more dramatic negative impact on Veterans’ access to health care. This impact is even greater in rural areas where VA health clinics are not easily available, requiring Veterans to physically travel long distances to VA locations or receive care in the community, resulting in increased costs to the Government for reimbursements both in Veterans’ travel fees and private care providers and their facilities.

Use of any other brand name would cripple the operation of the current connected care technology network. Integration of new technologies other than those required by this justification into a new connected care technology network would cause redevelopment of significant portions of VA’s connected care infrastructure, resulting in a monumental duplication of costs and a level of effort that would be almost impossible to recover through price reductions achieved through competition. The aftermath of this would result in an unprecedented cessation of virtual care services as well as mandated requirements for OCC to provide telehealth services as a result of the CARES Act, MISSION Act, Hannon Act, and others.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

Market research was conducted as set forth in Section eight of this document. Four separate Requests for Information (RFI) have been posted to the public, as well as extensive research of Federally approved, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-certified, and VA-approved equipment and associated services. As required by FAR 5.201, this action will be synopsized through SAM (http://sam.gov/). In addition, this justification will be published in accordance with FAR 6.305(c). The solicitation shall be provided to the public via Contract Opportunities (https://sam.gov/content/opportunities) to reasonably ensure proposals are received from vendors who can fulfill the requirement.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Price:

The Government anticipates the price for this requirement will be fair and reasonable. The Government may utilize historical pricing, commercially available pricelists, and comparison of proposed pricing received in response to the solicitation. The Government, in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b)(2), may also use various price analysis techniques and procedures and reserves the right to do so to ensure a fair and reasonable price is obtained.

8. Market Research:

Market research was conducted from July 2021 to February 2023. VA issued three Requests for Information (RFI) (July 2021, October 2021, and December 2021) utilizing the NAICS code 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing. These are commercial products. The most applicable Product Service Code (PSC) is 6515 – Medical and Surgical Instruments, Equipment, and Supplies, specifically as it relates to products that support patient care.

The RFI dataset from Dec 2021 included responses from 4 companies. An analysis of the RFI revealed that 3 of the 4 respondents indicated they can provide 100% of the parts list, including all brand name equipment and services identified in this document, with existing distributor agreements or ones that can be obtained, indicating that the Government will get significant competition for items identified in this brand name justification.

On January 25, 2023, SAC posted a Special Notice to SAM.gov with the draft Statement of Work and the draft Product Catalog to receive additional feedback from industry. This notice generated a total of nineteen questions from one large, one small, and one SDVOSB business that informed the SOW and the product groupings within the catalog. Additionally, an internet search performed in February 2023 showed that there are multiple reseller sources capable of providing Pexip products.

Also as required as part of the market research process, the following databases were queried:

Services on the Procurement List maintained by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, known as Ability One (FAR subpart 8.7) http://www.abilityone.gov/procurement_list/index.html;

VetBiz databases (IAW VAAR 810.001-70);

GSA eLibrary databases;

Dynamic Small Business Search.

9. Other Facts:

Not applicable.

10. Actions to Increase Competition:

The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable a deviation from the brand name requirement for future actions to be competed. VA will continue to monitor market trends and new/emerging products, looking for compatible and more advanced technologies to meet its needs.