DYS Electronic Medical Records Bidders Conference Notes - Posted.doc

RFR DYS POS 2023-08

ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS

BIDDERS CONFERENCE NOTES

From October 17, 2022 Opening Statements:

On Monday, October 17, 2022 The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS or the Department) hosted a Bidders Conference for the DYS Electronic Medical Records, Request For Responses (RFR).

The handout entitled ‘Bidders Conference Handout - DYS Electronic Medical Records, Request For Responses- POSTED’ (see Icon at bottom of the last page of this document) was distributed and discussed in detail. Specifically:

· RFR TIMEFRAMES and DATES

· PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

· RFR OVERVIEW

· PRICING

· EVALUATION CRITERIA

Questions and Answers:

The following questions were asked during the Bidders Conference:

Q:

Who is DYS Healthcare Provider?

A:

Each DYS Region is serviced by an individual Healthcare Services Contract.

Metro Region - Boston Children’s Hospital

Central Region - UMass Memorial Healthcare

Southeast Region - Health Imperatives

Northeast and Western Regions - Justice Resource Institute (JRI)

Q:

Who is the Lab Services Provider?

A:

Quest Diagnostics and Baystate Hospital Lab

Q:

Who are the Pharmacy providers?

A:

DYS attempts to stay with one pharmacy per region. Main providers are Pelmed Pharmacy and Apothecare, Inc.

Q:

Are there healthcare beds for long term committed youth?

A:

No, youth that require hospitalization are taken into the community.

NOTE:

Each DYS program, has a medical office in the building. Primary care services are provided in this space including: health assessments and screenings upon arrival to a program, episodic visits for acute illness and injury, routine visits for annual physical exams, follow-up for chronic conditions, vision screenings and immunizations.

Visits with psychiatric prescribers also happen in these spaces.

Mobile dental and ophthalmology exams might be performed in the medical office, or in adjacent spaces.

Paper medical charts are currently kept and include consents signed by parents/legal guardians and paper medication administration records completed by direct care staff in programs. Youth are sent out into the community for emergency care, radiology exams and specialist visits, and records of these visits are kept in their paper chart as well.

Q:

Is dental care part of this RFR?

A:

No. DYS has a mobile dental clinic that is not part of this RFR.

Q:

Does DYS do electronic prescriptions?

A:

Yes, that is required by the Commonwealth.

Q:

Who prescribes controlled substances?

A:

Most of the healthcare staff can prescribe.

Q:

How many Providers prescribe?

A:

There are 50-60 eligible prescribers statewide.

Q:

Is there an estimate of annual visits divided by Primary care and behavioral health?

A:

Average number of medical encounters statewide is around 3,000 per month (including medical intakes and physical examinations). About 10% of these encounters are behavioral health – related.

Q:

Are there scanning requirements for the paper files?

A:

The files for current youth would need to be captured in the electronic files, but the majority of the paper files are historical files of youth who have left DYS. DYS is not looking to scan historical files at this time.

Q:

Are there types of certifications/accreditation required?

A:

DYS contracted health care providers follow state and federal regulations: MA Board of Registration in Medicine, Nursing. MA Department of Public Health, MassHealth, DYS, Department of Early Education & Care, guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), including Bright Futures standards for primary care, and OSHA.

Q:

Are there Interface requirements?

A:

Yes, in order to meet the state requirement, however DYS is not looking to interface with outside agencies/hospitals. The agency contracted to provide the services in this procurement, may need to interface with MassHealth at some point to get maximum FFP from the Federal Government.

Q:

Will DYS need a pharmacy interface?

A:

The Department of Youth Services is still evaluating its needs in this regard.

Q:

Why not go directly to an EHR System?

A:

DYS is looking for help evaluating and selecting a system.

Q:

Can an EHR system provider submit a response?

A:

Yes, DYS will review all proposed solutions.

Q:

Are you looking for Subject Matter Experts and a solution, or just Subject Matter Experts?

A:

DYS needs help evaluating our needs and what is the best solution.

Q:

Maybe DYS needs tools and functionality – like an HIE system - instead of an EHR system? Would The Department consider this option?

A:

This question is currently under review.

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RFR DYS POS 2023-08

ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS

BIDDERS CONFERENCE

RFR TIMEFRAMES

DATES

Posted

10/4/22

DEADLINE DATE

11/14/22

Evaluation/Contract Negotiations thru 12/16/22

Targeted Award Date

1/2/23

Proposals are limited to thirty (30) pages plus any applicable appendices.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Electronic Submissions - Effective July 1, 2014, all procurements posted on COMMBUYS, known as Bids, require the submission of electronic responses, known as Quotes. To submit an electronic Quote Respondents must register and maintain an active COMMBUYS Seller subscription account. Questions regarding COMMBUYS should be directed to the COMMBUYS Help Desk at commbuys@state.ma.us.

DYS has attached a job aid to this RFR with instructions on how to submit a Quote in COMMBUYS.

RFR OVERVIEW

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS or the Department) is seeking proposals for services to assist in the evaluation and selection of an electronic medical record/electronic health record system to document and manage the health services provided to youth in the care and custody of the Department.

The Department is the Massachusetts juvenile justice agency charged to provide a comprehensive and coordinated program of services to youth between the ages of 12 and 21 who are referred or committed to the Department by the courts; community services for the prevention of juvenile delinquency; and services and facilities for the study, diagnosis, care, treatment, including medical and behavioral health and social services, education training and rehabilitation of all youth referred or committed.

The Department contracts for health services for youth in DYS programs located throughout the Commonwealth, within the Department’s 5 regions (Central, Metro, Southeast, Northeast, and Western regions). The healthcare services provided through these contracts are most closely aligned with that of an outpatient adolescent care clinic providing both episodic and primary care services. The medical records and health information on youth are currently paper records maintained by the contracted healthcare service providers.

The requirements for healthcare service delivery are based on the anticipated length of stay. In detention programs, the focus of healthcare service delivery is based on the identification and treatment of acute and chronic health conditions which should be addressed during the anticipated length of stay. In longer term programs that serve the committed population, the focus of healthcare delivery shifts to that of a primary care provider.

Healthcare delivered through the contract includes the provision of both medical and behavioral health care (medication proscribing and management).

The (behavioral health care) program also follows an outpatient clinic model where clinic access is controlled through a network of onsite clinicians (LICSW, LMHC and Ph.D.).

In Calendar Year 2022, there were 564 admissions to the detention programs and 384 committed youth served by the Department. Almost all youth served by DYS are enrolled in Medicaid. During the time that a youth is with the Department, the youth may be placed in more than one program that may be located in a different region.

With an EMR/EHR system, the health information maintained on a youth can be readily accessible to any one of the 5 contracted providers that is providing healthcare services in the region where a youth in initially placed or subsequently moved.

PRICING

Responders are requested to submit a proposed budget with expenditure line items for the services they are proposing.

Budgets should offer separate costs for personnel and any travel related costs. The project to expected to be completed in FY23. A budget narrative detailing the proposed costs for each section must be included with the submitted budget.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

DYS utilizes a consensus model of evaluating proposals whereby the evaluation committee members independently read and review all proposals and then meet as a group to discuss and jointly rate all qualified proposals. The committee members are oriented so that there is uniformity, accountability, fairness, and efficiency in the awarding of contracts. Committee members evaluate each proposal against the established criteria beginning on Page 5 of the RFR.

Required Proposal Components

Responses should address the seven (7) questions under the section titled “Application Narrative” beginning on page 4.