Attachment 7 Government Response QA HT001125R0036.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 18 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Vision Care Coordination Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- HT001125R0036
- Issued by
- Defense Health Agency
About this file
This document is a Questions and Answers (Q&A) file for a Vision Care Coordination solicitation (HT001125R0036) issued by the Defense Health Agency. The solicitation seeks a contractor to provide a nationwide network for coordinating vision health care in the Department of Defense Military Health System, with five full-time key personnel positions including one National Vision Care Coordinator and four Regional Vision Care Coordinators. The contract requires coordinators with at least five years of clinical experience as healthcare coordinators, social workers, case managers, or registered nurses.
Key contract details include a 30-day transition-in period, potential remote or in-person work at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and specific tasks such as facilitating patient movement between DoD and VA healthcare systems, collecting healthcare data, and establishing a DoD-wide vision care coordination program. The contract will involve coordinating vision care across multiple military treatment facilities, collecting performance data, and supporting patient referrals and consultations. Travel costs are fixed at $12,000 per option year, and the contract represents a significant scope change from the previous contract by adding a national coordination component.
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Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| HT001125R0036 A0002.pdf | ||
| Attachment 1 PWS VCE Vision Care Coordination V2.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 6 VCE Vision Care Coordination QASP.docx | DOCX document | |
| HT001125R0036 A0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment 5 GFP Attachment VCC.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 1 PWS VCE Vision Care Coordination.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment 2 PII PHI Federal Information Requirement.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3 DoD BAA Template.pdf | ||
| Attachment 4 Pricing Sheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| HT001125R0036 VCE Vision Care Coordination.pdf |
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Text version
HT001125R0036 Q&A
| Question No. | Document (e.g. PWS) | Page No. | Paragraph No. | Questions/Comments | Government Response | |
| 1 | PWS | 3-4 | 1.7.1 | Solicitation states: "The National Vision Care Coordinator may be remote or in person at the VCE offices at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center." | ||
| Question: Can the Government please confirm if the National Vision Care Coordinator is remote OR if they are required to be onsite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center? | The National Vision Care Coordinator can either be remote or in person at the VCE offices at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. | |||||
| 2 | PWS | 7 | 1.12 | Solicitation states: The Government has identified the following Key Personnel positions and minimum qualifications : | ||
| • | National Vision Care Coordinator (1): Five (5) years of clinical experience as a health care coordinator, social worker, case manager, or registered nurse. Also serves as the contract manager. | |||||
| • | Regional Vision Care Coordinator (4): Five (5) years of clinical experience as a health care coordinator, social worker, case manager, or registered nurse. | |||||
| Question: Please confirm that all 5 FTE's on the contract are Key Personnel | The Government confirms that all five (5) FTE's are Key Personnel. | |||||
| 3 | PWS | 8-9 | 1.16 | Solicitation states: "Contractor personnel requiring access to the HA/DHA networks for performance of their tasks require a background investigation and the security awareness training. The contractor shall be prepared for this process as it could take two (2) or more weeks. The FSO/Security POC shall submit a Standard Form (SF) 85/86 to DHA's Personnel Security Office for a background investigation." | ||
| Question: Will there be a DD254 for this contract? | No, this contract does no require a Secret Clearance, therefore a DD254 will not be provided. | |||||
| 4 | PWS | 19 | 5.1.2.1 | Task 5.1.2.1 requires facilitating "timely care," but no metrics or thresholds are defined. What specific timeframes or performance standards will the Government use to evaluate compliance? | Please see Amendment 0001, PWS Section 5.1.2.1. | |
| 5 | PWS | 2 | 1.4 | PWS 1.4 mandates a "nationwide network" but lacks performance metrics (e.g., response times, regional coverage). What quantitative or qualitative measures will the Government use to evaluate network effectiveness? | PWS Section 1.4 provides the objectives of the Performance Work Statement. Performance Metrics are discussed within Part 5 and Part 7, Attachment 1. | |
| 6 | Solicitation | 25 | Addendum | The Staffing Plan requires a "reasonable, well-thought-out approach" but provides no evaluation benchmarks. What criteria distinguish an "acceptable" vs. "unacceptable" staffing methodology? | As stated on Page 25, the Government will evaluate the Offeror's ability to provide for the acquisition and maintenance of an appropriate mix and balance of educated/trained essential personnel (i.e., recruitment, training, and retention of qualified, experienced staffing) throughout the contract period, beginning when the government issues an award and leading to successful completion of the requirement. | |
| 7 | PWS | 4-5 | 1.8 | PWS 1.8 states travel requires Government approval. What is the process for pre-approval, and how quickly will the Government respond to travel requests to avoid delays? | Please see Amendment 0001, PWS Section 1.8. | |
| 8 | PWS | 31 | Part 7, Attachment 6 | Please confirm this section is applicable to the current PWS. The Labor Categories appear to be from a different type of work. |
| Please confirm the Government desires to provide workload data for Vision Care Coordinators. | Please see Amendment 0001, PWS Part 7, Attachment 6. | |||||
| 9 | PWS | 23 | 1.8 | Travel costs are specified as a “Not to Exceed” (NTE), which is typically cost reimbursement, however SF1449 describes Travel costs as FFP capped at $12,000. | ||
| Would the government clarify how travel costs are intended to be paid to Contractor? | A FFP Travel CLIN will be provided in the amount of $12,000 for each option year. Please see Attachment 1. | |||||
| 10 | Solicitation | 38 | DFARS 252.219-7009 | Please clarify this clause is appropriate to be included for this solicitation type | In accordance with DFARS 219.811-3(1), this solicitation and resulting contract will be processed in accordance with the Partnership Agreement cited in DFARS PGI 219.800. Therefore, this clause is appropriate for this solicitation type. | |
| 11 | N/A | Has the overall scope of this contract changed in any significant way from that under the incumbent contract? If so, please explain. Or is this just a re-compete with essentially the same scope as before? | The overall scope of this contract has changed to include a National Vision Care Coordinator as opposed to the previous contract which focused solely on the work performed at the MTFs. The inclusion of the National Vision Care Coordinator allows for coordination between the VCE Government Lead, OTC Leads, and the regional coordinators to create a nationwide network of coordination. The National Vision Care Coordinator will also provide the VCE with all requested data regarding coordination efforts and will be responsible for bringing any issues identified at the OTCs to the VCE Government Lead to engage in process improvement for care coordination and/or the referral process. As such, this is not just a re-compete. | |||
| 12 | PWS | 3 | 1.6.1 | PWS 1.6.1: How long is the transition-in? | Thirty (30) days. Please see Amendment 0001, PWS Part 1.6.1.1. | |
| 13 | PWS | 3 | 1.6.1 | Is the incumbent or the new contractor fully accountable for the performance of the PWS during the transition-in period? | The awardee will be fully accountable for the performance of the PWS during the transition-in period. | |
| 14 | PWS | 3 | 1.7.1 | Is the current National Vision Care Coordinator working remotely or in-person at the VCE offices at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center? | The Government currently does not have a National Vision Care Coordinator. | |
| 15 | PWS & Solicitation | PWS 5-6 | ||||
| Sol 21 | 1.10.1 | "At a minimum, the QCP shall include and document the following: A self-inspection plan and an outline of the procedures that the Contractor will use to maintain quality, timeliness, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction in each of the survey program management domains, survey design and development; sampling, web hosting, fielding, data management and analysis; reporting and debriefing." However, unless PWS 5.1.4 is what this refers to, surveying is only mentioned in one other place in the PWS: 5.1.2.11 Patient Information. Please explain what this "surveying" refers to or correct the requirements for the QCP. Also explain sampling, web hosting, fielding, data management and analysis; reporting and debriefing. If this is a typo and none of these apply to this contract, please correct PWS 1.10.1 and DDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (SEP 2023) on p. 21. | Please see Amendment 0001, pages 8-9, and page 12. | |||
| 16 | PWS | 6 | 1.10.2 | The solicitation states, "The government will evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)." However no QASP has been provided. Please provide the QASP as it is necessary for preparing the Draft Quality Control Plan. | Please see Attachment 6. | |
| 17 | PWS | 14 - 15 | 3.2 & 4.5 | The solicitation states, "For contractor personnel working at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, laptops will also be provided as part of the office/clinical workspace." However, PWS 4.5 does not state the Contractor is to provide any equipment for the other locations. Please confirm that the Government is not providing laptops for regional coordinators at the other 3 locations, but that laptops are needed for the coordinator's work and should be Contractor provided to those the Government does not issue laptops to. | Please see PWS Section 3.4, Equipment, for contractor issuance of laptops for regional coordinators. | |
| 18 | Solicitation | 21 | Addendum | The solicitation states, "The Offeror shall describe its technical approach to perform the following five technical requirements, which the Government has determined to be most important, as delineated in the PWS. Task 5.1 – Vision Care Coordination, Task 5.1.2.1 Patient Outreach, Task 5.1.2.7 Referrals and Consultations, Task 5.1.3 – National Vision Care Coordination, Task 5.1.4 – Collection of Health Care Data". |
Task 5.1 could be viewed as encompassing all the paragraphs under PWS 5.1 including 5.1.2.1, 5.1.2.7, 5.1.3, and 5.1.4. That these latter 4 paragraphs are listed separately from 5.1 suggests that here, in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, the reference to Task 5.1 Vision Care Coordination as being "most important" tasks is only referring to the work associated with PRSes #1 - #4: "5.1 Vision Care Coordination Support: The Contractor shall provide onsite support that encompasses the following: Regional vision care coordination based on procedural instructions at each OTC. This will include vision care coordination for other MTFs in the surrounding region as defined by the VCE. (PRS #1) Establish and maintain a viable DoD-wide vision care coordination program consisting of the regional vision care coordinator working in cooperation with the four (4) regional OTC vision care coordinators. (PRS #2) Facilitate the movement of vision care patients between the DoD and the VA and other non-DoD providers through the establishment of processes and agreements between the DoD and other entities (i.e., VA and community providers). (PRS #3) Collect data pertaining to vision care coordination, OTC function, and the movement of patients between the DoD and other health care entities (i.e., VA and community providers) under the direction of the VCE and the respective OTCs, as a performance improvement measure for DoD vision care. (PRS #4)"
| Please confirm that in the meaning of the Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, this is correct. | "The Government confirms that the assumption is correct. Task 5.1 shall address PRS 1-4 only, followed by the remaining delineated Tasks (5.1.2.1, 5.1.2.7, 5.1.3, and 5.1.4)." | |||||
| 19 | PWS | 18 | 5.1 | "Regional vision care coordination based on procedural instructions at each OTC." The procedural instructions at each OTC are not provided. Please provide the procedural instructions at each OTC, or at minimum, one example of such. | The Government is unable to provide procedural instructions at each OTC as it will vary from clinic to clinic, and specialties/focus. | |
| 20 | PWS | 18 | 5.1 | The solicitation states, "Establish and maintain a viable DoD-wide vision care coordination program consisting of the regional vision care coordinator working in cooperation with the four (4) regional OTC vision care coordinators." Please confirm that this should instead read: "Establish and maintain a viable DoD-wide vision care coordination program consisting of the National Vision Care Coordinator working in cooperation with the four (4) regional OTC vision care coordinators." | The Government confirms this assumption. Please see Amendment 0001, Attachment 1. | |
| 21 | PWS | 18 | 5.1 | The solicitation states, "Facilitate the movement of vision care patients between the DoD and the VA and other non-DoD providers through the establishment of processes and agreements between the DoD and other entities (i.e., VA and community providers). (PRS #3)" To be more clear and specific, please give examples (real or hypothetical) of such "processes and agreements between the DoD and other entities (i.e., VA and community providers)" which would fall under this PRS #3. | Processes include informal agreements, SOP's, and formal MOU's. For example (hypothetical) a patient being treated at BAMC may need to receive rehabiliation form a VA facility. The BAMC and VA facility have established a process to transiton patient care. The Vision Care Coordinator would faciliate the transition of care using this establish process. | |
| 22 | PWS | 18 | 5.1 | The solicitation states, "Collect data pertaining to vision care coordination, OTC function, and the movement of patients between the DoD and other health care entities (i.e., VA and community providers) under the direction of the VCE and the respective OTCs, as a performance improvement measure for DoD vision care. (PRS #4)" How many data elements and what is the list of data elements currently being collected under PRS #4? What tools are currently being used to do analysis on this data? Does performing analysis and presenting the results and trends fall under PRS #4? | The number of data elements may range from 5-30. The data elements currently are types new referrals, types of surgeries performed, timeliness of care metrics, and other clinically related data. The incumbent vendor uses Excel Power BI. | |
| 23 | PWS | 18 | 5.1.1 | Many providers, such as HMOs, which provide similar services to Task 5.1.2.1 use automated appointment reminder system with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for calls, and which use two-way texting for texts so that the patient not only gets a voice or text reminder, but can respond/confirm. |
Does the DHA currently do this or something similar? If not, does it have this technology?
| If it is not doing this but has the technology, would the DHA object to having PWS 5.1.2.1 be enhanced using such methods? | The care coordination program will not be using this system. | |||||
| 24 | PWS | 19 | 5.1.2.1 | Can the Government estimate the number of calls per day, week, month, or year that must be made at each of the 4 locations in support of PWS 5.1.2.1? | The Government is not able to provide an estimation. | |
| 25 | PWS | 19 | 5.1.2.7 | Can the Government estimate the number of referrals per day, week, month, or year that must be made at each of the 4 locations in support of PWS 5.1.2.7? | The Government is not able to provide an estimation. | |
| 26 | PWS | 20 | 5.1.3 | Specifically, what does the Government mean by "MHS-wide network of care coordination"? What are the positive attributes of such an "MHS-wide network" which the Government is seeking to benefit from, overall? | This relates to the concerted efforts of the 4 regional care coordinators working in different regions under the guidance of the national coordinator, and the ability to work as a team to accomplish the mission. The benefit to MHS-wide coordination is the collective effort that reflects the support of the VCE - which is national and not regional. The goal is seamless movement of a patient to one care coordinator to another. Shared best practices can be shared with other regions. | |
| 27 | PWS | 20 | 5.1.3 | The PRS states that the AQL for Task 5.1.3 is "95% on time". Please explain what specifically is being measured as on-time for Task 5.1.3. For example, the monthly meetings of PWS 5.1.3.2? | The PRS is measuring the results of Task 5.1.3.2. | |
| 28 | PWS | 21 | 5.1.4 | How many data elements and what is the list of data elements currently being collected under PRS #5? What tools are currently being used to do analysis on this data? | The number of data elements may range from 5-30. The data elements currently are types new referrals, types of surgeries performed, timeliness of care metrics, and other clinically related data. The incumbent vendor uses Excel Power BI. | |
| 29 | PWS | 21 | 5.1.4 | Does performing analysis and presenting the results and trends fall under PRS #5? | The Contractor shall collect health care data, perform simple analysis, and report that data to the DOD for quality improvement in vision eye care. (PRS # 5) | |
| 30 | PWS | 21 | 5.1.4 | Can the Government describe a bit more how much work is involved in Task 5.1.4 as with this general description under 5.1.4, 5.1.4.1, and 5.1.4.2, it could be 1 hour per week of effort, or 20 hours per week — the difference being dependent on the details of such work. | 5.1.4 presents a broad spectrum of data collection and analytic tasks that could be required of the coordinator depending on the priority of the clinic which may vary at each location. | |
| 31 | Solicitation | 21 | Addendum | The Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 states: |
The Offeror shall describe its technical approach to perform the following five technical requirements, which the Government has determined to be most important, as delineated in the PWS.
Task 5.1 – Vision Care Coordination Task 5.1.2.1 Patient Outreach Task 5.1.2.7 Referrals and Consultations Task 5.1.3 – National Vision Care Coordination Task 5.1.4 – Collection of Health Care Data
| Question: If an offeror addresses only Tasks 5.1, 5.1.2.1, 5.1.2.7, 5.1.3, and 5.1.4 in its technical approach, instead of all the other PWS tasks, could such a technical approach be deemed technically acceptable? Or would it be unacceptable just because it omitted discussing other PWS tasks? | Please see the response to Question 18 above. | |||||
| 32 | Solicitation | 22 | Addendum | The 9 page agreement is formally an evaluation factor. Is completing/signing the agreement enough? | The Offeror is required to submited a signed DoD BAA at Attachment 3. |
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