Notice Attachment - Bridge PWS_v08212024.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration (VHA) ADUSH/Health Informatics (OHI) Health Informatics Office (IHI)

Contract Working Title: Health Informatics (HI) Professional and Technical Services

Date: August 21, 2024

1.0 BACKGROUND

This contract work is for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and is healthcare focused.

. The Interagency Health Informatics (IHI) office within the VHA ADUSH/Office of Health Informatics (OHI) division is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The IHI fully supports and executes VHA’s vision and mission to “Honor America’s Veterans as heroes by providing the highest quality health care” by defining the interagency requirements and direction of VA’s interagency work with the Department of Defense (DoD). The IHI is charged with supporting VA interagency medical and surgical operations at the numerous VA/DoD Joint Venture and Medical Sharing locations in the continental United States (CONUS) and Outside the continental United States (OCONUS). This interagency clinical work is essential as it is authorized in Public Law (e.g. National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA] of 2014) and involves very close, interagency clinical collaboration with the DoD Military Officers, especially Medical Corps, civilians, and DoD contractors.

The purpose of the VHA OHI/IHI is to work collaboratively, with a wide variety of interagency health care skills, interagency health care experience (not just VA or DoD alone) and interagency clinical assets, with the DoD and Military Treatment Facilities to develop, implement and monitor comprehensive, interagency healthcare and clinical business functions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This VHA interagency organization must not be confused with a similar sounding organization called the “DoD/VA Interoperability Program Office,” that is also known as the “IPO” which by law is under the auspices of the DoD. The VHA IHI is focused solely on doing clinically focused work for VA medical centers and VHA Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) engaged in medical sharing with DoD.

The VHA OHI/IHI has two main interagency clinical and health care focus areas that require extensive interagency health care experience, including:

As VHA’s interagency clinical efforts move forward with a 21st century health care transformation lead by the VA Secretary, it is imperative that OHI/IHI obtains experienced contracted interagency support services, documented interagency skill sets, and contracted subject matter expertise (SME) with documented, contractor Interagency experience that is readily available to ensure continuity of already established, interagency electronic health record interoperability efforts. These interagency skills, that must be, verified include competencies in practicing in clinical and clinical support roles within both VHA and DHA health care systems work in the direct patient care of hundreds of thousands of shared patients. SME skills include the ability to effectively deal both with the military norms and VA culture of delivering health care to active duty as well as US Veterans. These skills are a unique combination of interacting with both DoD and VA clinicians to achieve optimal results in improving patient care. Separate work experiences and individual clinical skills working only within VA healthcare or only within DoD healthcare is insufficient to meet the requirements in this PWS. These documented interagency skills must be ready to be applied on day one with no start up or learning curve time required.

Additionally, the Veterans Health Administration has identified joint VA-DoD efforts as a critical Office of Health Informatics (OHI) necessity to advance Congressionally mandated participation for Veteran Health Information Sharing and health informatics (HI) initiatives between the Departments. Engaging a VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) representative would facilitate VHA’s ability to more effectively address mandates, performance measures, and program office priorities in a timely way and prevent costly duplications of efforts at individual VHA facilities.

The VA/DoD ICIB ensures practicing clinicians from the VA and DoD serve as the “…primary source of input … in recommending priorities for enhancing information sharing in support of the care delivery process for common beneficiaries of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.” The ICIB is engaged in the provision of care to recent separates from the DoD and charged with assembling and leading VHA clinicians in the determination of priorities for advancing Interagency health information sharing and in assessing and resolving challenges in current health information sharing programs.

The VA/DoD Health Executive Committee (HEC) is a Congressionally-authorized Interagency organization. For VA/DoD HEC mandated work, VHA is expected to jointly provide support to the VA/DoD Health Data Sharing (HDS) Business Line and its Work Groups (names may vary) just like the Department of Defense has in place with a separate DoD contract. This is an interagency effort that was created by the VA/DoD HEC and support for this work is required. This contract is to provide support for the VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) participants in the VA/DoD HDS BL and VA/DoD ICIB in very similar ways that DoD is already performing their contract work.

VA/DoD interagency expertise and documented interagency experience in this specific content area must be evident in all professionally produced deliverables. Contract success will only be possible if contractor staff possesses such experience along with complementary interagency/organizational skills, interagency analytical skills, and the ability to create consultative products and communicate them effectively to a variety of stakeholders in support of the VA/DoD HDS BL and VA/DoD ICIB and/or their possible, successor committees (that may have a simple name change).

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:

1. 44 U.S.C. § 3541, “Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002”

2. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2, “Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules”

3. FIPS Pub 201-2, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors,” August 2013

4. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974”

5. Public Law 109-461, Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, title IX Information Security Matters

6. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, “Defense Information Assurance Program”

7. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”

8. VA Directive 0710, “Personnel Security and Suitability Program,” June 4, 2010, http://www.va.gov/vapubs/

9. VA Handbook 0710, Personnel Security and Suitability Security Program, May 2, 2016, http://www.va.gov/vapubs

10. VA Directive and Handbook 6102, “Internet/Intranet Services,” July 15, 2008 (http://www.voa.va.gov/)

11. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); 45 CFR Part 160, 162, and 164; Health Insurance Reform: Security Standards; Final Rule dated February 20, 2003

12. VHA Security Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements (http://www.voa.va.gov/)

13. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards,” July 1, 2003

14. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “Managing Federal Information as a Strategic Resource,” July 28, 2016

15. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)”

16. An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule, October 2008

17. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998

18. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004

19. VA Directive 6500, “Managing Information Security Risk: VA Information Security Program,” September 20, 2012

20. VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems – Tier 3: VA Information Security Program,” March 10, 2015

21. VA Handbook 6500.1, “Electronic Media Sanitization,” November 03, 2008

22. VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)”, October, 28, 2015

23. VA Handbook 6500.3, “Assessment, Authorization, And Continuous Monitoring of VA Information Systems,” February 3, 2014

24. VA Handbook 6500.5, “Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle”, March 22, 2010

25. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010

26. VA Handbook 6500.8, “Information System Contingency Planning”, April 6, 2011

27. National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications (SP)

28. One-VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at http://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.asp)

29. Federal Segment Architecture Methodology (FSAM) v1.0, December 2008

30. VA Directive 6508, “Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and Privacy Impact Assessment,” October 15, 2014

31. VA Handbook 6508.1, “Procedures for Privacy Threshold Analysis and Privacy Impact Assessment,” July 30, 2015

32. VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, February 26, 2009

33. VA Handbook, 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, March 24, 2010

34. OMB Memorandum M-07-16, Safeguarding Against and Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, May 22, 2007

35. Office of Information Security (OIS) VAIQ #7424808 Memorandum, “Remote Access”, January 15, 2014, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

36. VA Memorandum, “Implementation of Federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials for Federal and Contractor Access to VA IT Systems”, (VAIQ# 7614373) July 9, 2015, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

37. VA Memorandum “Mandatory Use of PIV Multifactor Authentication to VA Information System” (VAIQ# 7613595), June 30, 2015, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall focus on interagency Program Management, which involves the exchange of interagency Interoperable EHRs, interagency clinical and interagency physician-centric strategic planning, and support for the interagency clinical project needs of VHA. Furthermore, this contract is to provide support interagency clinical and executive healthcare--- all intended for improving Interagency seamless patient care delivery processes.

Furthermore, this contract work centers on Interagency EHR Interoperability and Innovation at VA/DoD Joint Venture and medical sharing locations and the interagency health care they provide 24x7. The definition of DoD/VA Joint Ventures with examples can be found at http://tricare.mil/DVPCO/bummed.cfm. The interagency contract work will be centered on VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) facility and/or VISN approved interagency healthcare activities with DoD, obtained from clinicians at the joint venture sites. To be very explicit, this is not a routine program support activity, rather it requires documented interagency experiences and interagency skills that are highly specialized for this very specific interagency work with already experienced interagency Government managers.

VHA/OHI/IHI interagency work is required by Public Law to comply with the NDAA of 2014 and report on all interagency, interoperability health care efforts on a quarterly basis and, in summary, annually. These interagency contract deliverables are also consistent with and complementary to the interagency work that is already underway by DoD’s Defense Health Agency (DHA). This work is not just DoD healthcare alone and not just VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) healthcare alone, but is interagency healthcare that requires specialized interagency health care experience. OHI will use these interagency healthcare contract deliverables in collaboration with the VA/DoD Health Executive Council (HEC) authorized work with DoD interagency health care delivery. OHI will share these interagency healthcare deliverables with a variety of other VHA stakeholders, including VISN officials and other key VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) Senior Executive level personnel, who expect interagency healthcare expertise in direct patient care matters.

Specifically, the interagency functional health care task areas that shall be supported by the Contractor are:

(a) VA/DoD Interagency Program/Project Management for Interagency Health Informatics for joint, health care activities, interagency transitions of care, and all associated Interagency processes/procedures that add value to the interagency patient experience and enhance medical quality provided by VHA; and

(b) Interagency Health Informatics (IHI) Professional and Technical Services supporting EHRs capable of data sharing and used by VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) clinicians/others for interagency health care strategic planning, and health care consulting services for VA and DoD interagency delivery by VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) clinicians and health care providers; and

(c) VA/DoD Interagency Clinical Informatics Board (ICIB) and the VA/DoD Health Executive Council (HEC) Health Data Sharing (HDS) Business Line committee (and any successor committees) support of its evolving mission requirements, in particular, helping government managers stand up and support several working groups within the healthcare sharing domain and government interests focused on transitions of care for veterans and service members and their dependents.

This includes professional interagency health informatics services in support of the IHI, involving other VA and/or VHA program offices dealing with interagency clinical activities between DoD and VA for optimizing EHRs used for patient care of veterans and service members and their dependents.

The types of interagency informatics services required under this PWS are:

1. Interagency health care programs and joint health care project management services to assist in VA/DoD health care planning, joint health care management, project execution, and closing out of interagency programs and/or interagency health care projects that support patient care of veterans and service members and their dependents; and,

2. Interagency specialty Physician and Ancillary Service s (e.g. laboratory, radiology, pharmacy) subject matter expertise with documented and demonstrated skills and proven past experiences in the health care use of interagency EHRs for the delivery of joint care, including interagency, specialized clinical care including any procedures.

Furthermore, Interagency health informatics consulting services shall support joint patient care activities (e.g., DoD/VA Electronic Health Record) and knowledge and experience in this area are essential to contract success. The contractor shall provide the VHA with expert consultative products across the interagency health record lifecycle. This includes interagency needs analysis, joint requirements definition, interagency solution construction, enterprise strategy integration, and the creation and delivery of consultative products for the VA/DoD HDS BL and VA/DoD ICIB and/or their successor committees.

Formal, evidence-based expertise will be demonstrated in all professionally produced consultative products for the VA/DoD HDS BL and VA/DoD ICIB. The contractor shall work with other, multidisciplinary project teams to understand and refine joint informatics requirements in order to devise and implement solutions that are current with VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA); national and international best practices; work with clinical standards teams; and work with technical services to ensure that products are delivered in an enterprise fashion (scale, technology and integration). Contractor teams must have an array of interagency skills, analytical skills, and the ability to create consultative products and communicate them effectively.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance (PoP) shall be five (5) months from November 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends, unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO). There are ten (10) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows. Under current definitions, four are set by date:

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six are set by a day of the week and month:

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Most of the interagency informatics tasks under this PWS shall be performed at Contractor facilities. The Contractor shall identify the Contractor’s place of performance in their proposal submission. Some PWS clinically-focused, interagency deliverables may require that the Contractor perform the work on-site at a Government facility.

4.3 TRAVEL

The Government anticipates travel under this effort to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to attend program-related meetings or conferences throughout the PoP. Include all estimated travel costs in your firm-fixed price line items. These costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government.

The total estimated number of trips in support of the program related meetings for this effort is 16. Anticipated locations include the following, estimated at four days in duration:

Base Period

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide all tasks and clinical interagency deliverables described within this PWS and all shall be submitted to the CO, the COR, and the VHA Office of Health Informatics (OHI) Interoperability Office within VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA). This IHI should not be confused with the DoD/VA IPO in Roslyn, Virginia. Unless otherwise stipulated, written clinical interagency deliverables shall be phrased in plain, understandable English. Statistical and other technical jargon shall not be used without providing a glossary of terms and/or a full acronym listing. Also, all clinical interagency documents will have each and every acronym spelled out on first use within all documents.

All clinically-focused services provided by the Contractor shall consistently use best clinical business and health care industry practices, that include but not limited to the clinical use of Health Level Seven (HL7®) International’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®), interagency health care activities of the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) and its clinical applications from the Federal Health Architecture (FHA), Capability Maturity Model Implementation (CMMI), Malcolm Baldrige principals for health care, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Project Management Institute’s (PMI™) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) for clinical project. All this specialized knowledge, experience and skills are in order to strengthen and improve Health Informatics/Interoperability Office’s ability to deliver quality healthcare and clinical informatics support for VHA clinicians and other health care providers who are daily delivering quality health care to a wide variety of patients.

5.1 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT FOR HEALTH INFORMATICS

5.1.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

A COR shall be designated for this contract. The COR shall be appointed by the CO and duties delegated in an appointment letter. The COR designated shall provide the Contractor access to all available Government furnished information, facilities, material, equipment, services, among others as required to accomplish the work required in this PWS. Contract surveillance duties shall be defined and accomplished in accordance with the clinically focused Performance Assessment Plan.

5.1.2 CONTRACTOR HEALTH INFORMATICS PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The Contractor shall establish a single management focal point, the Program Manager, to accomplish the clinically-focused administrative, health care managerial and contract financial aspects of this interagency health care focused contract. Where existing, non-sensitive Government Furnished Information (GFI) is available, it will be shared with the Contractor, post-award.

5.1.3 WORK CONTROL

All clinical interagency program requirements, contract actions and health care data interchange shall be conducted in a digital environment using electronic and web-based applications. At minimum, such data shall be compatible with VA standard network protocol. The Government shall designate a standard naming convention for all electronic submissions within 60 days after contract award. An interactive portal concept is envisioned for the interchange of data/documents (to include deliverables and invoices).

5.1.4 BASELINE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTRACT MEETING

The Contractor shall hold an initial meeting for this contract within ten (10) business days after award. At a minimum, the Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the health care focused details of the intended approach to health care data sharing, a clinically-focused work plan, and interagency clinical project schedule for each effort. Dates, locations (can be virtual), and health care informatics-focused agenda shall be specified at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting and meeting minutes (shall be provided to all attendees within three (3) calendar days after the meeting).

5.2 INTERAGENCY HEALTH INFORMATICS PROJECT MANAGEMENT, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTOR ACTIVITIES

The Contactor shall apply Project Management Institute (PMI) - http://www.pmi.org/, best practices in health care to all health informatics Deliverables in a way such that health/clinical care activities are traceable against clinical interagency requirements (to be provided after Contract award) and meet each VHA interagency objective.

The Contractor shall provide for comprehensive, clinical interagency knowledge management and health care knowledge transfer to VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) personnel and partners for all interagency health care requirements. The Contractor shall employ effective methods such as clinical and executive stakeholder outreach, health care focused presentations, clinical interagency papers, health care meetings and virtual workspace clinical interagency content management. The assigned program topics covered shall address risks and issues and then make results-oriented

The Contractor shall develop and maintain clinical interagency status reports/briefs about health care interoperability and clinical innovation services provided to VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA), develop and provide written executive and clinical summaries for health care personnel, and provide updates to the existing IO’s Master Project Management Plan (PMP) for this clinical interagency functional task area associated with direct patient care to veterans.

5.2.1 CONSOLIDATED MONTHLY HEALTH INFORMATICS REPORT

The Contractor shall produce and submit a consolidated monthly report describing progress and activities for Health Informatics and interagency deliverables. This report shall be derived from the latest developments in health informatics technology regarding EHR and interagency information and informatics exchanges from technical journals, current publications, and academic sources. This report will also include internal information about clinical interagency work and shall involve highly complex content about Interoperable EHRs used for direct patient care. Five (5) reports are expected in the Base Period. Note that simple “meeting minutes” are not what is intended or desired by the Government. What is expected by the Government is expertly written interagency clinical activities and comprehensive health care reports by authors with advanced academic degrees and used for executive and clinical levels, and when appropriate and cleared, may be used for Congressional Reporting on clinical interagency efforts and health care innovations to improve patient care. Each comprehensive, clinical interagency report will have a maximum total of 50 pages each with technical references listed. The format of deliverables will follow precisely the authorized document formats for health care content by the VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA).

Deliverables:

A. Monthly Consolidated Reports B.

5.3 HEALTH INFORMATICS PROFESSIONAL AND TECHINCAL SERVICES PROGRAM SUPPORT FOR VHA AND INTERAGENCY EFFORTS

The Contractor shall provide clinical interagency interoperability and interagency health care innovation services support to the VHA lead organization. The interagency subject matter expertise must include VA/DoD health care coordination of deliverables involving IHI Professional and Technical clinical activities of this VHA office. The focus of work to create deliverables will include interagency EHR life cycle clinical requirements efforts that follow commercial best practices. The Contractor shall create clinical interagency documentation centered on health care delivery engagement strategies and focused on healthcare clinical and administrative areas that need improvement. These scientifically based (not opinion based) innovation interoperability and interagency deliverables that follow in the remainder of section 5.3 shall involve highly complex clinical content about Interoperable EHRs that is expertly written by staff who have advanced academic degrees because deliverables about clinical interagency activities may be used for further executive level use in Congressional Reporting about interagency Interoperability and Innovation. Clinical accuracy with professional references is imperative for all deliverables.

5.3.1 CLINICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VHA AND INTERAGENCY EFFORTS

The Contractor shall provide delivery of expert clinical interagency informatics support services in accordance with established commercial best practices and published VHA interagency requirements in the VHA Strategic Plan FY2013-2018 (www.va.gov/health/docs/VHA_Strategic _Plan) for healthcare information exchange-focused deliverables. The Contractor shall provide a deliverable for one or more of the following nine (9) areas. The VHA deliverables will be created as current version Microsoft WORD files during the five-month Base Period. The expert content will be from one or more of the nine (9) following clinical/health care areas directed by the government and will be:

(1) Improving data sharing in support of veterans and servicemembers and their dependents receiving care from external agencies and health care entities;

(2) Addressing health informatics enhancements to the clinical continuity of care process for external DoD care involving veterans;

(3) Enhancing the interagency clinician-user experience in the delivery of patient care to veterans and servicemembers and their dependents;

(4) Improving the exchange of medical and ancillary service information for interagency cases involving health care;

(5) Improving interagency clinical processes where patients are being cared for simultaneously by VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) and DoD;

(6) Assessing the impact of VA/DoD clinical data quality for interoperable Electronic Health Records and their associated legacy systems;

(7) Evaluating commercial clinical best practices of health informatics policies and seamless care in large health care settings/systems.

A total of eight (8) reports in the 5--month base period, ; clinically-focused, evidence-based reports will each involve highly complex, clinical and health care content about federal and VA/DoD EHRs and such reports are to be expertly written by authors with advanced academic degrees and experience with interagency work, as the deliverables may be used for interagency reporting and/or for executive or physician level use in Congressional Reporting about interagency health care record and other Interoperability and/or clinical interagency Innovations.

Deliverables:

A. Interagency Health Informatics Reports

5.3.2 ANALYTICALLY-SOUND, EVIDENCE-BASED HEALTH INFORMATICS REPORTS

The Contractor shall provide an evidence-based, analytically-sound Reviews, which is a major deliverable that are interagency health informatics focused documents examining the state of the health care industry, other than the VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA), large healthcare systems and healthcare information model development using scientific methods of review. The major sections of the deliverable shall include:

(1) The determination of resources needed for effective application of health informatics for Electronic Health Record implementations;

(2) Provision of expert facilitation with Government Subject Matter Experts to elicit responses to most effective organizational efforts using Lean Six Sigma techniques;

(3) Execution of interagency informatics and engagement, over a five-year planning horizon

(4) Calculation of the estimated complexity and organizational value for interagency data sharing; and

(5) A five year look ahead, “go-forward” strategy for data-sharing and transition to a commercial EHR to be used for Senior Executive Service level reporting by government managers.

In the five-month Base Period, the Offeror shall provide a total quantity of eight (8) , evidence-based, analytically sound reports that will include the five major content areas listed immediately above. Then, the Contractor shall provide updates for each of the documents, after delivering the first document deliverable labeled “version 1” of this Microsoft WORD deliverable. Updates to the original document will be updates as WORD deliverables and involves adding further, expert content gathered from academic sources and published literature available from a wide variety of valid sources that will be part of this on-going work effort by the Contractor. The Contractor’s use of valid sources and reliable references will be properly documented in each version, using the standards used for evidence-based, quality papers. Unsubstantiated content and undocumented opinion papers will not be considered acceptable deliverables by the government.

It is anticipated that the contractor collaboration with DoD and VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) clinical and administrative staffs will be for an approximate duration of five (5) hours per week, involving meeting minutes and participation on weekly Government phone calls.

Deliverables:

A. Evidence-based, analytically-sound deliverables focused on health informatics A total of eight (8) reports in the 5-month base period.

5.3.3 COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INFORMATICS EXECUTIVE PRESENTATIONS

The Contractor shall provide a Monthly Comprehensive Interagency Executive Presentation Packages. The Monthly Comprehensive Interagency Executive Presentation Packages support the VA/DoD ICIB and VA/DoD Health Informatics Business Line involving Interagency Project and Program Management, following the current VHA style guide for executive correspondence, about Interoperable EHRs that includes Highly Complex, Expertly written presentations and meeting materials that are suitable for the VA/DoD HEC and/or the VHA’s Under Secretary for Health (USH) for enhancing/improving the clinical information/health care processes with Interoperable EHRs and other interagency clinical, patient care processes for use in direct patient care.

At the end of the Base Period, , the Offeror will create an Executive Summary that provides a holistic, understandable summary of all presentations created during the Base and Option One, Two, Three, and Four Periods of Performance. The Contractor shall submit Final Summary Reports depicting the final work effort packaging summary information focused on Interoperability and Innovation Services for enhancing/improving Interoperable EHRs. This is to be done No Later Than 5 business days before the end of the Period of Performance of the following periods.

Deliverables:

A. Monthly Comprehensive Interagency Health Informatics Executive Presentation Packages B. Final report summarizing all efforts performed in the Base Period

A total of five (5) reports in the 5-month base period for Deliverable A and one (1) Final report summarizing all efforts performed in the Base Period.

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 SECURITY AND PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS

6.1.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

The position sensitivity and the level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access for the following tasks within the PWS are:

Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation Requirements by Task

The Tasks identified above and the resulting Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation requirements identify, in effect, the Background Investigation requirements for Contractor individuals, based upon the tasks the particular Contractor individual will be working. The submitted Contractor Staff Roster must indicate the required Background Investigation Level for each Contractor individual based upon the tasks the Contractor individual will be working, in accordance with their submitted proposal.

6.1.2 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Contractor Responsibilities:

The Contractor(s) shall comply with all personnel security requirements included in this contract. All Contractor personnel who require access to VA computer systems shall be subject to background investigations and must receive a favorable background investigation from the VA.

The level and process of background security investigations for Contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, “Personnel Suitability and Security Program”.

1. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain the appropriate Background Investigation, and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language.

1. The Contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations.

b. Within 3 business days after award, the Contractor shall provide a roster of Contractor and Subcontractor employees to the COR to begin their background investigations. The Contractor Staff Roster shall contain the Contractor’s Full Name, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, individual background investigation level requirement (based upon Section 6.2 Tasks), etc. The Contractor shall submit full Social Security Numbers either within the Contractor Staff Roster or under separate cover to the COR. The Contractor Staff Roster shall be updated and provided to VA within 1 day of any changes in employee status, training certification completion status, Background Investigation level status, additions/removal of employees, etc. throughout the Period of Performance. The Contractor Staff Roster shall remain a historical document indicating all past information and the Contractor shall indicate in the Comment field, employees no longer supporting this contract. The preferred method to send the Contractor Staff Roster or Social Security Number is by encrypted e-mail. If unable to send encrypted e-mail, other methods which comply with FIPS 140-2 are to encrypt the file, use a secure fax, or use a traceable mail service.

1. The Contractor should coordinate the location of the nearest VA fingerprinting office through the COR. Only electronic fingerprints are authorized.

d. The Contractor shall ensure the following required forms are submitted to the COR within 5 days after contract award:

1) Optional Form 306

2) Self-Certification of Continuous Service

3) VA Form 0710

4) Completed Security and Investigations Center (SIC) Fingerprint Request Form

e. The Contractor personnel shall submit all required information related to their background investigations (completion of the investigation documents (SF85, SF85P, or SF 86) utilizing the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) after receiving an email notification from the Security and Investigation Center (SIC).

f. The Contractor employee shall certify and release the e-QIP document, print and sign the signature pages, and send them encrypted to the COR for electronic submission to the SIC. These documents shall be submitted to the COR within 3 business days of receipt of the e-QIP notification email. (Note: OPM is moving towards a “click to sign” process. If click to sign is used, the Contractor employee should notify the COR within 3 business days that documents were signed via eQIP).

1. The Contractor shall be responsible for the actions of all personnel provided to work for VA under this contract. In the event that damages arise from work performed by Contractor provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident.

1. A Contractor may be granted unescorted access to VA facilities and/or access to VA Information Technology resources (network and/or protected data) with a favorably adjudicated Special Agreement Check (SAC), training delineated in VA Handbook 6500.6 (Appendix C, Section 9), and, the signed “Contractor Rules of Behavior.” However, the Contractor will be responsible for the actions of the Contractor personnel they provide to perform work for VA. The investigative history for Contractor personnel working under this contract must be maintained in the database of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

1. The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorably adjudicated background investigation on a Contractor employee as determined by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration in working under the contract.

j. Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security investigative requirements may result in loss of physical and/or logical access to VA facilities and systems by Contractor and Subcontractor employees and/or termination of the contract for default.

k. Identity Credential Holders must follow all HSPD-12 policies and procedures as well as use and protect their assigned identity credentials in accordance with VA policies and procedures, displaying their badges at all times, and returning the identity credentials upon termination of their relationship with VA.

Deliverable:

A. Contractor Staff Roster

6.2 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall deliver documentation in electronic format, unless otherwise directed in Section B of the solicitation/contract. Acceptable electronic media include: MS Word 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Excel 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS PowerPoint 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Project 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Access 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Visio 2000/2002/2003/2007/2010, AutoCAD 2002/2004/2007/2010, and Adobe Postscript Data Format (PDF).

6.3 PERFORMANCE METRICS

6.3.1 QUALITY CONTROL (QC)

The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective QC program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The Contractor’s QC program provides assurance that work complies with requirements of the PWS. As a minimum, the Contractor shall develop QC procedures addressing the areas identified in the Performance Standards below. After acceptance of the QC plan, the Contractor shall receive the CO's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to contractor’s QC system.

The table below defines the Performance Standards and Acceptable Levels of Performance associated with this effort.

2. Efficient and effective in meeting requirements

3. Meets technical needs and mission requirements

4. Provides quality services/products Satisfactory or higher

Two or fewer instance where significant errors or omissions were identified (See Note 1)

2. Products completed, reviewed, delivered in accordance with the established schedule

3. Notifies customer in advance of potential problems Satisfactory or higher

2. Personnel possess necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform tasks Satisfactory or higher

Note 1: Significant errors or omissions are defined as deliverables not meeting the intent of the task and the work considered to be within scope of this PWS.

Note 2: Continued repetitive errors may result in an unacceptable rating on performance report to be used as part of the evaluation criteria on future competitions.

The COR will utilize a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the life of the contract to ensure that the Contractor is performing the services required by this PWS in an acceptable level of performance. The Government reserves the right to alter or change the surveillance methods in the QASP at its own discretion. A Performance Based Service Assessment will be used by the COR in accordance with the QASP to assess Contractor performance.

6.4 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS

VA may provide remote access to VA specific systems/network in accordance with VA Handbook 6500, which requires the use of a VA approved method to connect external equipment/systems to VA’s network. Citrix Access Gateway (CAG) is the current and only VA approved method for remote access users when using or manipulating VA information for official VA Business. VA permits CAG remote access through approved Personally Owned Equipment (POE) and Other Equipment (OE) provided the equipment meets all applicable 6500 Handbook requirements for POE/OE. All the security controls required for Government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved POE or OE. The Contractor shall provide proof to the COR for review and approval that their POE or OE meets the VA Handbook 6500 requirements and VA Handbook 6500.6 Appendix C, herein incorporated as Addendum B, before use. CAG authorized users shall not be permitted to copy, print or save any VA information accessed via CAG at any time. VA prohibits remote access to VA’s network from non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. The exception to this are countries where VA has approved operations established (e.g. Philippines and South Korea). Exceptions are determined by the COR in coordination with the Information Security Officer (ISO) and Privacy Officer (PO).

This remote access may provide access to VA specific software such as Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture (VistA), ClearQuest, ProPath, Primavera, and Remedy, including appropriate seat management and user licenses, depending upon the level of access granted. The Contractor shall utilize government-provided software development and test accounts, document and requirements repositories, etc. as required for the development, storage, maintenance and delivery of products within the scope of this effort. The Contractor shall not transmit, store or otherwise maintain sensitive data or products in Contractor systems (or media) within the VA firewall IAW VA Handbook 6500.6 dated March 12, 2010. All VA sensitive information shall be protected at all times in accordance with VA Handbook 6500, local security field office System Security Plans (SSP’s) and Authority to Operate (ATO)’s for all systems/LANs accessed while performing the tasks detailed in this PWS. The Contractor shall ensure all work is performed in countries deemed not to pose a significant security risk. For detailed Security and Privacy Requirements (additional requirements of the contract consolidated into an addendum for easy reference) refer to

ADDENDUM A – ADDITIONAL VA REQUIREMENTS, CONSOLIDATED and ADDENDUM B - VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE.

6.5 BADGES

Employees working at a Government facility may be required to display, on their person, a Government-provided identification badge, that shall include the full name of the employee and the legal name under which the Contractor is operating. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to request and obtain badges from the Government prior to the first workday of any Contractor employee. The Contractor shall return all badges to the Government program manager, or designee, on the same day an individual’s employment is terminated and upon termination of the contract. The Contractor shall notify the Government program manager, or designee, immediately of any lost badges.

6.6 RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA

The Contractor is required to deliver technical data, reports, documentation or other information, which is first produced in the performance of the contract, in accordance with Performance Work Statement 5.3 and its subparagraphs and as delivered in CLIN 0002 and it SLINS, and CLIN 1002 and its SLINS. The Government shall receive Unlimited Rights in intellectual property first produced and delivered in the performance of this contract in accordance with FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General (May 2014).

ADDENDUM A – ADDITIONAL VA REQUIREMENTS, CONSOLIDATED

A1.0 Cyber and Information Security Requirements for VA IT Services

The Contractor shall ensure adequate LAN/Internet, data, information, and system security in accordance with VA standard operating procedures and standard PWS language, conditions, laws, and regulations. The Contractor’s firewall and web server shall meet or exceed VA minimum requirements for security. All VA data shall be protected behind an approved firewall. Any security violations or attempted violations shall be reported to the VA Program Manager and VA Information Security Officer as soon as possible. The Contractor shall follow all applicable VA policies and procedures governing information security, especially those that pertain to certification and accreditation.

Contractor supplied equipment, PCs of all types, equipment with hard drives, etc. for contract services must meet all security requirements that apply to Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Owned Equipment (GOE). Security Requirements include: a) VA Approved Encryption Software must be installed on all laptops or mobile devices before placed into operation, b) Bluetooth equipped devices are prohibited within VA; Bluetooth must be permanently disabled or removed from the device, c) VA approved anti-virus and firewall software, d) Equipment must meet all VA sanitization requirements and procedures before disposal. The COR, CO, the PM, and the Information Security Officer (ISO) must be notified and verify all security requirements have been adhered to.

Each documented…