Questions on MCA260003_07_06_26.pdf
PDF 52 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Cannabis Care Line (CCL) Pilot Program
- Solicitation number
- BPM057708
- Issued by
- Maryland
About this file
This document contains a question-and-answer record from Maryland's Cannabis Care Line (CCL) Pilot Program solicitation (RFP MCA260003), addressing inquiries submitted by Junnah Inc., a minority women-owned small business specializing in digital health. The solicitation seeks staffing for a free Cannabis Care Line that will provide professional information on medical cannabis use and health-related questions regarding cannabis consumption. Junnah Inc. submitted four questions regarding the possibility of utilizing an AI-operated model to operate the service, specifically proposing a 24/7 AI conversational agent accessible via a 1-800 phone line capable of handling 100+ concurrent calls, supported by a Maryland-licensed physician Clinical Director and an MCA-approved, version-controlled knowledge base.
Maryland's Cannabis Care Administration (MCA) responded to all four questions with a consistent position: the solicitation requires the Cannabis Care Line to be staffed by qualified, licensed healthcare professionals in accordance with the staffing and personnel qualification requirements outlined in Section 2.4.2 of the RFP. MCA clarified that while offerors may propose tools or technologies to support service delivery, these tools cannot replace the requirement that licensed healthcare professionals directly provide information and respond to callers. MCA declined to pre-approve knowledge bases, safety protocols, or escalation criteria for an AI-enabled model, and rejected the proposal model in which an AI agent would serve as the caller-facing responder. The agency indicated that all proposals will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to the solicitation's stated requirements.
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Text version
Thanks much for inviting Junnah Inc. to participate in RFP for MCA260003. J***** is a minority women owned small business in digital health.
Question 1 — AI-operated model
Would MCA consider a proposal in which the Cannabis Care Line is operated by a 24/7 AI conversational agent via a 1-800 phone line with 100+ concurrent calls that retrieves consistent responses only from a clinician MCA-approved, version-controlled cannabis knowledge base, with oversight by a named Maryland-licensed physician with no conflicts of interest, and with escalation/referral protocols for crisis, problem use, adverse events, individualized medical questions, and out-of-scope inquiries?
A: The intent of this solicitation is for the Cannabis Care Line to be staffed by qualified, licensed healthcare professionals in accordance with the staffing and personnel qualification requirements set forth in the RFP. While Offerors may propose tools or technologies to support service delivery, these tools may not replace the requirement that licensed healthcare professionals provide information and respond to callers. Proposals will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to all requirements of the solicitation.
Question 2 — equivalence to staffing
If the AI agent is the caller-facing responder and the Maryland-licensed physician serves as
Clinical Director, MCA pre-approve knowledge-base, safety, QA, escalation protocols, would
MCA consider this model responsive to the CCL staffing and personnel requirements, or must all live caller-facing interactions be handled by individuals meeting Section 2.4.2?
A: See response in Q1 about AI staffing.
Question 3 — knowledge base approval
Would MCA be interested to provide, review, snd approve source materials, disclaimers, escalation criteria, and clinical boundaries for a controlled cannabis knowledge base used by an AI-enabled CCL?
A: See response in Q1 about AI staffing.
Question 4 — safety escalation
For an AI-operated model, what callback or escalation expectation would MCA require for questions involving adverse effects, medication interactions, pregnancy, psychiatric symptoms, heavy use/problem use, or medical emergencies?
A: See response in Q1 about AI staffing.
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .