Radiology Interpretive Services FTIHSHC.pdf

FORT THOMPSON INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE HEALTH CENTER

STATEMENT OF WORK

RADIOLOGY INTERPRETIVE SERVICES

BACKGROUND

The IHS is an agency within the Department of Health & Human Services and is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Indian Health Service provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately

2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes, in 35 states. The Indian Health Service Headquarters is located in Rockville, MD and then divided into twelve (12) physical areas: Alaska, Albuquerque, Bemidji, Billings, California, Great Plains, Nashville, Navajo, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Portland, and Tucson.

The Great Plains Area (GPA) works in conjunction with 19 Indian Health Service (IHS) Service Units and Tribal Managed Service Units to provide health care to approximately 130,000 Native American located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The Area Office's service units include seven hospitals, eight health centers, and several smaller health stations and satellite clinics.

Our facility, the Fort Thompson IHS Health Center, falls under the GPA. FTIHSHC provides medical care for Crow Creek Reservation. The reservation is located on the Missouri River 60 miles southeast of the state capital of Pierre, SD. The reservation is divided into three (3) Districts: Big Bend, Crow Creek, and Fort Thompson. FTIHSHC is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Care, Inc. (AAAHC). Services provided at the FTIHSHC consist of Behavioral Health, Dental, Laboratory, Nursing, Medical Imaging, Optometry, Pharmacy, Primary Care, Public Health Nursing. Specialty Clinics include Podiatry, OB/Gyn, and Mammography.

OBJECTIVE

To provide diagnostic radiology interpretation services for standard x-ray and ultrasound imaging. The number of imaging studies varies but average 300 x-rays and 20 ultrasounds per month. The contract from this solicitation shall:

1. Be a fixed price non-personal Diagnostic Radiology/Medical Imaging contract.

2. Allow the Federal Government to evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided.

3. Require the Contractor to indemnify the Federal Government for any liability producing act or omission by the Contractor, its employees and agents occurring during contract performance.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The base performance period shall be base year plus four (4) option years.

HOURS OF PERFORMANCE

Routine work shall be performed Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. All Federal holidays will be observed.

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, FACILITIES, AND SERVICES

The service unit will be responsible for performing standard radiologic and ultrasound exams and submitting any supporting documentation to the contractor.

The service unit will provide administrative and professional ancillary personnel deemed necessary to support the contractor.

STATEMENT OF WORK

The Contractor shall:

• Adhere to the accepted standards and ethics, and policies and procedures adopted by the profession and the organization and regulated by law.

• Provide interpretation and final reports for all medical imaging studies sent to the contractor.

• Have all equipment and/or systems necessary to fulfil the requirements of this contract.

• Provide a copy of the most recent health physicist's survey report on any diagnostic reading workstations.

• Be certified by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The interpreting physicians must have documentation showing that they meet minimum ACR and FDA qualifications: this would include initial, continuing experience and continuing education. In addition to these requirements, the Radiologist shall have clinical supervision over the FTIHSHC Radiology Department and are expected to perform as LIP (Lead Interpreting Physician).

• Provide telephone consultation to the FTIHSHC providers on image interpretations which have unusual findings that may cause immediate health problems for the patient.

• Participate, when requested, in FTIHSHC Quality Assurance and Peer Review activities.

• Be able to transcribe final reports and issue signed reports to the Ft. Thompson Radiology Department by electronic means.

• Provide copies of Peer Review, Medical Licensure, and approved privileges for all Radiologists proving services under this contract.

REPORTS

The Contractor will be required to provide transcription and electronic signatures for all radiology reports. An electronically signed report must be submitted to the Ft. Thompson Radiology Department within:

• Prior to 4:30pm Central Standard Time on the day of the study for all routine studies.

• Fifteen (15) minutes for STAT studies.

Interpretive electronic reports signed by reading Radiologist will be available electronically for FTIHSHC Radiology personnel to enter into the Electronic Health Record (EHR).

The Contractor is solely responsible for the completeness and accuracy of medical terminology spelling, grammar and punctuation. Corrections will be the responsibility of the Contractor without any additional charge to the IHS facility.

The Contractor shall immediately refer apparent discrepancies or inconsistencies to the appropriate physician for clarification and/or corrections, so reports are still transcribed within the required timeframe.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND INVOICE PAYMENT

The Federal Government reserves the right to accept or reject services if the level of performance is unsatisfactory to the IHS.

The contractor will be paid when an invoice is submitted in the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for studies done.

In working with the Radiology Supervisor/QC Coordinator assuring work is satisfactory; work will be thoroughly monitored and approved. After approval, invoices will be forwarded for payment. Along with this invoice, there shall be a record of total x-rays and ultrasounds signed by the office manager or designee.

No direct patient billing will be done by the contractor. The contractor will not do third party billing on its own for any interpretations done under this contract.

IMAGE STUDY DELIVERY

The studies will be electronically transmitted from the FTIHSHC SMAART PACS via DICOM using an encrypted, secure method via a persistent LAN to LAN VPN connection. The contractor will need to describe the security/encryption protocols used for retrieving transcribed reports.

To this end, the Contractor must sign a Data Exchange Agreement, or other Interconnection Security Agreement that the Indian Health Service provides to the Contractor in order to establish the VPN connection(s).

CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

1. The contractor must be located within the United States.

2. Board certification from the American Board of Radiology has comparable qualifications, ACR and FDA.

3. Meet the criteria for medical staff membership including:

A. Current and unrestricted medical license from a state, The District of Puerto Rico, or a temporary of the United States.

B. Diploma indication completion of an approved medical school program.

C. Completion of a medical residency-training program in Radiology.

D. If applicable, a copy of the Education Commission of Foreign Medical

Graduate certificate (ECFMG).

E. Relevant experience and training in Radiology as evidenced by three (3) letters of reference from individuals who can attest to the Radiologist's judgement, competence, and character. One letter must be from the Chief of Staff or Department Chairperson from a hospital where the applicant has provided radiology services.

F. Provide information on previously successful or currently pending challenges of licensures or registrations (State or District, DEA) or the voluntary or involuntary termination of medical staff membership or voluntary or involuntary limitation reduction, or loss of clinical privileges at another hospital, and current involvement with professional liability actions.

G. Evidence of medical liability/malpractice coverage.

All required certifications/licensures in this resultant contract must remain current during the life of the contract.

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

Contractors cannot serve as witnesses in any suit against the Federal Government. Many of the IHS patients receiving services may only speak a native language and/or reside on a

Native American Reservation, therefore, the Contractor must demonstrate sensitivity to cross-cultural and language differences. The Privacy Act of 1974 mandates that the Contractor maintain complete confidentiality of all administrative, medical & personnel records and all other pertinent information that comes to his/her attention or knowledge.

The Privacy Act carries both civil and criminal penalties for unlawful disclosure of records.

Violation of such confidentiality shall be cause for adverse action. The IHS shall provide training on the Freedom of Information Act & Privacy Act. All IHS regulations and policies applicable to these Acts shall be enforced. Each Radiologist that will be providing services under this contract must undergo a federal background investigation including and FBI fingerprint check. All Radiologists that will be providing services under this contract must be credentialed.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

The contractor shall identify a lead point-of-contact for questions and issues related to clinical service delivery. The contractor shall also identify a customer service representative to assist IHS staff with billing and/or administrative questions during regular business hours from 8:00am-5:30 pm CST.

CONTRACTING OFFICER (CO) AUTHORITY

1.1. No person other than the Contracting Officer has authority to bind the Government with respect to this contract.

1.2. No action or omission of any government employee or representative other than the Contracting Officer shall increase or decrease the scope of this contract or shall otherwise modify the terms and conditions of this contract.

1.3. In no event shall any of the following be effective or binding on the Government or imputed to the Contracting Officer with respect to this contract:

1.3.1. An understanding or agreement between the Contractor and anyone other than the Contracting Officer.

1.3.2. A purported modification or change order issued by anyone other than the

Contracting Officer.

1.3.3. A promise by anyone other than the Contracting Officer to provide additional funding or make payments; or

1.3.4. An order, direction, consent, or permission from anyone other than the

Contracting Officer to:

1.3.4.1. Incur costs in excess of a specified estimated cost, allotment of funds, or other ceiling; or

1.3.4.2. Expend hours in excess of a specified level of effort.

CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

The Contracting Officer shall designate a Contracting Officer Representative, in writing, at the time of award. The COR shall be responsible for:

1. Monitoring the Contractor's technical progress.

2. Interpreting the SOW.

3. Technical Evaluation as required.

4. Technical inspections and acceptance required by this contract.

5. Assisting the Contractor in the resolution of technical problems encountered during performance of this contract.

The COR for this contract is:

Mary Thomas, RT(R), COR II Fort Thompson IHS Health Center 1323 BIA Rt. 4 Fort Thompson, SD 57339 605-245-1533 mary.thomas@ihs.gov mailto:mary.thomas@ihs.gov