P03_JA_QGenda_7.2.25_Final_Redacted_.pdf

CONTROL NUMBER VA-25-00081990

LIMITED-SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

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

Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a firm-fixed-price task order to be issued under the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 511210 – Software Licenses. The action is for brand name QGenda software licenses and will be issued on a sole source basis to Government Marketing and Procurement LLC (GMP), 13350 Ranch Road, Wimberley, TX 78676.

Description of the Supplies or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs, Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) has a requirement for QGenda software licenses to provide scheduling for clinical staff across the facility. The CVAMC requires the services of a reliable rule-based online scheduling program that is Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and Authorize to Operate (ATO) certified. The scheduling program will be used over the internet for scheduling approximately 180 CVAMC personnel including various including days, nights, weekends and holidays. The period of performance shall be one, 12-month base period with four, 12-month option periods. The estimated total value of the proposed action is inclusive of options.

Authority: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the MAS Program. The specific authority providing for a limited source award is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), “Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.”

Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: QGenda is the only software available which operates within the VA Office of Information and Technology security architecture and is the only medical staff scheduling software found to successfully manage the complexity of call schedules. QGenda possesses both FedRAMP certification and has an ATO within the Veterans Health Administration. Existing QGenda applications throughout the CVAMC are only compatible with other QGenda software due to proprietary source code. Only QGenda or its authorized reseller, GMP, are capable of providing the proprietary software. Access to the proprietary software code is required for the provisioning of the software as well as maintenance support inclusive of, troubleshooting, updates, fixes, patches, and upgrades. The software and maintenance services are vital to VA for continued sustainment of the VA’s ability to perform concurrent application development. The brand name QGenda software maintenance is required for minor software upgrades and patches. These upgrades/patches provide new feature sets, address program errors in prior versions, and provide security enhancements. VA requires upgrades and patches for its existing

QGenda Software CONTROL NUMBER VA-25-00081990

QGenda software and only QGenda, or an authorized reseller, can provide the necessary software upgrades and patches because of the propriety source code required to develop and implement software updates. Since the software is proprietary, a legal restriction is placed on access to the software code that is required in order to develop upgrades and patches to the software. Without this access, it is impossible to modify the software code as necessary to provide the required patches and upgrades.

Access to this code is also needed to ensure all the services provided, including the migration services, are completed, and properly configured. For this reason, no other source other than QGenda or an authorized reseller can provide the required technical support for the requirement, such as assistance via phone and email, as well as all software upgrades and patches. Due to these proprietary restrictions, the use of any other software maintenance provider would necessitate the complete replacement of the existing QGenda infrastructure in place. The estimated cost and time for such a replacement would be approximately $900,000.00 and 12 months and is based on historical implementation efforts of similar size. These estimated duplicative costs would not be recovered through competition. If QGenda software is not available to healthcare personnel, Veterans are at risk for not receiving timely healthcare services. This will improve patient safety and clinical outcomes with improved call back response times in addition to improving support staff efficiency and effectiveness.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 8.405-6(a)(2) the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed. Specifically, the Government will continue to monitor the marketplace to determine whether other brand software could integrate into VA's existing suite of QGenda applications.

8. Market Research: In June 2025, the Government's technical experts conducted market research by reviewing similar software tools through internet research to include Amion, Lightning Bolt and HaloHealth. While these software solutions had the general capabilities needed to perform the proposed effort, they were. Cincinnati VAMCs Cloud Based software requirements for Personnel and Bed Management system interoperability were not patently apparent. Additionally, market research which reviewed similar software tools listed in the VA Supply Chain Master Catalog did not provide for a specifically oriented solution with on call personnel scheduling and bed management scheduling with interface options which VA requires. As an example, the National Tele-ICU Program, a tenant activity supported by Cincinnati VAMC, currently uses the QGenda scheduling personnel management platform for the Tele-ICUs, and it is expected that in the future, VA will apply the interoperability QGenda offers in its platform to other QGenda modules used in VA.

Additionally, since QGenda software is proprietary, no other vendor can provide the required software maintenance and technical support. Licensing for QGenda software, however, can be procured from QGenda or its approved resellers. In order to continue to correct bugs or remediate security vulnerabilities in the software, access to the source code is required. No other vendor, other than the software developer, has access to this source code. Other software developers that offer similar products merely provide software maintenance and technical support for its own proprietary software products

The Contract Specialist (CS) conducted market research in June 2025 to identify sources capable of providing the full brand name requirement by searching National Aeronautics and Space Administration Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts Provider Lookup using key word “QGenda” and returned two results. The first was for Alvarez LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), however, Alvarez was not listed as an approved reseller.

The second was for Blue Tech, Inc, a Hubzone/Women Owned Small Business. This market research confirmed there are not two or more SDVOSBs or Veteran-Owned Small Business resellers that provide QGenda. To confirm approved resellers of QGenda software, the CS contacted QGenda directly to inquire on its approved resellers. QGenda advised that GMP was the only authorized reseller of its software to the Federal Government. As a result, it was determined that the required QGenda software licenses must be procured on a sole source basis from GMP via GSA MAS 511210.

9. Other Facts: None.

Technical/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.

Best Value Determination

I hereby determine that the proposed contract action will represent the best value to the Government consistent with FAR 8.404(d). GSA has already determined that the prices on the Federal Supply Schedule contract are fair and reasonable. Price analysis may be performed in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b). Additionally, price discounts may be sought.

Contracting Officer Certification/Approval

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.