7A21--RFI Request - Minimum Data Set (MDS) - new requirement (VA-25-00019860)

Please refer to the Request For Information (RFI) below for additional details:

Request for Information

RFI Request - Minimum Data Set (MDS) - new requirement

FORCE Entry # VA-25-00019860

Introduction

The VA s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) on behalf of VHA Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) Program Office is conducting Market Research on vendors capable of providing support for the Government Off the Shelf (GOTS) Internal Quality Improvement and Evaluation Systems (iQIES) software product originally developed for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). VA anticipates that the iQIES license will be extended to cover VA usage of a subset of iQIES capabilities supporting the creation of Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) analysis and reports. VA policy requires the usage of iQIES algorithms for determining whether nursing homes and state homes are meeting mandated standards for quality of care.

VHA GEC empowers Veterans to rise above the challenges of aging, disability or serious illness. VHA GEC provides leadership, planning, and policy in support of the GEC mission to honor Veterans preferences for health, independence, and well-being in the face of aging, disability, or illness by advancing expertise, programs, and partnerships.

VHA GEC manages the VA Community Living Centers Program (formerly known as VA Nursing Home Care Units) which provides compassionate care to eligible veterans with sufficient functional impairment. Veterans with chronic stable conditions including dementia, those requiring rehabilitation or short-term specialized services such as respite or intravenous therapy, or those who need comfort and care at the end of life are served in the VA Community Living Centers. Veterans may stay for a short time or, in rare instances, for the rest of their life. It is a place where Veterans can receive nursing home level of care, which includes help with activities of daily living and skilled nursing and medical care.

There are 135 Community Living Centers across the country.

All VA CLC s are required to submit MDS s to VA s Legacy MDS data repository in the Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) for analysis by the VHA GEC National Program Office staff.

VA also formally recognizes and certifies 188 State Veterans Home (SVH) facilities, which provide nursing home, domiciliary or adult day care to Veterans. These State Veterans Homes are surveyed each year to make sure they continue to meet VA standards. VA does not manage State Veterans Homes, they are owned, operated and managed by state governments. They date back to the post-Civil War era when many states created them to provide shelter to disabled and homeless Veterans. All VA contracted SVH s are required to submit MDS s to VA s Legacy MDS data repository in the AITC for analysis by the VHA GEC National Program Office staff.

Currently, VA s Legacy MDS serves as a repository of the standardized patient assessments for VHA's Community Living Centers (CLCs) and State Veterans Homes' nursing homes. The standardized assessments, which are referred to as MDS by health care associates are completed in applications external to the Minimum Data Set Repository. These assessments are then uploaded by the repository users via the MDS repository website. The MDS repository is then used to perform comprehensive reporting and to allow comparative review of care.

The VA s Legacy MDS system is essentially obsolete. VA is attempting to keep the VA Legacy MDS up to date with the mandated clinical standards of care and for VHA Congressionally required reporting.

VA is researching the feasibility of implementing components of the iQIES functionality at VA to collect, store, analyze and report RAI/MDS data. For purposes of this RFI, the VA iQIES implementation will be referred to as iQIES-VA. The implementation effort would include migration of data from the VA Legacy MDS to iQIES-VA. The effort would include support in customization for VA-specific requirements as well as a maintenance agreement to keep the iQIES-VA solution updated to reflect changes in reporting requirements and analysis algorithms implemented in iQIES.

The effort will require the ability to collect data and run the following reports:

Report Name

Report Category

Report Type

MDS

MDS 3.0 QM Package

Package Reports

Quality Measure

MDS 3.0 Activity

Provider

Submission

MDS 3.0 Admissions/Reentry/Discharges Report

Provider

Admission/ Discharge

MDS 3.0 Missing OBRA Assessment

Provider

Submission

MDS 3.0 NH Error Detail Report

Provider

Error

MDS 3.0 NH Final Validation Report

Provider

Validation

MDS 3.0 Roster Report

Provider

Roster

MDS 3.0 SB Error Detail

Provider

Error

MDS 3.0 SB Final Validation Report

Provider

Validation

MDS 3.0 Submitter Final Validation Report

Provider

Validation

MDS 3.0 Facility Characteristics Report

Quality Measure

Facility-Level Quality Measure

MDS 3.0 Facility-Level Quality Measure (QM) Report

Quality Measure

Facility-Level Quality Measure

MDS 3.0 Resident-Level Quality Measure (QM) Report

Quality Measure

Resident/Patient- Level Quality Measure

iQIES-VA would be installed and managed in the VA s Enterprise Cloud (VAEC) Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment in the AWS GovCloud.

The VAEC-AWS is connected to the VA network via AWS Direct Connect. iQIES-VA will be provisioned as a virtual private cloud (VPC) for production, pre-production and development environments. The Contractor will be required to obtain and maintain an application-level Authority to Operate (ATO) for the iQIES-VA.

iQIES-VA shall maintain the ability to produce both Resource Utilization Group (RUG) and Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) data according to VHA manpower/staffing/reimbursement requirements.

The Contractor shall keep iQIES-VA in synch with iQIES and current with all of the normative published National Standards as they evolve, esp. MDS 3.0 Quality Measures User s Manual (current version), and Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User s Manual, current version.

iQIES-VA will be integrated with VA Identity and Access Management (IAM) Single Sign On (SSO) PIV Card for internal VA users and SSO external (Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)) for SVH users.

While the implementation of the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record (EHR) solution that VA is currently undertaking includes Geriatric and Extended Care capability that will eventually address RAI/MDS requirements, the purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to implement iQIES-VA as an interim solution that will provide MDS capability through at least FY2036, and potentially longer if the Oracle Health implementation is delayed. VA is still in its preliminary Market Research stage of the new VA MDS requirement at this time.

This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered an Invitation for Bid, Request for Task Execution Plan, Request for Quotation, or a Request for Proposal. Additionally, there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this RFI. Your response to this RFI will be treated only as information for the Government to consider. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this RFI. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government does not intend to pay for the information submitted in response to this RFI.

2. Submittal Information:

All responsible sources may submit a response in accordance with the below information.

NO MARKETING MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED AS PART OF THIS RFI. Generic capability statements will not be accepted or reviewed. Your response must address capabilities specific to the services required and must include the following:

Interested Vendors shall at a minimum, provide the following information in the initial paragraph of the submission:

Name of Company

Address

Point of Contact

Phone Number

Fax Number

Email address

Company Business Size and Status

For VOSB and SDVOSBs, proof of verification in VIP.

NAICS code(s)

Socioeconomic data

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

Existing Contractual Vehicles (GWAC, FSS, or MAC)

Provide a summary of your capability to meet the requirements for the following areas:

Does your company have any experience with the iQIES system and/or software products that produce reports specified in the following manuals:

Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User s Manual, current version

MDS 3.0 Quality Measures USER S MANUAL current version

Internet Quality Improvement & Evaluation System (iQIES) Reports User Manual, current version

Data Management Does your company have any experience with migration of historical and/or archived MDS data?

Security Does your company have experience with obtaining an ATO in VAEC AWS or other similar FedRAMP certified environments?

Describe your company s ability to meet VA Security and Identity Access Management requirements, such as two-factor authentication.

Corporate experience or expertise in performing these services and specific examples or references. Specific examples or references provided must include the agency, point of contact, dollar value, and contract number.

Has this RFI provided sufficient detail to describe the technical requirements that encompass the software development and production operations support services to be performed under this effort.

______ YES _______ NO (if No, answer question e)

If NO , please provide your technical comments/recommendations on elements of the RFI that may contribute to a more accurate proposal submission and efficient, cost-effective effort.

Responses are due no later than 10:00 AM (EST), March 13, 2025 via email to Ivan Varela, Contract Specialist at ivan.varela@va.gov and Wendella Baptiste at Wendella.Baptiste@va.gov.

Please note RFI Request - Minimum Data Set (MDS) - new requirement (VA-25-00019860) in the subject line of your response. Mark your response as Proprietary Information if the information is considered business sensitive. The email file size shall not exceed 5 MB.