Engineered Care JA at Solicitation.doc

Control Number VA-23-00020231 Engineered Care

VA-23-00020231

JUSTIFICATION FOR A SOLE SOURCE AWARD

FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

1. Contracting Activity:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics

Technology Acquisition Center

23 Christopher Way

Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action:

The proposed sole source action is for a firm-fixed price (FFP) effort for Engineered Care After Hospital Care Plan (AHCP) portal software, installation, integration, customization, testing and deployment, as well as professional services and training.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

The proposed action is to provide the seven (7) Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMCs) within the Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), which is part of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a license to use brand name Care Transitions Portal software, which will be used to create the After Hospital Care Plan for Veterans and their beneficiaries at seven VAMCs. The AHCP contains all of the relevant information and instructions for patients discharged from an inpatient hospital setting. The information is presented in an easy to read, patient friendly format, written at a literacy level appropriate for the Veteran population. Information contained includes the current medication regimen, diagnoses, provider/team contact information and follow up appointment information. This tool will make a meaningful impact on the patient’s understanding of his/her diagnoses and next steps in care, resulting in increased patient satisfaction. In addition, this information allows a more streamlined discharge process since it pulls information from multiple components of the VA’s Electronic Health Record, “Computerized Patient Record System,” reducing the number of people who must manually extract this information, thus also reducing the chance for human error. Finally, helping patients remain healthy post-discharge will reduce unplanned readmissions.

The Contractor shall provide license for users at the 7 VAMCs in VISN 6 to use the Care Transition Portal, including a VistA-Integrated Care Transitions Portal user interface to create and print an After Hospital Care Plan for every veteran discharge and other associated documents from the 7 sites in VISN 6. This shall include installation, integration, customization of the After Hospital Care Plan software configuration, testing, and deployment, as well as other professional services (as necessary), and training of VISN 6 users. The software shall be housed on a VA server. The period of performance shall be a 12-month base period with two (2) 12-month Option Periods for use of the licenses. The total estimated value of the proposed action is $xxxxxxx (inclusive of periods).

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 1903 as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501, entitled “Special Documentation Requirements”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

Based on the market research, as described in section 8 of this justification, it was determined that AHCP is the only viable for the required Care Transitions Portal product. The Care Transitions Portal product, “After Hospital Care Plan booklet” interfaces with the VA’s Electronic Health Record, “Computerized Patient Record System,” (CPRS) and with “Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture” (VISTA) to create a handbook to give to patients at their discharge from an inpatient stay. The software must be able to extract patient specific data including medications (name, dose, schedule, instructions), upcoming appointments, physician information, etc. This information must be extracted from CPRS/VISTA to eliminate manual data entry and the chance for life impacting errors. Further, this information must be presented at a reading and comprehension level that is appropriate for veterans. Without the Care Transitions Portal, patients may experience adverse clinical outcomes including poor adherence to new medication regimens, poor attendance at post discharge follow up clinic visits, and a higher risk of readmission or adverse health events. There are no other products that interface with CPRS. The VA would need to pay another contractor to develop a different software to interface with VA’s VISTA. The cost to create and customize another software would be around $xxxxxxxxx, based on the historical cost of the original customization of the care transitions portal.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research:

The Care Transitions Portal and its “After Hospital Care Plan booklet” was identified by VISN 6 providers who conducted internet-based literature reviews on successful efforts to reduce hospital readmission rates, which are monitored and measured as a performance indicator for every VAMC, and to streamline the discharge process that will allow for a more efficient use of available hospital beds for admission. The After Hospital Care Plan booklet was cited by multiple VAMCs as being very helpful in improving the discharge process and reducing readmissions in an impact case study published by VA’s AHRQ. Additional internet-based research was completed in December 2022 and via market literature, to determine if other software could meet VA requirements and be compatible with CPRS, VHA’s current Electronic Health Record. No such products were found that could interface with these systems.

Also, market research was conducted by issuing a Request for Information (RFI) on January 9, 2023, via the sam.gov website to ascertain if there were sources that could meet the Government’s requirements for care transition portal services. The RFI closed on January 11, 2023, with three (3) responses received. The Government's Subject Matter Expert, conducted a technical review of the three RFI responses and determined that all three did not meet the technical requirements outlined in the PD.

Additional market research was conducted by Government representatives in October 2022 by utilizing the NASA SEWP V Provider Lookup Tool. The search using keywords “Care Transition Portal” and “Engineered Care” identified no contract holders. Based on the above, there is no expectation that this product exists on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government-wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC).

9. Other Facts: Not applicable

10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Katherine McMullin

Date: ________________________________

COR

Signature: ____________________________

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on price analysis to include comparison of negotiated prices to the Independent Government Cost Estimate and historical pricing.

Mary Accomando

Procuring Contracting Officer Signature: ____________________________

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract action exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, but does not exceed $750,000, the certification required by FAR 13.501(a)(2)(i) serves as approval.

Mary Accomando

Procuring Contracting Officer Signature: ____________________________