NNG15SD34B-142.pdf

VHAPM Part 816.5—Indefinite-Delivery Contracts Page 1 of 4 Original Date: 08/30/2017 Date: 03/11/2019 Rev 02

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval

For

Exception to Fair Opportunity Memo

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C261-20-AP-3413

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 21, NCO21, VA Southern Nevada Health

Care System, 6900 North Pecos Road, North Las Vegas, 89086, Purchase Request Number 593-20-3- 160-0074.

2. Description of Action: This action is a justification and approval based on unusual and compelling urgency in support of national defense and the national emergency COVID-19. NCO 21 awarded a firm fixed price delivery order for TheraDoc, a clinical decision support software to manage patients for the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System. This is a delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), henceforth referred to as NASA SEWP.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: This procurement is for the Document Storage Systems’ (DSS) TheraDoc, clinical decision support software, licenses, training and maintenance. TheraDoc interfaces with the VA’s Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) Systems to send Admissions, Discharge and Transfer (ADT), Lab/Microbiology, Inpatient pharmacy, Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA), Radiology, Surgery, Vital signs, Problem list and Outpatient pharmacy data to the TheraDoc software’s dedicated database, for real-time patient surveillance capabilities.

The period of performance is one year which allows the clinicians to be able to use the training hours after the product is implemented and before the period of performance expires.

The value of this acquisition is

The order is against NASA SEWP Number: NNG15SD34B, Minburn Technologies (SDVOSB), 10113 Minburn St. Great Falls, VA 22066.

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 16.505 Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i):

(X) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A): The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

( ) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B): 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.

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Date: 03/11/2019 Rev 02

( ) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C): The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

( ) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(D): It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

( ) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(E): For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source”. The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity for this action is 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), known as the Veterans First Contracting Program which provides the authority to directly contract with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB).

( ) FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(F) In accordance with section 1331 of Public Law 111-240 (15 U.S.C.

644(r)), contracting officers may, at their discretion, set aside orders for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3). When setting aside orders for small business concerns, the specific small business program eligibility requirements identified in part 19 apply.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

Currently the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System does not have immediate access to existing VA reports such as drug/lab reports, drug utilization reports, and real-time infection/microbiology surveillance reports. Due to COVID-19 cases spiking in Las Vegas, the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System requires a system to monitor COVID-19 patient and staff reports in real-time. The TheraDoc Patient Monitoring software solution will provide clinical staff immediate real-time lists of patients who have been tested for COVID-19 (whether positive, negative, or undetermined, assess positive signs/symptoms), with negative labs to put patients on potential watch, identify patients tested to rule out similar respiratory illnesses before COVID-19 testing, track VA employees tested for COVID-19, to ensure they are safe to treat patients, alert on patients admitted within 14 days after negative test to track/trend incubation, clinicians emailed in real time with test results and/or patient condition changes, automated to do list, tracking required communication with the outpatients tested, isolation patients tracked for criteria met to lift isolation, so hospital beds and equipment are freed up, and reporting across all VA Medical Centers, to track and trend patterns and successful treatment strategies.

Under the current declared national emergency, an unusual and compelling urgency exists which justifies precluding competition for the execution of this delivery order. Failure to execute this action would result in serious jeopardy to VA major mission of veterans healthcare and safety along with staff safety; and therefore, the Federal Government would be seriously injured unless VA limits competition in accordance with this justification.

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Date: 03/11/2019 Rev 02

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Due to the unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances that have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not practical to seek competition for this requirement. DSS TheraDoc Patient Monitoring software is a proprietary software product; therefore, only a DSS authorized reseller can provide the software, licenses, training and maintenance on its software product.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This action has a period of performance of one year which allows the clinicians to be able to use the training hours after the product is implemented and before the period of performance expires. Once the period of performance expires, software updates and maintenance will be required. These updates and maintenance will be able to be competed amongst DSS’s authorized resellers.

8. Market Research: Due to the unprecedented and unforeseen circumstances that have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, limited market research was done to identify an authorized reseller of TheraDoc..

9. Other Facts: No other factors are applicable at this time.

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.

Date Title: Chief, Office of Quality, Safety and Value Facility: VA Southern Nevada Health Care System

11. Determination that Anticipated Cost is Fair and Reasonable: I hereby determine that the price to the Government for this action is fair and reasonable because contracts awarded on the NASA SEWP IV GWAC have already been determined to be fair and reasonable. The prices were also compared to DSS’s published price lists.

12. Contracting Officer's Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Title: Contracting Officer Facility: VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System