SOW EBSCO Health Databases.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK/ PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Project: EBSCO Health Database Package

2. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the deliverables described in this statement of work (SOW), except as may otherwise be specified.

The VA North Texas Healthcare System requires an internet based existing commercial off-the-shelf web based, point of care clinical knowledge product that will be made available 24/7 throughout the VA North Texas Healthcare System to include: Nursing Reference Center Plus, Full-Text Finder, Comprehensive Hospital Package, LGBTQ+ Source, SocINDEX with Ful Text, MEDLINE Complete, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Source, Rehabilitation Reference Center, Social Work Reference Center, DynaMed, EBSCO Discovery Service, and their accompanying databases of full text articles to provide medical information to support patient-centered care at VA North Texas Health Care System its Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

3. Background: These health resources are distinctly different from text-based, sources such as printed guidelines. Digital resources are updated with relevant information more frequently than print resources and provide tools for easily searching and sharing information. VA North Texas Healthcare System has used these databases for more than 15 years.

4. Performance Period:

Base year with four (4) one (1) option year periods:

5. Type of Contract: Firm fixed price agreement for 1 year of service

B. CONTRACT AWARD MEETING

Not required

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Information may be printed, sent by email, saved in digital files, or used online

2. All written deliverables shall be phrased in layperson language. Statistical and other technical terminology shall not be used without providing a glossary of terms.

3. Desired goals of the provision of the EBSCO Health Database Package is for access to the specific databases products and services are as follows:

1. Provide access system wide to the EBSCO health databases and information resources available at the point of care.

1. Initiating a system wide, centralized purchase to capitalize on the economies of scale offered by vendor.

1. Vendor will provide the VA North Texas Health Care System with all-site access to each online, web-based product. Authentication will be through IP address validation on a system wide basis, eliminating the need for users to enter identification, username and/or password.

1. An unrestricted number of simultaneous users are to have immediate access from any web-enabled computer within VHA. It is required that all authorized remote users with VPN access have access to the product.

1. Product should include indexing to a wide range of published materials with abstracts and full text as available. Navigation within the system is logical and is easy to use. Product has ‘user friendly” help and direction aids. Content areas are updated on a continuous, incremental cycle rather than on a single anniversary date for the entire product. Date of last review is easily determined

1. Product is 508 compliant.

1. Product is compatible with most standards web browsers, which have cookies enabled. To insure privacy, the product uses session cookies rather than persistent cookies.

1. Product is compatible with windows environment.

1. All site content and support of the web site is the responsibility of the contractor

1. System downtime is minimal and VA project manager is notified when such occurs.

1. Topics are easily printed

1. Product’s licensing agreement must permit free use for educational purposes of all pictures and graphics.

1. Single point of contact for customer service issues is assigned to VANTHCS

1. Questions are responded to in the same business day.

1. Usage statistics are available on a regular basis.

D. SPECIFIC MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

Description of Tasks and Associated Deliverables: The contractor shall provide the specific deliverables described below within the performance period stated in Section A.4 of this SOW.

Task One: Technical support will be available Monday through Friday during regular business hours

E. EVALUATED OPTIONAL TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES [If applicable]

None relevant

F. SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES

1. Information will be available immediately upon payment

G. CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF WORK

Changes are not expected due to the nature of the order.

H. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. Usage reports will be made available on a regular basis

I. TRAVEL [If applicable] - none

J. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

NO requirements – Information will be accessed over the internet

K. CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

A contact person will be made available if access to information is interrupted.

The government will determine on a SR basis what positions are considered key personnel. The contractor shall identify, by name, the key management and technical personnel who will work under this task order at the time the work is being negotiated.

If a key person becomes unavailable to complete the SR, the proposed Substitutions of key personnel shall be made only as approved directed by the Contracting Officer and the COTR. The government will not dictate specific experience and education requirements of the employees initially proposed to perform the work stated herein. The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications for the COTR and all other direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the COTR prior to bringing on duty. If, at any time from date of award to the end of the contract, non-key personnel Contractor personnel are no longer available, HES/HIS reserves the right to review the qualifications of the proposed replacement personnel and to reject individuals who do not meet the qualifications set forth in the TLO. Team personnel proposed by the contractor should possess some of the following knowledge and/or skills:

The contractor must notify VHA in advance and we will approve or reject proposed contractor key personnel for the performance of this contract. The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications to the COTR for key personnel and all other direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the COTR prior to bringing on duty. If, at any time from date of award to the end of the contract, Contractor personnel are no longer available, the VHA will approve the qualifications of proposed replacement personnel and will reject individuals who do not meet qualifications set forth herein. The contractor must inform the VHA COTR, and Project Manager/Task Manager when personnel are removed from the contract for any reason. The Contractor shall remove any employee from the performance of this contract within five (5) workdays of receiving notice from the Contracting Officer that the employee's performance is unsatisfactory. All Contractor employees are subject to immediate removal from performance of this contract when they are involved in a violation of the law, VA security, confidentiality requirements and/or other disciplinary reasons.

· The contractor must inform the VHA COTR, and Project Manager/Task Manager when personnel are removed from the contract for any reason.

· If a key person becomes unavailable to complete the SR, proposed Substitutions of key personnel shall be made only if approved by the COTR and Project Manager.

· The contractor shall submit a resume of qualifications to the COTR for all direct employees proposed for the project. All Contractor employees will be approved by the COTR prior to bringing on duty.

L. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE – Not applicable

It is agreed that:

1. The preliminary and final deliverables, and all associated working papers, application source code, and other material deemed relevant by VA which have been generated by the contractor in the performance of this task order, are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted to the CO at the conclusion of the task order.

2. The CO will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this task order. No information shall be released by the contractor. Any request for information relating to this task order, presented to the contractor, shall be submitted to the CO for response.

3. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this project, shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO.

M. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS[footnoteRef:1] - Not applicable as the contractor will not be accessing our computer system or physical location. [1: This language is still in draft form. The OI Service Center is reviewing alternative sources for background investigations. ]

All contractor employees who require access to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ computer systems shall be the subject of a background investigation and must receive a favorable adjudication from the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement prior to contract performance. This requirement is applicable to subcontractor personnel requiring the same access.

1. Position Sensitivity – The position sensitivity has been designated as ____________________ (Insert High Risk, Moderate Risk or Low Risk.)

2. Background Investigation – The level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access is ____________ (Insert Background Investigation, Minimum Background Investigation or National Agency Check with Written Inquiries).

3. Contractor Responsibilities

a. The contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain a U.S. citizenship, and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language.

b. The contractor shall submit or have their employees submit the required forms (SF 86 or SF 85P, SF 85P-S, FD 258, Contractor Fingerprint Chart, VA Form 0710, Authority for Release of Information Form, and Optional Forms 306 and 612) to the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement within 30 days of receipt.

c. The contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, shall withdraw the affected employee from working under the contract.

d. Failure to comply with contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default.

4. Government Responsibilities

a. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will provide the necessary forms to the contractor, or to the contractor’s employees, after receiving a list of names and addresses.

b. Upon receipt, the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will review completed forms for accuracy, and forward the forms to the office of Personnel Management (OPM) to conduct background investigations.

c. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will notify the CO, and contractor, of adjudication results received from OMB.

d. Upon being notified about a favorable determination, the CO may issue a notice to proceed to the contractor.