Sources Sought_Drugs Database Licensing - Mar 15.docx

National Institute of Health National Library of Medicine Sources Sought Notice

General Information

Document Type: Sources Sought Notice Title: Drug Database Licensing Request for Information Post Date: March 23, 2022 Request for Information Response Date: April 6, 2022 NAICS Code: 511199 - All other publishers Product Service Code: R605 Support-Administrative: Library

Request for Information Notice To facilitate market research, the Government is looking to identify qualified small business sources under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 511199, All Other Publishers. This Notice seeks industry comments to assist the Government. If you have any comments or find any ambiguities, please advise the Government to develop the proper acquisition strategy.

Responses from small business sources are requested. Small Businesses, 8(a) small businesses, HubZone small businesses, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Woman-Owned Small Businesses and Economically disadvantaged Women-owned Small Businesses are encouraged to respond.

All responsible sources identified in the above may submit a capability statement which will be considered by the National Library of medicine. Capability statements must answer the questions indicated below and address the organization ‘s qualifications and ability to perform tasks described in the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW).

Contracting Office Address

National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894

Background

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that consists of 27 separate Institutes and Centers (ICs) and is principally located in the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area. NIH’s mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), a part of the NIH, has a mission to “assist with the advancement of medical and related sciences and to aid in the dissemination and exchange of scientific and other information important to the progress of medicine and to the public health.” NLM collects, organizes, preserves, and disseminates the world’s biomedical information for the good of the public. NLM provides resources to many different audiences, including several web-based resources that provide health information intended for a consumer audience. This audience includes patients, their families and friends, and anyone from the general public seeking information about diseases, health conditions, and wellness topics.

To assist consumers in obtaining the information needed to make informed decisions about health care, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has developed MedlinePlus (medlineplus.gov), an easily understandable Web resource for the public. MedlinePlus contains and links to information from authoritative health Web sites and content providers, especially those from the National Institutes of Health. NLM makes MedlinePlus available to the public through a variety of MedlinePlus-branded Web sites, Web services, Web applications, APIs, email and social media communications, XML files and search results.

Definitions

MedlinePlus: The National Library of Medicines consumer health information resource that encompasses a website in English and Spanish Web services, Web applications, APls, email and social media outlets, XML files and search results.

Consumer: any member of the general public, both English and Spanish speakers, who may not have any type of specialized medical or pharmaceutical knowledge.

Coverage: prescription and over-the-counter medications; single ingredient medications and combination ingredient medications).

Inclusion: ingredient (generic) names, brand names, and brand names of combination products used in the U.S.

Mapping: all relevant RxNorm Concept Unique Identifiers (RXCUls), including, at a minimum, all relevant Semantic Clinical Dose Form (SCDF) RXCUls, to each monograph.

Languages: equivalence in English and Spanish.

Objectives/Scope The objective of this notice is to obtain information to identify firms capable of supporting a consumer-level drug information resource on prescription and over-the-counter medicines for MedlinePlus. NLM requires unique, authoritative information about individual drugs in both English and Spanish for inclusion in the MedlinePlus website. These evidenced-based resources will be provided as monographs, formatted as XML, and delivered via SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). Regular monthly content updates and a mechanism to address feedback are also required.

Submission Requirements Capability Statements Vendors must demonstrate their ability to comply with the requirements in this Sources Sought to be considered capable of satisfying the Government’s requirement.

Firms submitting a response to this Notice should respond to the following questions. Responses for each question should include information to demonstrate how the firm’s recent performance (last 3 years) is relevant to the technical areas listed including the dollar value, period of performance, size, and scope of the firm’s prior contracts.

Questions

Question 1: Describe how your firm creates tests, reviews, and updates consumer-level drug information materials in English to assure that they are written in plain language and at no higher than 8th grade reading level.

Question 2: Describe your firm’s translation procedures for consumer level drug information into neutral Spanish written in plain language and at no higher than 8th grade reading level.

Question 3: Describe in detail the structure of your firm’s data (e.g., format, schema) and delivery mechanism.

Question 4: Describe in detail any mappings between your firm’s content to established medical coding systems, such as RXCUI (RxNorm Concept Unique Identifier) and NDC (National Drug Code).

Question 5: Describe in detail your firm’s policies for licensees to be able to present your data on the web and on social media, including flexibility in formatting, excerpting, and visual presentation.

Response Format To facilitate a timely and comprehensive review of all submitted responses, firms should respond using the format requested in this Notice. Any deviation from this format may lead to the rejection of the response.

All interested firms having the experience, skills and capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements are requested to provide a capability statement between 3-5 pages – no more than 5 pages maximum - in “Times New Roman” 12-inch font on 8.5 x 11 paper answering the above questions and including the following information:

1) Company name, address, point of contact name, telephone, and email address.

2) CAGE Code and DUNS Number.

3) Business size status (business size/socio-economic category must be submitted to be used).

4) Documentation that addresses each of the five (5) questions listed above.

5) NAICS codes that your firm may hold.

No hard copy or facsimile submissions will be accepted. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered.

Submission of Responses Please submit your final documentation electronically no later than 10:00 a.m. on April 6, 2022 to Karen.miller@nih.gov and Cameron.earle@nih.gov . The email subject line must be titled “Sources Sought – Drug Database Licensing.” Submissions to any person other than those listed above will not be considered. Submissions after this date will not be considered.