Draft_SOW_for_sources_sought_031919.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Medical Programs Division National Registry Test Development and Analysis

C.1 INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

The mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to promote safe commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations through education, regulation, enforcement, and innovative research and technology to reduce truck and bus crashes, resulting in fewer injuries and fatalities. In support of FMCSA's mission, the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry) was created to ensure that medical examiners can effectively determine if interstate CMV drivers meet FMCSA’s physical qualification standards. As a result, the National Registry helps reduce the occurrence of crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses by making sure drivers are physically qualified to safely operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

FMCSA established the National Registry with the publication of a final rule, National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, on April 20, 2012 (77 FR 24104). The final rule amended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to provide requirements for healthcare professionals that perform physical qualification examinations for interstate CMV drivers. To become a certified medical examiner (ME) listed on the National Registry, healthcare professionals must complete training and pass a certification test based on the FMCSRs and related guidance. This ensures that medical examiners understand how the regulations and related guidance apply to the physical qualification examination and medical certification of interstate CMV drivers. The National Registry currently has over 63,000 certified MEs.

Since 2005, FMCSA contractors have provided technical support services in the development and implementation of the certification test for ME candidates. The development included a Role Delineation Study from which a Detailed Content Outline (DCO) (attached) was produced to serve as a blueprint for the development of test forms. Working with panels of ME experts representative of the four professions, Physicians [Medical Doctors (M.D.) and/or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)], Physician Assistants (PA), Advanced Practice Nurses (APRN), and Chiropractors (D.C.), which constitute the majority of MEs, FMCSA contractors developed and piloted the initial test forms and determined the cut scores for the test forms. FMCSA contractors analyzed test results from the test forms annually, and revised, accepted, or discarded unscored test items, based on psychometric analysis of test results from a large number of ME candidates and review by the test panel.

C.2.0. QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

Key personnel shall include:

Psychometrician/Scientific Consultant who has experience in test development, job analysis, item writing training, and psychometric analysis.

Contractor personnel shall undergo background checks and be cleared by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation before accessing FMCSA information, including information to be developed under this contract. The Contractor shall obtain notarized Conflict of Interest statements and Non-Disclosure Agreements from all contractor personnel prior to access to FMCSA information provided or developed under the contract, and provide the originals to the Contracting Officer. Contractor personnel shall complete annual Security Awareness Training.

C.2.1 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide technical services for FMCSA’s Medical Programs Division to support the National Registry certification test implementation with test development, analysis, reporting, and consultation. The services shall be provided at the Contractor’s site. FMCSA will provide the Contractor with a test item bank, test forms (multiple test forms with 100 test and 20 pre-test questions), and analytical data developed under a previous contract. All information that FMCSA shares with the contractor and all information generated by the contractor under this contract are the sole property of FMCSA.

The Contractor shall update the DCO in accordance with changes in the FMCSRs pertaining to physical qualifications and driver examinations (49 CFR 391.41 – 391.69 and related regulations) and current clinical best practices since the first DCO was written in 2008. The Contractor shall eliminate or modify any parts of the DCO that are not within the scope of the FMCSRs.

The Contractor shall update and enhance a test item bank and test forms in accordance with current psychometric methodology customized for certified healthcare professionals, provide analysis of test results by profession, and consult with FMCSA and provide input to improvements that could be made to ensure a sound and fair examination process. The test forms shall be based on the FMCSRs pertaining to physical qualification standards and driver examinations (49 CFR 391.41 – 391.69), any related regulations, and current clinical best practices.

The Contractor shall recruit members of a Medical Examiner Development Test Panel (MEDTP) for FMCSA acceptance, to be composed of two physicians (M.D. and/or D.O.), two PAs, two APRNs, and two D.C.s. The Contractor shall recruit for FMCSA acceptance of four or more alternates, including one physician, one PA, one APRN, and one D.C., to attend MEDTP meetings in the absence of a MEDTP member. The Contractor shall obtain notarized Conflict of Interest statements and Non-Disclosure Agreements from all MEDTP members and alternates prior to their participation in the MEDTP, and provide the originals to the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall hold three or more item-writing sessions with the MEDTP and designated FMCSA Medical Programs staff the first contract year and four or more item-writing sessions with the MEDTP and designated FMCSA Medical Programs staff annually during the second through fifth contract years. Working with the MEDTP, the Contractor shall maintain a test item bank by adding, revising, and deleting test items as needed. In accordance with current psychometric methodology customized for certified healthcare professionals, the Contractor shall provide two or more test forms, each with a Part A and a Part B, having different pre-test items but the same scored test items. The Contractor shall provide test delivery instructions, and cut scores for each test form. The Contractor shall provide an annual analysis of test results to determine the performance of test items by professional groups (Physician, PA, APRN, and D.C.). The Contractor shall hold one key verification meeting annually with at least one MEDTP member and designated FMCSA Medical Programs staff to review and modify the draft test forms.

The Contractor shall provide administrative/facilitation support for the operation of the MEDTP meetings. Examples of tasks related to administrative/facilitation support are scheduling meetings, managing meeting logistics, providing instructional materials, and facilitating the meeting. The Key Personnel Psychometrician/Scientific Consultant will train MEDTP members and provide guidance in current psychometric methodology.

The Contractor shall deliver, to the Volpe Center or its successor once per contract year, via secure overnight delivery on a CD, all test forms in XML format, and cut scores and test delivery instructions in PDF format. The Contractor shall be responsible for having the data storage and analysis tools necessary to accept and evaluate test results from the Volpe Center. The test results can be up to 100,000 records in a single transfer to the Contractor. Although the test results provided to the Contractor will not contain any Personally Identifiable Information, the Contractor shall follow all FMCSA security requirements regarding the storage of data and the transfer of test forms and test results between the Contractor and the Volpe Center.

The Contractor shall prepare an annual statistical report on test performance aggregated by professional type (Physicians, Physician Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Chiropractors). This report will include the analysis of question performance and types of items that various healthcare professionals (Physicians, Physician Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Chiropractors) answered correctly and incorrectly. This report will include the analysis of test results to show areas of weakness in ME candidate training, overall and by healthcare profession. The report format will include a title page, table of contents, list of tables with titles, list of figures, executive summary, introduction, methodology, body, and conclusion.

At the end of the final contract year, the Contractor shall provide and implement a transition plan for the transfer of all information received from FMCSA or developed under this contract to FMCSA. The Contractor shall submit a final report for the contract to FMCSA and dispose of all information developed under the Contract or received from FMCSA. FMCSA will conduct a site visit to verify the disposal.

SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERY OF CONTRACT SERVICES

The due dates in the following table include time for FMCSA review and acceptance.

SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERY OF CONTRACT SERVICES BASE YEAR

The due dates in the following table include time for FMCSA review and acceptance.

SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERY OF CONTRACT SERVICES OPTION YEARS

The due dates in the following table include time for FMCSA review and acceptance.