Statement of Work - Fast Pak Maint and Svc Contract ALM and KD.doc

STATEMENT OF WORK

SERVICE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT

FASTPAK EQUIPMENT

AUDIE L. MURPHY DIVISION AND KERRVILLE DIVISION

SOUTH TEXAS VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

PERMANENT TRANSACTION NUMBER:

1.

INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE OF WORK:

a. Introduction: Pharmacy Service, South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS), has FastPak EXP unit dose packaging system equipment in operation at the Audie L. Murphy Division (ALMD), San Antonio, Texas and Kerrville Division, Kerrville, Texas. These equipment resources are essential to pharmacy activities in support of patient care and must be maintained in full operational condition at all times to preclude disruption to patient care.

(1) Background: Use of pharmacy automation systems such as the FastPak Unit-Dose Packaging systems minimize errors and patient wait times and promote patient and pharmacy staff satisfaction. In order to maintain such systems in fully operational status at all times in support of patient care activities, it is essential to have a full-service maintenance contract in place. The Full Basic Service maintenance for the FastPak EXP equipment includes on-site visits 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, all parts, 24/7 phone support, and two (2) preventative maintenance visits annually.

b. Scope of Work: The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance as indicated below for FastPak EXP equipment resources at ALMD and KD.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:

This Statement of Work (SOW) is to establish Services for Basic Full-Service maintenance for FastPak unit dose packaging system equipment for Kerrville VA Medical Center and Audie Murphy VA Medical Center and to establish services for Bullseye Service Maintenance for San Antonio. The contractor will provide service maintenance services for two (2) FastPak EXP unit dose packaging systems, and two (2) additional Lower Packaging Units (LPUs) at ALMD; one (1) FastPak EXP unit dose packaging system at KD, and one additional Lower Packaging Unit (LPU) at KD for the period of performance.

SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance as indicated below for FastPak EXP equipment resources at ALMD and KD and Bullseye service maintenance for San Antonio.

Telephone Support:

During the term of this Agreement, the Vendor will provide Customer access to its Helpline which can be called 24 hours per day, 365 days per year to obtain support. To allow Vendor to furnish support and collect information regarding the Equipment and Software, Customer shall maintain the data line attached to the Equipment modem in good working order and shall permit Vendor to transfer electronic data to and from the Equipment at any time for pharmacy dispensing purposes and remote diagnostics in case of performance issues. No patient data will be transferred without consent of Customer.

Service:

During the term of this Agreement, the Vendor shall perform the service necessary to keep the Equipment and Software in good working order at Customer site subject to the provisions under Misuse of Equipment, below. If the Equipment or Software becomes disabled, Customer will promptly notify Vendor of the disability and any known cause. Customer shall assist Vendor in performing any diagnosis and correction of problems via the remote communications interface. In the event the customer is unable to provide remote access and/or assistance from on premise pharmacy personnel, Vendor, at its discretion, may request compensation to cover the expense of an on-site visit that could have been resolved via remote support with on premise pharmacy personnel assistance. If remote diagnosis indicates, Vendor will use good faith efforts to respond to on-site service needs within 24 hours. General service repairs occur between the hours of 8Am and 5PM local time; if requested by the customer, there may be an additional charge for work performed during evening, weekend, or holiday hours. Customer shall provide Vendor access to the Equipment at all reasonable hours to perform necessary service, including preventative maintenance. Service includes adjustments and replacement and repair of parts and/or software as Vendor deems necessary. Replacement parts may be re-manufactured, equivalent to new in performance, and are furnished on an exchange basis. Parts and on-site labor, including travel, are provided at no additional cost. Access to online tutorial video courses.

Subcontracting:

Vendor may subcontract any part or all of its obligations under this Agreement, provided however that any such subcontracting will not relieve Vendor of its obligations or duties to Customer under this Agreement.

Use of Information:

Vendor shall be permitted to collect information with regard to Customer's use of the Equipment during the term of this Agreement, including drug utilization and inventory management information, and retain and use such information as its sole and absolute property. Vendor shall have no right to use any patient or subscriber identifying information.

2. Period and place of performance: The period of performance for the Base Year contract will be December 22, 2026 through December 21, 2027.

The place of performance for this requirement will be at the following locations:

South Texas Veterans Health Care System

Audie L. Murphy Medical Center Kerrville VA Medical Center 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard 3600 Memorial Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229-4404 Kerrville, TX 78028 Exercising of Option Years are at the discretion of the Government. Awardee shall have 30 days after award to prepare and begin service.

3.

REQUIREMENTS:

a. Type of Contract: Firm-Fixed-Price based on existing FastPak EXP equipment resources to be covered.

b. General Requirements: The contractor must be trained and authorized to provide Basic Full-Service maintenance for FastPak unit dose packaging system equipment. The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance services for two (2) FastPak EXP unit dose packaging systems, and two (2) additional Lower Packaging Units (LPUs) at ALMD; one (1) FastPak EXP unit dose packaging system at KD, and one additional Lower Packaging Unit (LPU) at KD for the period of performance.

c. Specific Requirements: The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance services for FastPak EXP equipment resources as indicated below:

(1) FastPak equipment maintenance services:

(a) On site visits 8am-5pm Monday through Friday

(b) All parts

(c) 24/7 phone support

(d) Two (2) preventative maintenance visits annually

3.2 Period of Performance will be Base Plus Four

Base Year:

12/22/2026 – 12/21/2027

Option Year One 12/22/2027 – 12/21/2028

Option Year Two 12/22/2028 – 12/21/2029

Option Year Three 12/22/2029 – 12/21/2030

Option Year Four 12/22/2030 – 12/21/2031

3.3 Work Hours:

Normal business hours are 07:30 a.m. to 16:30 or 15:00-23:00. Monday thru Friday excluding Federal Holidays. Work completed outside this time must be requested through the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and approve by the Contracting Officer (CO).

Request for after hour work must be submitted in writing to the COR and CO. Coordinator two (2) week prior to work. The VA requires that information submitted must contain: extent of work, worker involved, the affected areas, and the estimated times of operation.

3.4 Employee Badging:

All workers are required to obtain a time-limited I.D. badge from the VA Police Service located in the main building of the hospital. This badge must be worn at all times when workers are on site.

Background:

Use of pharmacy automation systems such as the FastPak Unit-Dose Packaging systems minimize errors and patient wait times and promote patient and pharmacy staff satisfaction. To maintain such systems in fully operational status always in support of patient care activities, it is essential to have a full-service maintenance contract in place. The Full Basic Service maintenance for the FastPak EXP equipment includes on-site visits 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, all parts, 24/7 phone support, and two (2) preventative maintenance visits annually.

4. Performance objectives: The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance services for FastPak EXP equipment resources as indicated below.

4.1 On site visits 8am-5pm Monday through Friday

4.2 All parts

4.3 24/7 phone support

4.4 Two (2) preventative maintenance visits annually

Operating constraints:

There are no operating constraints identified by the South Texas Veterans Health Care Systems.

5.

REFERENCES:

a. Federal Standards and Guidance:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996

Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 10-235

(2) OMB Circular A-123 – “Internal Control Systems”

(3) OMB Circular A-130 – “Management of Federal Information Resources,” Appendix III, “Security of Federal Automated Information Resources”

(4) 5 U.S.C. 552a, Privacy Act of 1974, 5 United States Code 552a, Public Law 99-08.

(5) 5 U.S.C. 552, Freedom of Information Act, 5 United States Code 552, Public Law

(6) 18 U.S.C. 1030 (a) (3), Fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

(7) Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Public Law 99-08, 100 Stat. 1848.

b.

Agency Policy and Guidelines:

VA Directive 6210, “Automated Information Systems (AIS) Security Procedures”

VA Directive 6214, “Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Program”

b. Local Policies:

(1) STVHCS Policy Memo IT-11-01, Internet Guidelines

(2) STVHCS Policy Memo IT-11-04 Modems

(3) STVHCS Policy Memo IT-12-07, Service Level Automated Information Systems

(4) STVHCS Policy Memo 001-12-06, Remote VPN Access

(5) STVHCS Policy Memo 003-11-04, Automated Information Systems (AIS)

(6) STVHCS Policy Memo 003-14-10, Information Security Program Policy

(7) STVHCS Policy Memo 003-10-11, Information Systems Security Incident Reporting

(8) STVHCS Policy Memo 003-10-12, Sensitive Record Access and Tracking

6. List of equipment and quantities that will be cleaned. This list is representative, comprehensive however, not all inclusive.

VAMC San Antonio

VAMC Kerrville

7.

DELIVERABLES:

a.

The contractor will provide Basic Full-Service maintenance services for FastPak unit dose packaging system equipment located at the ALMD Inpatient Pharmacy and the KD Pharmacy for the period of performance.

8.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM (QASP): The contractor will ensure maintenance services provided for covered equipment is in accordance with the terms of the awarded contract.

9.

SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS:

ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A contractor/subcontractor 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 are 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. 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.

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.

VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

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 onsite 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. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

l. 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 COR.

10. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

N/A

11. 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 COR 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, 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 COR. 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 preapproved 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.

12. 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 COR 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.

13. 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 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.

13. 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.

14. TRAINING

a. 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.]

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR 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.

c. 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.

15. Information Systems Officer, Information Protection: The Service Provider will have access to VA Desktop computers and will have access to online resources belonging to the government while conducting services in the application of complex adaptive system theory to health care organizations.

d.

Privacy Officer: Service Provider will have access to Patient Health Information (PHI) and will have the capability of accessing patient information during the services provided to the VA.

a. Records Manager:

Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C chapters 21, 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228.

Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest.

(3) Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records.

(4) Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act.

(5) Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract.

(6) The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract.

(7) The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data.

(8) Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.].

(9) No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules.

(10) Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, this contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information.

DELIVERY ADDRESS

Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center

7400 Merton Minter

San Antonio, TX 78229

Ricardo Rodriguez

Management and Program Analyst / COR

Pharmacy Service

Phone: (210) 996-8015