Redacted Computrition VISN 10 JA template - FAR Part 8_Redacted.pdf

Control Number: VA-26-00020123

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

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a 12-month firm-fixed price task order for brand name Computrition Nutrition and Food Services Software license renewal, support, and maintenance. This effort is being conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program; the proposed effort will be awarded under the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 47QTCA21D005U with Computrition, Inc. 8521 Fallbrook Avenue, Suite 100, West Hills, CA 91304.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 has a requirement for renewal of brand name Computrition, Inc., software licenses, support, and maintenance. VA requires software that is capable of an HL7 interface with both VistA and the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record. Currently, Computrition is the only software that is capable of satisfying the Government’s need for an HL7 interface with both VistA and the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record. VA also requires software that will provide comparative standards for nutrient needs and method used to calculate calories, protein and fluid per day as well as the ability to handle two concurrent inpatient encounters which is a requirement for information exchange. Lastly, VA requires software that includes a proposed architecture that includes a separate disaster recovery offsite and a contingency plan that provides data retention for 30 days onsite and 60 days offsite.

Computrition software is used for the efficient management of inventory, manpower, costs, menus, ticket generation, and nutrition tracking. This software manages multiple food service functions within current resources and customized programs for specific patient populations. Since 2013, this software has been in use throughout VISN 10 to manage multiple food service functions within current resources and its customized programs for specific patient populations. Computrition is the sole nutrition software provider for VISN 10 which contains all current operational information for each medical center to implement menus, uses a menu database to match up with standardized recipes, tray tickets, uses scanners for inventory tracking, nutrient tracking, and diet office functions. This effort shall have a base period of performance of March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027, with two, 12-month option periods. The total estimated value of the proposed action, including option periods, is .

4. Authority: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program. The specific authority providing for a limited source award is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul VA Deviation 8.401(b) and General Services Administration Acquisition Manual/Regulation (GSAM/R)538.7104-3(b)(ii), Computrition VISN 10, Control Number VA-26-00020123

“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.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Computrition, Inc., a large business, is the only provider of the brand name Computrition software licenses and associated support and maintenance. Based on market research, as detailed in Section 8 of this justification, no other source can provide the required Computrition license renewal, support, and maintenance. In Fiscal Year 2013, VA commenced utilization of the Computrition software and developed the necessary environment and customization to allow for the integration of the Health Level Seven (HL7) interface with CPRS and VistA developed by Computrition, which includes all active inventory, recipes, menus, diets, daily production data, patient preferences and meal selections for food menu management. VISN 10 sites have used brand name Computrition software licenses to implement menus, recipes, tray tickets, inventory tracking, nutrient tracking, and diet office functions. Computrition is the only nutrition software provider in use at VISN 10 that contains all current operational information for each site within the VISN and within the current VA’s infrastructure system. As such, VA requires renewal of these modules and the necessary associated support and maintenance to ensure uninterrupted service for Veterans in VISN 10 Medical facilities. Due to the proprietary nature of the software no other solution would be fully compatible and interoperable with the existing environment.

Additionally, Computrition does not authorize any other entity to sell, support, maintain, or train others in the use of their software. The software modules associated with this software package cannot be licensed by any other company given its proprietary nature.

Computrition’s software is the only currently available software package that is fully compatible with the existing VISN 10 architecture.

Furthermore, Computrition software is the only software that is currently capable of satisfying the Government’s need for a HL7 interface with both VistA and the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record. The interface provides a unidirectional download of admission, discharges, and transfers of all patients 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and updates the patient's record in the menu management program and diet order. The Computrition interface includes nutrition care management for inpatient meal; delivery systems consisting of allergy screening, nutrient analysis, tube feeding, food service management containing ingredients, recipes, menus, food items, meals, inventory and forecasting; web-based room service that develops cycle menus to recognize therapeutic diets, allergies, like/dislikes, additional diet orders and on demand timing.

Due to the proprietary nature of the deployed software, and the customization of the VA environment, no other solution would be able to be fully compatible and interoperable with the existing environment. If this information is not constantly downloaded, patient safety would be violated.

To replace this software with that of another vendor would require a complete rewrite of the existing VistA Menu Management Program and would require a new HL7 interface to be developed, tested, and deployed by another vendor. Specifically, currently fielded databases are only able to function and communicate with Computrition software. This is due to the proprietary code upon which the current databases were built. Any other brand name software will not be able to function and communicate with the existing databases without an extensive redesign and redevelopment effort. This would include building new databases (ingredient lists, storage areas, room lists, diet lists, recipes, menus), interfacing with the databases, testing tray tickets, and training personnel at all sites, in order to function on VISN 10’s architecture to provide the functionality currently provided by Computrition’s software. Redeveloping, redesigning, and implementing these databases will result in delivery delays are estimated at over two years for all of VISN 10, in order to allow for communications between the existing CPRS Electronic Health Records using an existing HL7 interface. Computrition’s software package is the only software currently available that meets these VISN 10 interface requirements. In addition, redeveloping, redesigning, and implementing these databases will result in duplicated costs estimated to be a minimum of $6.5 million. These estimates of duplicative time and costs are based on previous design and development efforts of similar size and scope. The estimated duplicative costs would not be recovered through competition.

Additionally, in order for any source to be able to provide the required associated technical support services, direct access to the Computrition proprietary source code would be required to generate fixes, patches, and updates. Without these required services, VA increases the risk that the software would cease to function properly and endanger Veterans patient safety. Failure to procure the required Computrition software and technical support would result in unnecessary delays for Veterans to receive proper nutritional care and healthcare.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in Section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that could meet the Government's requirements. GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(3) Sole Source Justifications requires justifications be posted within 14 days after 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.

8. Market Research: The Government’s technical experts conducted market research in October 2025 by reviewing similar software products such as Menu Logistics and Meal Suite. Based on their review, the Government’s technical experts determined that the Menu Logistics and Meal Suite software do not utilize scanners to conduct inventories and their menu databases do not match up with the standardized recipes provided by VA. In addition, based on this market research, the technical experts also determined that there are no other similar food services management products that provide all the required functionality to implement VA menus, recipes, tray tickets, inventory tracking, nutrient tracking, and diet office functions as currently provided.

Therefore, no competition is anticipated for this effort.

Additional market research was conducted by the Contract Specialist in November 2025 by searching for Computrition utilizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract Market Research Tool which yielded no results. The Contract Specialist also conducted further market research utilizing the GSA e-library, where zero additional potential sources were identified as resellers of the Computrition software, support and maintenance.

A Request for Information (RFI) was issued on Contracting Opportunities in May 2025 and the government received four RFI responses from Transact + CBORD (a large business) For NetMenu, Leidos (a large business)for MenuLogistics, Donald C. Miller & Associates (a small veteran owned business) (DM&A) for Stella Solution and Computrition (a large business). The software product, Stella Solution, offered by DM&A does not provide comparative standards for nutrient needs and method used to calculate calories, protein, and fluid per day, which is a requirement for NFS Backoffice Management functions. The software product provided by Transact is not able to handle at least two concurrent inpatient encounters, which is a requirement for Information Exchange. The software product provided by CBORD is not able to handle at least two concurrent inpatient encounters, which is a requirement of Information Exchange. The software product offered by Leidos does not include a proposed architecture that includes a separate Disaster Recovery solution offsite and contingency planning and does not provide backup data retention for a period of 30 days and offsite retention for a period of 60 days, which is a requirement for non-VA hosted services which are Technical System requirements.

Consequently, of the four vendors evaluated from the RFI, only Computrition, Inc.

successfully met all the NFS requirements.

Furthermore, the software licenses, software support, and maintenance required under this effort were not developed by a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses/Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs/VOSBs), or any other socio-economic group and, as a result, the subject RFQ will be solicited on a sole source basis from Computrition, Inc., a large business, under its General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract 47QTCA21D005U.

9. Other Facts: None.