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Solicitation HSCG23-10-R-PCI104
QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
| 1 |
| Is it possible that there will be an extension on the due dates for the July 9th and July 15th deliverables? |
| We have extended the due dates. |
Past Performance information is due July 15, 2010 NLT 2:00 pm EDT All other technical proposal information is due July 22, 2010 NLT 2:00 pm EDT
| 2 |
| For past performance reference sheet (Attachment IV), do the past performance criteria mean they are an active customer (installing, live or on maintenance) within the last 3 years or have actively been installing in the last 3 years? |
| Active customer (installing, live or on maintenance) within the last 3 years. |
| 3 |
| Are the 100 sites requested for references distinct customers or 100 clinics or medical sites? |
| 100 clinics or medical sites. |
| 4 |
| Can you provide an unlocked version of the excel functional requirements spreadsheet (Attachment 1 EHR COTS Functionality)? There are some items (such as 280, 285, 288) where we are unable to expand the question row to have the full question text appear in our response. |
| An unlocked copy of the spreadsheet will not be provided, but the expanded questions are provided in the response to questions 41-52. |
| 5 |
| Is facility clearance required at the time of award? Does the contracting agency have a requirement to have someone on the team with current security clearance at the time of proposal? |
| No. |
| 6 |
| We bill a flat labor rate to our commercial customers. Can we provide comparable labor rates to our commercial customers rather than cost information on fringe and overhead? |
| Yes. See revised Pricing Spreadsheet. |
| 7 |
| Our product manuals are thousands of pages in total and are not typically made available in paper format. The vast majority of use by customers is electronic. Would the USCG accept electronic versions only for documentation that is not normally provided in hard copy? |
| Yes. |
| 8 |
| There are some questions that are more technical in nature covering areas that would not be documented in manuals. Examples: #229 - Allows wireless tablet option; #171 - Allows system to operate across 6 time zones; #260 - Allows the ability to confirm user role and permissions to external data source/SQL database. For these items, can we omit the manual references? |
| Yes, but provide detail in the “comment” section of the worksheet as appropriate to identify how the proposed solution meets these requirements. |
| 9 |
| Is paper chart tracking required or optional - items 385 and 388 in the Attachment_1_EHR_COTS_Functionality document seem to conflict on that point. |
| Paper charting is desired. Item 388 will be omitted. |
| 10 |
| We respectfully request the response deadline be extended to two weeks following the publication of the full list of clarifications from the Coast Guard. |
| See response to question #1. |
| 11 |
| What is the expected Award date for this ID/IQ contract? |
| For costing purposes, the anticipated start date for this contract is September 30, 2010. |
The contract will be awarded in FY2010.
| 12 |
| Page 5 of 47, 2.5 Ordering Procedures – Reference is made to a Contract Data Requirements List however no list was included. It is our assumption that the only deliverables are those listed in Section 7.0 of the PWS. Please confirm that there are no data requirements to be delivered as part of the contract. |
| The only deliverables are those listed in Section 7.0 of the PWS. |
| 13 |
| Page 5 of 47, 2.5 Ordering Procedures – Per page 36 of 47 CG-9121-3.1, the government is furnishing all hardware and information technology infrastructure required to support the EHR COTS implementation. Please provide clarification as to why “(k) List of Government furnished equipment, material and information” might be applicable. |
| All requirements for government furnished equipment, material and information required for the vendor to successfully complete the work (e.g., specific hardware or information technology infrastructure, access to USCG facilities, access to USCG staff, USCG manuals) should be identified. |
| 14 |
| Page 6 of 17, 2.6 (e), 10. – This is not a cost reimbursable contract. We do not understand the requirement to list “Cost Reimbursable – Provisional Payment” on the SF1034 or our invoice. Please confirm that this requirement is correct. |
| CLINs 0008, 10006, 20006, 30006 & 40006 are for Support Services (PWS 5.4.5) and shall be bid as a set of labor categories with associated rates, with no associated hours. |
CLIN 0009, Travel, is also a cost reimbursable CLIN.
| 15 |
| Page 6 of 17, 2.6 (g) – Please advise FAR reference which permits withhold percentage. If the percentage is not stated in the FAR, please advise the expected percentage that may be withheld. |
| This FAR reference will not be applicable to this contract. |
| 16 |
| Page 13 of 47, 3.2.13, Oral Presentations. If required, when does the Government anticipate that it will conduct Oral Presentations? |
| Four weeks after receipt of the technical proposals. We do not anticipate oral presentations to be required. |
| 17 |
| Page 15 0f 47, Subfactor 3.3 COOP Licenses. Please explain what the Government means by COOP licenses. The RFP Cost spreadsheet indicates that we are to provide pricing for the COTS licenses and then for COOP licenses. Please provide a clear explanation of the difference between these two licenses. |
| The COTS licenses are the licenses for the software in the production environment. It is anticipated that in the future the USCG may establish a continuity of operations backup site, in which case a backup license (i.e., COOP license) of the software would be required to support operations of the EHR in the event the main production site is unavailable. |
| 18 |
| Page 36 of 47, 52,217.9 – Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. Please explain the intent of the inclusion of this FAR clause. According to page 4 of 47, 3.2(a), the period of performance is 5 year (60 months). Per 52.217-9 (c), the total duration of the contract can’t exceed 5 years. Therefore there could be no extension. |
| The Base year of the contract is 12 months. The option to extend applies to the 4 option years. You are correct, however, the total Period of Performance may not exceed 5 years. |
| 19 |
| Page 36 of 47, CG-9121-3.3 Privacy. Please provide additional details regarding the requirement Privacy Act Training. Is this provided in an online format or conducted by the Government? Is the trainee required to travel to a government site for the training? |
| Coast Guard will provide a free online training site for vendor employees to accomplish the training. |
| 20 |
| Page 37 of 47, Common Access Card for Contractors – please confirm that there is no cost to the Contractor for obtaining the CAC. |
| Common Access Cards will be at no cost to the contractor or by cost reimbursement. |
| 21 |
| Page 38 of 47, Security Requirements. Per CG-9121-3.9, Security Considerations, the RFP states that the Contractor may be required to have access to “unclassified, but Security Sensitive Information”. In CG-9121-3.10, it states that all personnel requiring access to classified spaces must have a current security clearance at a minimum level of secret. What is defined as a “classified space”? What, if any, security clearance level is required for access to “unclassified, but Security Sensitive Information”? |
| The installation site at OSC Martinsburg is considered classified. However, contractors will be escorted at all times and will not require security clearances. For contractors needing access to OSC or any Government information system including the EHR, a National Agency Check with a Local Agency Check and Credit Check (NACLC) will be provided by the Government at no cost to the contractor. |
| 22 |
| In the opening Description the RFP states: “All EHR data shall be the property of USCG and will be returned in the manner specified by USCG COTR immediately following a termination of contract for any reason.” If the system is to be operated within the USCG environment, what EHR data will contractor possess that must be returned following termination? Please define what is meant by the term “EHR data”. |
| This item refers to all USCG patient data stored in the EHR. At the termination of the contract, all USCG patient data will be exported in a format prescribed by the Government for storage or importing into a replacement EHR. |
| 23 |
| Labor Rate CLIN worksheet (Attachment V) presumes that bidders have a cost accounting system by which labor rates are built up to a fully burdened hourly price. Our business does not have such an accounting system, however we do have a schedule of role-based labor rates that we utilize when pricing consulting services in the commercial market. Will the Coast Guard accept a set of proposed rates appropriately discounted from our commercial schedule, but without the build-up of overhead, fringe benefits, G&A, etc? |
| Yes. See revised Pricing Spreadsheet. |
| 24 |
| PWS 1.16.2 requires contractor to provide all EHR data in an “industry standard format” to the Program Office. If the software license provides perpetual use of the system to the USCG, is there a need to reformat the EHR data at the termination of the contract? |
| Yes, see answer to question #22. |
| 25 |
| PWS 1.5 Performance Requirements Summary. Is the contractor to propose the expected outcomes, payment reductions for failure to meet the performance standards, etc as a part of the proposal? |
| No |
| 26 |
| PWS 5.4.5 specifies contractor shall provide data conversion support. Please clarify the nature of this data conversion, the sources of the data to be converted, the extent of contractor’s responsibility to extract data from legacy systems, the format of the data, and the type of data which is to be converted into the EHR system. |
| The USCG currently uses multiple electronic data systems to store patient data. The Government will review multiple data conversion options. After careful evaluation, a conversion strategy will be developed. The contractor will provide the necessary support to import legacy data into the EHR. It may not be cost effective to import some legacy data. If the USCG requires future data conversion support, the support will be acquired through CLINs 0008, 10006, 20006, 30006 & 40006, Support Services. |
| 27 |
| PWS Appendix A, Security Clause (e) specifies contractor shall submit written proof of IT Security accreditation within six months of award. Does this require a third party certification or any other costs to be borne by contractor? |
| The Program Office will be responsible for ensuring FISMA compliance as part of the Certification and Accreditation. This will require the contractor to provide system information verifying the EHR is in compliance with DHS/CG security requirements. |
| 28 |
| PWS Appendix A, Security Clause for Contractor Employee Access requires background investigations for contractor personnel having access to sensitive information. Please provide the cost per contractor employee, if any, which must be borne by contractor for this requirement. |
| Any contractor requiring access to OSC Martinsburg or a Government information system will be provided a NACLC at no cost to the contractor. |
| 29 |
| SF1449 – Is the offeror expected to sign and return this form as part of their proposal response? |
| Yes |
| 30 |
| Appendix A of the PWS states that the Contractor shall submit written proof of IT Security accreditation within 6 months after award. Since this process is accomplished by a third party per PWS 5.4.3 footnote 4, please confirm that this requirement is actually subject to 3rd party completion of the C&A process. |
| Not applicable to this contract. Please refer to question #27. |
| 31 |
| Would the USCG provide an unprotected copy of the functionality spreadsheets to enable proposers to more easily parse the response tasks? |
| See response to question #4. |
| 32 |
| Radiology: What RIS system is in place now? |
| No RIS system in place. However, the USCG has future plans to implement a RIS. |
| 33 |
| Radiology: What is the commercial PACS system in place now? |
| There is no commercial PACS system currently in place. Purchasing a system within the next 60 days. |
| 34 |
| Radiology: What are users looking at when getting images from the current PACS system. For example: Are the images to be viewed only in the EHR? Images brought into a Web PACS viewing solution? |
| Once PACS system is installed, expect to view images through web browser interface and through EHR. |
| 35 |
| Radiology: Is the USCG replacing either the RIS or PACS systems at this time? |
| See response to question #33. |
| 36 |
| Patient Care: FIN 294: Please describe USCG needs surrounding “cohorts” of patients. Please differentiate this need from your case management and registry needs. |
| Cohorts are groups of patient with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, etc. Case management can include individuals from the cohort groups or other patient with complex medical issues. |
| 37 |
| Patient Care: Ambulatory Pharmacy Section: Does USCG require the functionality to send electronic prescriptions to retail pharmacies? |
| Yes. |
| 38 |
| Patient Care: FIN 137: Please define “telecons”. |
| In requirement #137, “telecons” refer to the ability to capture data related to patient consultations over the telephone. |
| 39 |
| Patient Care: FIN 143: Please define AWYSIWYG |
| In requirement #143, “a” space “WYSIWYG” refers to a component that allows the user to design forms where “what you see is what you get”. |
| 40 |
| Patient Care: FIN 16: Please further describe this statement pertaining to the dental class computable – store classification 1-4. |
| Requirement 16 should read “Provides Department of Defense dental class computable - store classification 1-4 at encounter level.” |
Reference “Policy For Standardization of Dental Classifications” from the bidder’s library.
| 41 |
| Patient Care: FIN 62: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide the complete question. |
| 62: Provides patients with web access to medical history to submit changes for their provider to review. |
| 42 |
| Patient Care: FIN 75: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 75: System notifies patients via email when they have new information available to view in the patient web portal and notifies parents when there is new information regarding their children. |
| 43 |
| Patient Care: FIN 78: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 78: a. Allow physicians to add a message to the patient when making a result available in the portal. |
| 44 |
| Patient Care: FIN 89: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 89: b. All alerts would automatically generate and send an email to the patient to check his/her PHR. |
| 45 |
| Patient Care: FIN 118: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 118: Provides access to a library of clinical and administrative content provided by healthcare organizations: |
| 46 |
| Patient Care: FIN 129: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 129: Allows tools to increase caregiver efficiency in reviewing patient medical history including graphics. |
| 47 |
| Patient Care: FIN 156: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 156: Provides electronic document signing functionality. (e.g. patient privacy, consent for treatment forms). |
| 48 |
| Patient Care: FIN 162: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 162: a. Users can document patient reported medications and place new orders within the same screen. |
| 49 |
| Patient Care: FIN 250: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 250: Allows providers to save personal filters for types of notes to review. (e.g. when reviewing a patient’s chart, an optometrist could set a default filter to see only notes and visit types related to optometry.) |
| 50 |
| Billing: 280: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 280: Allows for third-party billing for all prescriptions dispensed by the pharmacy. |
| Billing: 284: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 284: Provides prompts for third party liability or workers compensation form generated with flag selection. |
| 51 |
| Billing: 285: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 285: Allows for pre-certification of bill prior to submission. |
| 52 |
| Billing: 288: Question does not show in entirety. Please provide complete question. |
| 288: Provides the ability to track out-of-network accounts payable for manual reconciliation with outside treatment claims. |
| 53 |
| Patient Care: FIN 295: Is USCG requesting a research-based registry for clinical research purposes? If not, please describe your needs surrounding registries. |
| Build list/group for reporting or trending that may/may not include research. |
| 54 |
| Laboratory: FIN 51: Allows lab users to manage specimen testing. |
What type of lab testing is done in the land based clinics and sickbays? Could you please provide examples of the different areas and volumes of testing?
CG does low volume of CBC, UA, Rapid Strep, HCG, Blood Glucose. Most labs are sent out to Quest.
| 55 |
| Pharmacy: FIN 28: Provides check-in functionality. Is USCG requiring the ability to note that a service member has arrived at the pharmacy and check them into the system for monitoring wait times? |
| Check-in to determine if Rx’s are available (new or refills). However, may consider to track wait times in future. |
| 56 |
| Pharmacy: FIN 164: The system provides a method for documenting facility administered (in the clinic) medications on select schedules for administration. Please describe the medication administrations process in USCG clinics. Do you plan to use something such as a medication administration record, or are you documenting this step in the patient’s chart? |
| Normally document in patients’ charts, but would like the ability to report the number of times a drug was administered. |
| 57 |
| Billing: FIN 264, 273, 282: Allows automatic translation of entered diagnosis and procedures codes to alternative state and third party paper mandated coding schemes for reimbursement claim forms. |
Questions duplicated. Please provide further clarification of this requirement. Can you possibly provide an example of when you use this functionality?
Ability to translate diagnostic medical assessments such as SNOMED terms into ICD-9/10 and CPT billing codes.
| 58 |
| Infrastructure/Framework 201: Please clarify the purpose and types of integration to be performed by the interface engine. |
| Bi-directional interfaces with external applications. (eg. Quest, PDTS, NHIN) |
| 59 |
| Infrastructure/Framework 202: Does this requirement refer to patient context within the provided solutions? Or is this to manage context between the EHR and other legacy applications? |
| Patient context within the provided solutions. |
| 60 |
| Infrastructure/Framework 208: Is the central billing function to be provided through this contract or does this requirement involve an outbound interface of billing transactions? |
| The central billing function is to be provided through this contract in a manner that it can be sent either to the payer or a clearinghouse who will process the bill. |
| 61 |
| Regarding 3.2.4 Attachment IV, where the prime has many past performances that relates to its function as a systems integrator that are not related specifically to Electronic Health Records, may the prime present those references for consideration? |
| The requirement is for relevant present contracts. Section 52.212-2 Factor 4 defines relevant as “an EHR installation similar in size, scope, and complexity to the requirements of the PWS.” |
| 62 |
| Regarding 3.2.4 Attachment IV, where the COTS solution vendor or subcontractor has more than 3 past performance references, may more than 3 past performance references be provided by the COTS solution vendor or subcontractor? |
| No – if more than the required number of references are submitted, only the first 3 past performance references will be reviewed. |
| 63 |
| For all items which are required to be delivered on July 9th, are hard copies of these items required or may they be submitted electronically? |
| Hard copies are not required for the July 15th submittal. |
| 64 |
| How will data migration be handled? Will the contractor need to convert patient demographic data from the existing EMR or will data be transmitted via the DEERS interface? If there a unique identifier, please so identify. |
| See response to question 26. |
| 65 |
| When is the patient identifier assigned for new inductees (patients)? |
| Upon entry into the USCG |
| 66 |
| How will historical clinical data (orders, labs, x-rays medication, notes, etc.) be migrated? |
| See response to question 26. |
| 67 |
| Will the contractor need to convert from the current EMR or will data be input once patients are seen? Will the Coast Guard personnel scan historical information prior to a patient being seen? Please clarify. |
| See response to question 26. |
| 68 |
| Does the Coast Guard currently have forms, alerts, templates and provider preferences that will need to be input into the system vs. using contractor standards? Or will the Coast Guard use a combination of both? |
| The Coast Guard will be using a combination of both. The Coast Guard unique requirements are all identified in Attachment 1, Ambulatory EHR COTS Functionality, with copies of the Coast Guard unique forms provided in the bidder’s library. |
| 69 |
| Will the Coast Guard supply all hardware, software and communication equipment needed to build the system infrastructure in accordance with the configuration plan developed by the contractor, and approved by the Coast Guard? |
| Yes. |
| 70 |
| Will the Coast Guard be responsible for installing all configuration components? |
| Yes. |
| 71 |
| From the solicitation, it is assumed that the Coast Guard wants the contractor to develop interfaces with the DEERS system. Is the contractor expected to develop other interfaces such as interfaces with laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, EMR’s, registries, etc? Further, should the cost associated with the interfaces be quoted in the pricing volume or should we assume that these costs will be addressed in future task/change orders (during the development of the system integration and interoperability task)? |
| All interface requirements are identified in Attachment 1, Ambulatory EHR COTS Functionality. All costs associated with providing the mandatory functionality in Attachment 1 should be provided in the pricing spreadsheet. |
| 72 |
| Since manuals are required with the RFP response, how does the Government ensure that contractor proprietary data is kept confidential? How will the Government protect those manuals from FOIA requests. |
| Ensure all manuals are marked “Proprietary”. Proposals and their content are not releasable under FOIA. |
| 73 |
| Form 1449 provides a NAICS code and a size standard, yet the acquisition is marked unrestricted. Is this acquisition a set aside for small business? |
| No, full and open competition. |
| 74 |
| PWS Section 1.11 calls for a draft Project Plan as part of the Contractor's proposal. Is this the same document as the Project Management Plan required under Subfactor 2.3 (page 15 of 47)? |
| Yes. |
| 75 |
| PWS Section 1.16.1 Intellectual Property. Will software changes, additional functionality and additional modules developed to meet mandatory requirements be considered derivatives works and therefore be owned by the contractors? |
| Yes. |
| 76 |
| PWS Section 3.0 Government Furnished Resources. We assume the provided IT infrastructure includes all network connectivity and any encryption devices necessary to meet security requirements (i.e., the offeror will not be required to provide any deliverable hardware or provide any data center services as part of the implementation). Is this assumption correct? |
| Yes. |
| 77 |
| Should the offeror’s price 3rd party COTS software licenses (e.g., database software) or will the Government procure these licenses based upon the contractor’s specifications? |
| If the 3rd party COTS software is providing the core EHR functionality (e.g., dental, pharmacy, other) it should be included in the offeror’s price. |
If the 3rd party COTS software supports the EHR functionality (e.g., database software) it can be identified as a government furnished requirement for the product solution as part of the hardware, telecommunications, and environmental specifications.
| 78 |
| On the Form 1449, the Size Standard noted in $25.0M yet the acquisition is categorized as "Unrestricted". Is this contract intended as a Small Business set aside? Will there be recognition by the USCG if a percentage of the contract of the is fulfilled by a SBA-certified 8(a) small business? |
| This is a Unrestriced, Full and Open Competition. |
No. Only if the prime contractor was a SBA-certified 8(a) small business.
| 79 |
| In the PWS, if we provide an optional proposal to support COOP, can you provide us with additional information of the scope of optional COOP services to propose? Should we propose a COOP site for the COTS EHR? |
| See response to question 17. |
The vendor should not propose a COOP site.
| 80 |
| Will training be required at each of the beta sites? What about the other 40-41 sites or will we be responsible for training just the 6 USCG implementation teams after the beta sites have been completed? |
| The USCG will implement a train-the-trainer approach for all sites. Contractor training support may be provided in supplement to the USCG trainers, based on the training approach proposed by the offeror and approved by the USCG. |
| 81 |
| Under 5.3 of the PWS, is the intent that the COTS EHR product will run in parallel for 60 days at each of the 43 clinics or just for the initial beta sites |
| To be determined at a later date. |
| 82 |
| Will the Contractor be responsible for implementing or supporting the Citrix software using to deploy the COTS EHR or will USCG support the Citrix deployment? |
| No. |
| 83 |
| Will the Contractor be responsible for providing system configuration/data base administration services for the initial beta site deployments? Under 5.4.1, it appears that set up and implementation for all remaining sites post-beta would be implemented by 6 USCG implementation teams with training support only from the Contractor. |
| Contractor implementation support is required under 5.3 and 5.4.2 of the PWS. |
PWS 5.4.1 is specific to implementation training, and not the product installation.
| 84 |
| Under 5.4.5, is it possible to provide more details regarding the data conversion support required such as the number of records from how many systems are planned to be converted and the historical system data layouts? |
| See response to question 26. |
| 85 |
| Are you all asking that the vendor provides a full scale PACS/RAD stand alone system for each clinic? Or merely provide a comprehensive EHR that would connect to these systems? |
We are looking for a comprehensive EHR system that can connect to a PACS
| 86 |
| Does the RFP call for the vendor having a full blown Lab and PACs/RAD system…or merely the ability to integrate/interface to one? Was not sure based upon the verbiage. |
| The comprehensive EHR needs to be able to interface with a PACS/RAD system and |
need the ability to interface with Quest
| 87 |
| Is it possible for you to send me a Word version of the attached document so I may use it to help coordinate our responses. |
| A Word version of the solicitation document will be posted. |
