JA GetWell_Redacted.pdf

CONTROL NUMBER VA-24-00069814

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a Firm-Fixed Price delivery order to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name Getwell Network Interactive Patient Care(IPC) System licenses and technical support for the Durham VA Health Care System (VAHCS).

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: Veterans Health Administration(VHA) Durham VAHCS has a requirement for the renewal of licensing and technical support for its existing Getwell Network IPC System to keep it fully operational. The Contractor shall provide full licensing necessary to ensure the existing Getwell system will be fully operational. This includes providing technical support on 24 hours/7-day week basis via web access support; providing phone support 24 hours/7-day week Monday through Sunday, excluding Federal holidays; providing full documentation on system operation and configuration. The resulting delivery order will have a 12-month base period and two (2) 12-month option periods. The total estimated value of the proposed action is inclusive of the option periods.

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The Getwell Network System is currently installed and operational in the Durham VAHCS. Getwell software is a proprietary product; therefore, only Getwell or an authorized reseller can provide the IPC licensing and technical necessary to maintain the current system. The Getwell Network System is the only IPC system installed within the existing infrastructure at the Durham VAHCS. Installing and implementing an IPC system, such as the GetWell Network, historically requires an upfront investment of over $500,000. Procurement and implementation of an alternative IPC system would result in a substantial duplication of the upfront cost to install a new system within the existing infrastructure which that would not be recovered through competition. Furthermore, implementing an alternative IPC system would require over one year to implement, during which staff/patient would be without safe and timely delivery of patient care. As such, continuing to procure the licensing and technical support for the existing GetWell Network IPC System is the only means of ensuring that there is no interruption to patient care services as all of the required equipment and services for this system are already in place at Durham

VAHCS.

INSERT TITLE OF ACQUISITION Control Number VA-24-00069814

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Governments requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for software liceneses and technical support for brand name Getwell Network System. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

While there is competition available for this action, the Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the market place that would expand competition for future actions.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted by the VA technical experts in February 2024 by reviewing product information via web searches for similar products and services, such as cipherHealth and Phenful. While there are similar software maintenance and technical support services available for each of these alternative vendors own brand name solutions, none of these vendors would be able to provide the necessary software maintenance and technical support for the existing Getwell Network. Furthermore, the brand name solutions offered by these vendors cannot be installed at Durham VAHCS without making significant changes to the existing infrastructure as detailed in Section 5.

9. Other Facts: None.