SOURCES SOUGHT FILL IN - IMAGING EQUIP WITH RADIOLOGY SERVICES ATLANTA VAMC.docx

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ATLANTA VAMC - IMAGING EQUIPMENT WITH RADIOLOGY SERVICES (B+1)
Solicitation number
36C24724Q1013
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This document is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) issued by the Atlanta VA Medical Center to conduct market research to identify small businesses, specifically Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), capable of providing Imaging Equipment with Radiology Services for VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in the local area.

The key details are: the contractor will provide digital radiology equipment and ARRT certified technologists to perform a wide range of general diagnostic (plain radiology) imaging services, with images transmitted electronically to the VA's PACS system. There are currently 11 CBOC locations, with potential for additional sites. The base period is 11/01/2024 to 10/31/2025, with one option year. Pricing is based on Medicare rates/CPT codes for completed exams, with no separate fees allowed. The Government reserves the right to decrease imaging services with 30 days' notice. Interested SDVOSBs are requested to respond with a capabilities statement by 09/11/2024. This SSN is for planning purposes only and does not guarantee a future solicitation.

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This is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) to conduct market research to determine the availability of small businesses; specifically, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) capable of providing the requirement for Imaging Equipment with Radiology Services.

This requirement is for the Atlanta VA Medical Center. This Sources Sought Notice does not guarantee the issuance of an RFQ. If you have the availability to provide the requirement, please respond to this Sources Sought Notice with a capabilities statement.

This SSN is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. The VA is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this SSN; all costs associated with responding to this SSN will be solely at the interested vendor’s expense. Not responding to this SSN does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this SSN is strictly voluntary. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Please note that requirements defined to date may change before a final solicitation is released. SSN requirements are as follows:

1. Please acknowledge if your company is an authorized provider of the of these services.

2. Please verify if your company is listed on the SBA VetCert Portal as a SDVOSB for these services

3. Submit responses and related information via email to james.boles2@va.gov by 10:00 AM EST, September 11, 2024. Proprietary/Confidential material shall be clearly marked on every page that contains such. Include the name, phone number, and email address of the lead from your organization. VA reserves the right not to respond to any or all emails or materials submitted.

4. Provide Past Performance of providing these services; to include governmental agency supported.

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT-

Radiology Services- Community Based Outpatient Clinics

The Atlanta VA Medical Center, 1670 Clairmont Road, Decatur, Georgia, 30033 is requesting a contract for Radiologic Services for their beneficiaries VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and the Carrollton outpatient facility.

1. Locations: Currently, there are eleven (11) VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics that require patient imaging services to be performed. There are proposals for additional CBOC’s to be activated, and modifications may be requested for future fiscal years as funding becomes available. Specified location addresses are listed below.

2. Hours of Service: The contractor will provide imaging services between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm, these hours may vary at different sites. It is at the discretion of the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) Operations Manager to determine exact hours to fit the needs of patient care at that location. There will be no studies ordered after 4:30 pm. (Saturday Access Clinics to be determined at a later date).

3. Services Required:

The contractor will provide digital radiology equipment that has the capability to produce a wide range of general diagnostic (plain radiology) images. It is the intent of the medical center to have the images digitally transferred to a Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) location at the facility upon completion. The contractor will have imaging equipment that is compatible with the VA Radiology Information System (VISTA) and the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). The contractor’s equipment must be on the approved DICOM Modalities Interfaces list from IMS; Joint VA/DoD DICOM Modality Conformance Requirements (Rev 3.0) see http//www.va.gov/imaging). The contractor will acquire images on their equipment, temporarily store the images and DICOM send them to a specified file server located at the Decatur, Georgia VA facility. All images will be obtained and transmitted electronically. No physical media is exchanged. The Atlanta VAMC reserves the right to decrease imaging services at any time with sufficient 30 day notice.

The projected schedule of this contract is from 11/01/2024 to 10/31/25, (Base Period), with one option year. Option Year: I) 11/01/25 through 10/31/26.

The contractor will provide ARRT certified technologists to perform the exams. The contractor will provide all imaging equipment for imaging services at each CBOC indicated. The contractor will provide interpretation reports upon request by board certified, credentialed providers.

4. Location of Work:

FACILITY/CBOC
ADDRESS
Ft. McPherson
1701 Hardee Avenue, SW, Atlanta, GA 30330
Stockbridge
175 Medical Boulevard, Stockbridge GA 30281
Lawrenceville
455 Philip Blvd, Lawrenceville GA 30046
Oakwood
3931 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood, GA 30566
Newnan
39A Oak Hill Court, Newnan GA 30265
Carrollton
180 Martin Drive, Carrollton, GA 30117
Rome
30 Chateau Drive, Rome GA 30161
Blairsville
1294 Highway 515 East, Suite 100, Blairsville GA 30512
Pike County
9528 U.S. Highway 19, Zebulon, GA 30295-3189
Cobb County
1263 Cobb Parkway North, Marietta, GA 30062-2421
Atlanta VA Clinic
250 N. Arcadia Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030

5. Estimated Annual Volume of Work- Base Year: 37,107

Ft. McPherson
Lawrenceville
Stockbridge
Oakwood
Carrollton
Newnan

Rome

Blairsville

Pike

Cobb

5721
6210
5026
3893
2481
2699

The Community Outpatient Based Clinics will be open Monday thru Friday, excluding federal holidays. A point of contact, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), will be named when the contract is awarded. The Government observes the following holidays and any other date specifically declared by the President of The United States to be a National Holiday will be observed:

New Year’s Day
January 1
Martin Luther King’s Birthday
Third Monday in February
President’s Day
Third Monday in February
Memorial Day
Last Monday in May
Juneteenth
June 19
Independence Day
July 4
Labor Day
First Monday in September
Columbus Day
Second Monday in October
Veterans Day
November 11
Thanksgiving Day
Fourth Thursday in November
Christmas Day
December 25

Note: If a holiday falls on Saturday, it is observed on Friday. If a holiday falls on Sunday, it is observed on Monday.

6. Personnel Qualifications: Contractor will provide technologists who are ARRT certified, and current BLS. Technologists will be credentialed through the VHA VETPRO e-credentialing system. One (1) FTEE Technologist is required at each site, to include a minimum of five (5) board certified tele-radiology providers.

7. Schedule of Equipment and Services: Contractor shall provide all equipment, tools, and labor to provide digital radiological (plain) studies for veteran patients referred from the Atlanta VA Medical Centers’ Community Based Outpatient Clinics that offer these services. All equipment will be owned and operated by the contractor(s) and maintenance/repairs will be their responsibility.

8. Cost/Price Schedule: The contract is an all-inclusive rate. No separate fees will be allowed for such costs as insurance coverage, supplies, equipment, and construction. The price paid will be on completed exams, and Medicare rates / CPT codes (subject to change annually, per Medicare). The ATLANTA VAMC is the primary payer; third party billings are prohibited.

9. Continuum of care: The contractor shall be responsible for contacting the veteran patient in the event that the exam/images need to be repeated or additional exam/images are requested by the interpreting radiologist. Costs for repeat images will be included in the original exam fee. Costs for additional exam/images will be determined by the CPT code descriptions and separate fees will be charged as appropriate.

10. Environment of Care: The contractor shall maintain a clean and safe environment at all times.

11. Infection Control: Contracted patient care activities shall be integrated into the VA Medical Center Radiology Infection Control program. Community Based Outpatient Clinic managers and practitioners will be available for consultation and education to contracted staff on methods to be used to reduce risk of infections. The clinic personnel will also coordinate with the contractor and alert the contractor of any patient who will be coming to Radiology that may have a questionable community acquired infection.

12. Contractor Deliverables: Quarterly: Employee dosimetry badge reports Annual: Security/Privacy Training Certificates/ARRT license/Apron Integrity report/Equipment maintenance and quality assurance report.

13. Invoices: A monthly summary invoice shall be submitted from each site that is obtaining and sending x-ray images to the Medical Center. The invoice shall provide a spreadsheet that includes: Patient name, social security number, case number, CPT code, examination and date of examination. In addition, an electronic invoice will be sent to the VHA payment system in Austin, TX.

14. Payments shall be processed in arrears, upon submission of a properly prepared electronic invoice.

INFORMATION SECURITY

15. IT access: All contractor personnel accessing Veterans Health Information and Technology architecture (VISTA, etc) system will be required to sign and abide by all VA security policies and applicable confidentiality statues and the privacy act.

16. Patient confidentiality: Contractor to maintain the confidentiality of patient records in accordance with the Privacy Act. HIPAA and all VHA Privacy regulations.

17. Security requirements: Contractor shall insure the confidentiality of all patient and employee information and are subject to the completion of all mandatory training specified by the VHA.

18. Employee Background Checks: The contractor(s) will be required to have background investigations initiated; to include finger prints, PRIOR to start of contract. Contractor(s) will have completed VA Information Security and Privacy along with Rules of Behavior from the following link: https://www.ees-learning.net/librix/loginhtml.asp?v=librix prior to start of contract and will compete on an annual basis, before the expiration of previous training. The contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration from working under the contract.

ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/sub-contractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA Information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information is subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S.

to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

f. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

(1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

(2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

(3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

(4) Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document – e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

g. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

h. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

i. Due to the threat of data breach, compromise or loss of information that resides on either VA-owned or contractor-owned systems, and to comply with Federal laws and regulations, VA has developed an Information and Information Technology Security clause to be used when VA sensitive information is accessed, used, stored, generated, transmitted, or exchanged by and between VA and a contractor, subcontractor or a third party in any format (e.g., paper, microfiche, electronic or magnetic portable media).

In solicitations and contracts where VA Sensitive Information or Information Technology will be accessed or utilized, the CO shall insert the clause found at 852.273-75, Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources.

The contractor, their personnel, and their subcontractors shall be subject to the Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks regarding information and information system security as delineated in this contract.

The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

VA INFORMATIONAL CUSTODIAL TERMS

a. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

d. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

e. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

f. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

h. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

i. The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

k. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR.

INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

a. For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, contractors/subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy Act, FISMA, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerability scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The contractor’s security control procedures must be equivalent to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COTR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA’s network involving VA information must be reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation.

b. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII.

c. Outsourcing (contractor facility, contractor equipment or contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires certification and accreditation (authorization) (C&A) of the contractor’s systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government-owned (government facility or government equipment) contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks.

d. The contractor/subcontractor’s system must adhere to all FISMA, FIPS, and NIST standards related to the annual FISMA security controls assessment and review and update the PIA. Any deficiencies noted during this assessment must be provided to the VA contracting officer and the ISO for entry into VA’s POA&M management process. The contractor/subcontractor must use VA’s POA&M process to document planned remedial actions to address any deficiencies in information security policies, procedures, and practices, and the completion of those activities. Security deficiencies must be corrected within the timeframes approved by the government. Contractor/subcontractor procedures are subject to periodic, unannounced assessments by VA officials, including the VA Office of Inspector General. The physical security aspects associated with contractor/subcontractor activities must also be subject to such assessments. If major changes to the system occur that may affect the privacy or security of the data or the system, the C&A of the system may need to be reviewed, retested and re-authorized per VA Handbook 6500.3. This may require reviewing and updating all of the documentation (PIA, System Security Plan, and Contingency Plan). The Certification Program Office can provide guidance on whether a new C&A would be necessary.

e. The contractor/subcontractor must conduct an annual self-assessment on all systems and outsourced services as required. Both hard copy and electronic copies of the assessment must be provided to the COTR. The government reserves the right to conduct such an assessment using government personnel or another contractor/subcontractor. The contractor/subcontractor must take appropriate and timely action (this can be specified in the contract) to correct or mitigate any weaknesses discovered during such testing, generally at no additional cost.

f. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally owned or contractor/subcontractor-owned equipment or software on VA’s network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All of the security controls required for government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment. All remote systems must be equipped with, and use, a VA-approved antivirus (AV) software and a personal (host-based or enclave based) firewall that is configured with a VA-approved configuration. Software must be kept current, including all critical updates and patches. Owners of approved OE are responsible for providing and maintaining the anti-viral software and the firewall on the non-VA owned OE.

g. All electronic storage media used on non-VA leased or non-VA owned IT equipment that is used to store, process, or access VA information must be handled in adherence with VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization upon: (i) completion or termination of the contract or (ii) disposal or return of the IT equipment by the contractor/subcontractor or any person acting on behalf of the contractor/subcontractor, whichever is earlier. Media (hard drives, optical disks, CDs, back-up tapes, etc.) used by the contractors/subcontractors that contain VA information must be returned to the VA for sanitization or destruction or the contractor/subcontractor must self-certify that the media has been disposed of per 6500.1 requirements. This must be completed within 30 days of termination of the contract.

h. Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes. The options are:

(1) Vendor must accept the system without the drive;

(2) VA’s initial medical device purchase includes a spare drive which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn-in; or

(3) VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase.

(4) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with medical equipment/systems, if it is not possible for the VA to retain the hard drive, then;

a) The equipment vendor must have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact; and

(b) Any fixed hard drive on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be pre-approved and described in the purchase order or contract.

(c) A statement needs to be signed by the Director (System Owner) that states that the drive could not be removed and that (a) and (b) controls above are in place and completed. The ISO needs to maintain the documentation.

SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

b. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) date of occurrence;

(b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code; (3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis; the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $______ per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-days’ notice, at the request of the government, the contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time.

B.3 SCHEDULE BREAKOUT

ITEM INFORMATION

ITEM NUMBER
DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES
QUANTITY
UNIT
12.00
MO

IMAGING EQUIPMENT W/ RADIOLOGY SERVICES (PER PWS)

THIS REQUIREMENT IS FOR MULTII-FACILITIES

Contract Period: Base POP Begin: 11-01-2024 POP End: 10-31-2025

12.00
MO

IMAGING EQUIPMENT W/ RADIOLOGY SERVICES (PER PWS)

THIS REQUIREMENT IS FOR MULTII-FACILITIES

Contract Period: Option 1 POP Begin: 11-01-2025 POP End: 10-31-2026

File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .