Synopsis_-_Medical_Second_Opinion_Washington DC

1. The US Department of Labor intends to solicit proposals for Medical Second Opinion services, in support of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and the District office in Washington DC.

2. The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is responsible for administration of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). The Act provides for medical benefits, wage-loss replacement, survivors' annuities, and other benefits to employees of the United States or their survivors when the employee is injured or dies in the course of employment. The OWCP, through the Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC), coordinates the activities of twelve District Offices. These District Offices have direct responsibility for processing claims. The District Office functional operations include: adjudicating incoming claims to determine eligibility for compensation payments; managing claims in which eligibility has been established; determining wage-loss compensation payments for covered disability or death; and processing payments for allowed medical and vocational rehabilitation services incurred in the treatment of injured workers covered under the Act.

3. Under the FECA, medical care and compensation for wage loss and for permanent physical impairment are provided to Federal employees who are injured in the performance of duty. The medical evaluation of workers who submit compensation claims is part of the adjudication and case management process. A medical evaluation may be necessary: (1) to determine the causal relationship between work factors and the disease or injury; (2) to assess the extent and duration of the physical impairment or disability; (3) to determine the appropriateness of therapy, including some surgical procedures; or (4) to determine when recovery has occurred and a return to work is feasible.

In certain instances, the DFEC must refer a claimant to a specialist in an appropriate field for a second medical opinion. The second opinion is based on and will include a review of appropriate claim file material, a physical or psychiatric examination of the claimant, the performance of any clinical or laboratory tests deemed necessary in the diagnostic work-up, and a narrative medical report responding to specific questions posed by a claims examiner. In addition to specific questions, the claims examiner provides a Statement of Accepted Facts (SOAF) which contains the information concerning events, working conditions and employment data accepted as factual by the DFEC. As such, the SOAF is the framework which the physician must use in answering the specific questions and in developing the evaluation report.

4. The two most important elements of the service to be delivered under this contract are the quality of the medical reports and the timeliness of their delivery. To be acceptable, the medical reports must present comprehensive, unequivocal, unbiased and well-reasoned narratives that are consistent with physical or psychological findings, that are confined to the framework of the SOAF, and that address all questions posed by the claims examiner. The timely scheduling of appointments for examinations limits inconvenience to FECA claimants. The timely delivery of medical reports contributes to prompt and accurate adjudication of outstanding compensation issues.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this requirement is to procure Medical second opinion services (SECOP) for affected claimants who reside within the area served by OWCP’s District Office in Washington, DC.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The period of performance shall be twelve-months from the date of contract award. Four option periods, or up to 12 months each, are available for the Contracting Officer to exercise at the discretion of the Government.

The Period of Performance reads as follows:

The place of performance shall be at the medical offices/facilities of the Contractor’s examining physicians.