SAQMMA16R0165a_-_Q As_Final.docx

SAQMMA16R0165 – Integrated International Multimedia Medical Consultation Services RFP Questions & Answers

1. Does the combined Synopsis/Solicitation under solicitation number SAQMMA16R0165a contain requirements similar to a current contract? If possible, please provide the current contract number. Or, is this a new requirement for the government?

Answer: This is a new requirement.

2. Is the max budget $4M designed to cover the entire five (5) year period of performance?

Answer: The $4M ceiling amount applies to the base and four (4) option periods.

3. Are there any annual funding limitations or is an $800K/yr maximum desired?

a) Are the professional fees for Level I consults and Medical Specialist consults to be included in the budgeted amount?

b) Are the capital equipment expenditures for telemedicine equipment at each foreign site to be included in the budgeted amount?

c) Are the costs for the telemedicine platform, including data center hosting, maintenance and support to be included in the budgeted amount?

d) Are the costs for call center, logistics and program administration to be included in the budgeted amount?

e) Are the costs for data analysis and individual incident and population reports to be included in the budgeted amount?

Answer: Q-3: See answer to question 2;

Q-3a-e: Yes; in Year 1 (Base Year) there is a ‘Price-Table’ entry area for 'Initial Set-up/Start-up Costs’ - if applicable. These are to document vendor’s initial non-recurring costs to begin providing services and vendor must provide a breakdown of all equipment and the associated costs. All recurring costs including any professional services fees are to be aggregated and expressed as the cost (FFP) to provide each Level 1 and Level 2 consultation, with the required report documentation, up to 150 and entered in rows 001 and 002 in the Pricing-Table. If the price for consultations changes after the first 150 instances in each category, the cost for consultations provided after the first 150 in each category should be entered in rows 003 and 004.

4. If the $4 million ceiling of the IDIQ is reached prior to the end of the period of performance, does the Government plan to increase the ceiling?

Answer: The $4M ceiling amount applies to the base and four (4) option periods and presumed to be sufficient for the entire period of performance of the contract.

5. When does the Department of State (DoS) anticipate awarding the contract?

Answer: We anticipate awarding the contract on or before October 20, 2016.

6. What is the desired “in service” date?

Answer: The Department wishes to start the implementation by 1 November 2016, recognizing that the contractor may wish to “go live” in a series of steps over a few weeks to test and confirm network connections and functions in a sequential fashion.

7. Seeking clarification of the “Level 2 specialist SLA is within one (1) hour”. Is this within one (1) hour from the time that the Level 1 consultant makes the Level 2 intervention request?

Answer: Yes, one (1) hour from the time the Level 1 consultant makes the referral to the Level 2 consultant.

8. What is the expectation regarding prescriptions from the Level 1 and Level 2 Physicians?

Answer: The government anticipates that almost all decision support encounters will involve patients in over 200 foreign countries. Vendors are not expected to provide “prescriptions” for treatment, given that geographic scale, even if they had personnel with licenses or credentials to do so.

9. Is this a commercial item acquisition under FAR Part 12 or similar?

Answer: This is a commercial item acquisition under FAR Part 12.

10. Does the government anticipate issuing task orders on a FFP basis?

Answer: FFP task orders will be issued.

11. Regarding SF1449 box 10, considering the current $4M total ceiling, would the contracting office consider a Veteran Owned Small Business set aside?

Answer: The requirement is being competed as full and open.

12. Will the DoS require or recommend that the contractor carry malpractice insurance for all physician providers? If so, what are those requirements?

Answer: DoS medical providers share some tort claim protection under provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act as amended. The DoS with the DoJ will manage tort claims involving U.S. Direct Hire medical providers. Vendors should determine their own need for additional malpractice insurance based on their assessment of any additional risk.

13. . Is the ability to conduct direct Doctor to Patient treatment in addition to Doctor to MED Provider consults desired?

Answer: No

14. The PWS refers to Consultant Response Time in Paragraph 5.0. The Performance Standard states “Connection to Appropriate Requested Specialists within contractual agreement.” What is the expected or desired response time?

Answer: The government recognizes that the time a calling MED provider must wait to speak to a Level 1 Specialist will include time to complete foreign network connections, the time required for the designated call center operator to answer the call, and the time to route the call to the Level 1 consultant (who is expected to have no other responsibilities competing for her/his time). The government has not specified a required response time but does expect the contractor’s proposal to define one and, to recognize that the time specified will be an important item for competitive evaluation by the TEP and will be enforced as a contractual performance element. Shorter response times are considered more competitive but will be recorded and evaluated as a quality performance variable during the life of the contract. Vendor’s proposals may specify separate proposed times for performance by the call center operators and performance time for response by the medical consultant following alert notification but, the ‘quality variable’ and competitive value is overall response time.

15. Is the Customer or the Contractor responsible for distribution and collecting the Post-encounter surveys?

Answer: MED will distribute, collect, and evaluate the ‘Post-encounter Surveys’.

16. CLIN 0005 covers Reimbursable Costs. Do we need to include an estimated amount in our proposal or leave at zero since they are reimbursable items?

Answer: Leave the estimated amount at $1,000 as entered by the government. This CLIN will be reimbursed at cost.

17. The Solicitation lists Base Year and Options at $150,000. Is that a place holder amount or a ceiling amount?

Answer: This is an estimated amount.

18. Please confirm that the evaluation criteria is “Best Value” and not Low Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA).

Answer: Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria listed in the solicitation (See SAQMMA16R0165 pages 58-63)

19. Will additional evaluation credit be given for performance levels over and above threshold requirements and objective levels?

Answer: Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria listed in the solicitation (See SAQMMA16R0165 pages 58-63).

20. Please confirm that this award is NOT expected to fall under the FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

Answer: This is a commercial item acquisition under FAR Part 12.

21. Please confirm that this a fully compliant FAR Part 15 or similar full and open competition.

Answer: This is a commercial item acquisition under FAR Part 12 that incorporates FAR Part 15 (see FAR 12.102).

22. Section 2.2.1 - Regarding the qualifications of the Director, Telemedicine Contract Program – is this individual required to be board certified in Emergency Medicine or General/Trauma Surgery or can he/she be board certified in a different specialty (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics) with primary duties as an Emergency Department physician?

Answer: Board certification in Emergency Medicine or Trauma Surgery is preferred but board certification in other emergency medicine specialties with distinguished experience in acute care/emergency medicine facilities will qualify.

23. Section 2.2.1 - Is the Director required to be currently active managing clinical care in an ER or surgical setting, or can the Director be currently serving in a medical leadership role with the requisite active clinical experience in his/her history?

Answer: Current, active clinical practice evaluating and managing patients in emergency, surgical, and/or acute care environments is required.

24. Section 2.2.6 - the requirement states, “(The Contractor’s Telemedicine) capability must include direct telephonic and optional visual communication with secure data transmission in accordance with Federal and Contractor’s NIST/ HIPAA standards via the best mode available to support the mission at hand.” Is NIST compliance a requirement? If so, what version and revision of NIST is applicable to this solicitation? A system can meet HIPAA standards (security and privacy) without meeting NIST standards.

Answer: The referenced requirement is intended to alert the responding vendor to the enhanced general security requirements for planning, establishing, maintaining, and terminating interconnections between information technology systems that are owned and operated by federal agencies and facilities as well as other, different organizations. This RFP does not require specific FISMA, FedRAMP/NIST certifications other than that vendors must demonstrate they utilize and are compliant with NIST Computer Security Division Approved Security Functions & Profiles (FIPS PUB 140-2; Annex A,B,C,D).

25. Section 2.2.6 - What specific network security specifications may be required if both MED and Contractor anticipate use of MED’s existing telemedicine capabilities (not required in this RFP).

Answer: Specific requirements to connect to the DoS OpenNet DVCs from the outside are mandated by the DOS IRM Video Program Office (VPO). Prerequisites to connect to IRM VPO’s bridge are:

1. H323 or SIP standards based connections to IRM VPO’s Cisco bridge

1. 128 AES encryption See Answers to Question 24; Again, vendors must demonstrate they utilize and are compliant with Approved Security Functions & Profiles (FIPS PUB 140-2; Annex A,B,C,D).

26. RFP, Section L, FAR 52.216-1, page 55: FAR 52.216-1 in the RFP states that this will be a “Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity hybrid type contract”. Since all CLINS are FFP, and only FFP orders will be issued, what does the DoS believe is hybrid about the potential contract? Also, how will the DoS issue Task Orders under this contract (e.g. in lots of 150 for a particular set of embassies)?

Answer: The government anticipates all orders under this contract will be FFP with the exception of direct reimbursable items. The RFP should read “Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity firm fixed price type contract”. Task orders will be issued once service is rendered.

27. RFP, Section L, L-009, page 57: Why is the status of the Contractor’s Property Management system a requirement for this contract if there is no anticipated GFE or Contractor Acquired Property? In accordance with Section 2.2.6 of the PWS the property to be purchased is the vendor’s responsibility and only if needed to perform the telemedical consultation support.

Answer: Contractor acquired property is contingent on the equipment that the vendor currently has to perform the work; not all vendors will require equipment. If equipment is purchased then title will vest to the government once payment is made. All purchases must be preapproved.

28. RFP, Section M, page 63: On the last page of the RFP there is a single word, “Properties”. Is there more to this section?

Answer: This is not relevant to the RFP. It appears to be an IT System error.

29. When is performance expected to begin?

Answer: Asked and answered; see #5

30. RFP Page 19, Section I, FAR Clause 52.209-1 Qualification Requirements: “….(b) one or more qualification requirements apply to the supplies or services covered under this contract…” - Has the Government established a qualified bidder list for this solicitation? If so, can you please distribute?

Answer: A qualified bidder list has not been established.

31. In reviewing the applicable documents I have not seen any information that addresses the allowability of indirect/overhead/Facilities & Administrative costs. Are those allowable expenses, and if so, are they any caps applied?

Answer: The CLINs are firm fixed price meaning the rates submitted shall be all inclusive to include indirect and overhead rates; facilities and administrative costs; etc.