Secure Messaging (SM) Software for the Military Health System

Added: Feb 26, 2016 4:33 pm Modified: Feb 26, 2016 5:04 pmTrack Changes

On 28 September 2012, the United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) awarded FourPoints Technology, LLC, a one-year firm fixed priced contract with four additional one-year options to provide Software as a Service (SaaS) subscriptions, program management support, account administration support, new and super user training, non-standard reports preparation, and information assurance services to the MHS as a means for medical providers to communicate securely with patients. FourPoints identified RelayHealth as their subcontractor to provide the Military Health community with the required Secure Messaging (SM) product and related services.  

It has taken RelayHealth three years to complete the change management requirements for enterprise wide deployment, consisting of travel, administrative setup, workflow configuration and training at 470 military treatment facilities (MTF) on 200 military installations in 40 US States/Territories and in 8 Foreign Countries. The DHA’s experience with the current contractor demonstrates that a new vendor would have similar change management requirements.  Health care providers and beneficiaries of the US Air Force, Army, and Navy, use the product on a daily basis as the de facto DHA interim solution for Provider and Patient communications. SM is a critical component of all MTF and Enhanced Multi-Service Market (eMSM) business processes and plans to enhance access to care, increase enrollment capacity, and improve patient satisfaction. Thousands of vendor and MTF personnel labor hours have been expended to date to configure the current user accounts, develop workflows, train staff and patients, and sustain the system.

The DHA's Defense Health Management System Modernization's (DHMSM) new overarching Electronic Health Record (EHR) contract awarded in Jul 2015 includes a similar SM capability.  Discussions regarding the deployment of the new capability are still ongoing but an interim solution is needed. DHA's current contract expires on 28 March 2016. The requirement is for a source to provide a fully deployed and operational SM product to all existing Military Treatment Facilities and associated military health care providers no later than 29 March 2016.  RelayHealth is the only source that can meet the DHA's schedule for deployment and delivery of an SM product to the approximately 35,000 Health Care providers and supporting staff.  Experience with the current contractor has demonstrated that extensive change management/training time for a new product precludes considering other options because it would take at least a year for a new awardee to complete the change management requirements. A break in service would reverse the successes highlighted in the 2014 MHS Review for enhanced access to care, increased patient satisfaction, and National Commission on Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognition for meeting Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) core requirements.

DHA conducted extensive Market Research to explore interim options, including an Industry Day, follow-on vendor discussions, and review of on-line product information.   Although the market provides alternatives for SM services, experience with the current vendor demonstrates extensive deployment and change management requirements  result in a break in service. 

Be advised that the aforementioned information is anticipatory in nature and is not binding. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any firm believing that they can fulfill the requirement of providing these services may be considered by the Agency.  Interested parties shall identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis within 8 calendar days of publication, and must clearly demonstrate their ability to successfully fulfill all of the above.  the Government reserves the right not to respond to any expressions of interest received.  After 8 calendar days from the date of this publication, any expressions will be regarded as late and will not be considered.  Any comments, questions, or concerns regarding this notice must be submitted IN WRITING via e-mail to David Colbert, Contracting Officer at  david.g.colbert.civ@mail.mil.  No telephone responses will be accepted.

Submissions will NOT be reimbursed by the Government and the entire cost of any submission will be at the sole expense of the source submitting the information.  A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

This synopsis is for informational purposes only.  Any Justification & Approval resulting from a decision to award the proposed sole source action will be posted on this website.

All information received in response to this notice that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly.  The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  Submissions will not be returned nor will the Government confirm receipt of submissions.

In addition, respondents should be aware that the Program Office may utilize contractor support personnel from the below listed companies (under existing contracts) to review responses and information submitted.  These companies and individual employees are bound contractually by Organizational  Conflict of Interest and disclosure clauses with respect to proprietary  information, and they will take all reasonable action necessary to preclude  unauthorized use or disclosure of a respondents proprietary data.  Submissions MUST clearly state whether permission is granted allowing the program office support contractors identified below access to any proprietary information.

The MITRE Corporation
Booz Allen Hamilton
Deloitte Consulting
 

Added: Feb 26, 2016 4:33 pm

Defense Healthcare Agency (DHA), Health Information Technology Division (HIT) Directorate, Solution Delivery Division (SDD) Contracting Operations Division – San Antonio (COD-SA) intends to issue a sole source follow-on contract to McKesson Corporation – RelayHealth Division (hereinafter referred to as RelayHealth) to continue providing 11,725 Secure Messaging (SM) Software as a Service (SaaS) subscriptions (D318) for the Military Health System (MHS). The subscriptions are for MHS physicians, physician assistants, nurse case managers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dentists and other medical providers. Patients and medical support staff do not need a subscription to use the service.  The contract will also provide related account management service, SM training resources, non-standard report preparation and cyber-security requirements. The proposed contract action described below may be solicited and awarded without full and  open competition pursuant to the authority of 10 USC 2304 (c)(1).

On 28 September 2012, the United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) awarded FourPoints Technology, LLC, a one-year firm fixed priced contract with four additional one-year options to provide Software as a Service (SaaS) subscriptions, program management support, account administration support, new and super user training, non-standard reports preparation, and information assurance services to the MHS as a means for medical providers to communicate securely with patients. RelayHealth was the subcontractor to Four Points Technology. FourPoints Technology, LLC identified RelayHealth as their subcontractor to provide the Military Health community with the required SM product and related services.  

It has taken RelayHealth three years to complete the change management requirements for enterprise wide deployment, consisting of travel, administrative setup, workflow configuration and training at 470 military treatment facilities (MTF) on 200 military installations in 40 US States/Territories and in 8 Foreign Countries. The DHA’s experience with the current contractor demonstrates that a new vendor would have similar change management requirements.  Health care providers and beneficiaries of the US Air Force, Army, and Navy, use the product on a daily basis as the de facto DHA interim solution for Provider and Patient communications. SM is a critical component of all MTF and Enhanced Multi-Service Market (eMSM) business processes and plans to enhance access to care, increase enrollment capacity, and improve patient satisfaction. Thousands of vendor and MTF personnel labor hours have been expended to date to configure the current user accounts, develop workflows, train staff and patients, and sustain the system.

The current contract expires on 28 March 2016. The requirement is for a source to provide a fully deployed and operational SM product to all existing Military Treatment Facilities and associated military health care providers no later than 29 March 2016.  RelayHealth is the only source that can meet the DHA's schedule for deployment and delivery of an SM product to the approximately 35,000 Health Care providers and supporting staff.  Experience with the current contractor has demonstrated that extensive change management/training time for a new product precludes considering other options because it would take at least a year for a new awardee to complete the change management requirements. A break in service would reverse the successes highlighted in the 2014 MHS Review for enhanced access to care, increased patient satisfaction, and National Commission on Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognition for meeting Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) core requirements.

DHA conducted extensive Market Research to increase competition, including an Industry Day, follow-on vendor discussions, and review of on-line product information.   Although the market provides alternatives for SM services, experience with the current vendor demonstrates that a new vendor could not deploy a new product within the required time requirements to avoid an unacceptable break in service.  A new vendor would also result in duplication of costs of approximately $10M for the Authority to Operate (ATO) and the three-year change management initiatives to satisfy requirements during the deployment thereafter.

In addition, the DHA recently completed a competitive award of a new contract for modernized Electronic Health Record which includes SM services that are expected to be deployed enterprise wide.

Be advised that the aforementioned information is anticipatory in nature and is not binding. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any firm believing that they can fulfill the requirement of providing these services may be considered by the Agency.  Interested parties shall identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis within 8 calendar days of publication, and must clearly demonstrate their ability to successfully fulfill all of the above requirements. (Due the abundance of caution and to the best of our ability our procurement directorate still has not completely decided upon a decision approach hence the abbreviated comment period).  Nevertheless, the Government reserves the right not to respond to any expressions of interest received.  After 8 calendar days from the date of this publication, any expressions will be regarded as late and will not be considered.  Any comments, questions, or concerns regarding this notice must be submitted IN WRITING via e-mail to David Colbert, Contracting Officer at  david.g.colbert.civ@mail.mil.  No telephone responses will be accepted.

Submissions will NOT be reimbursed by the Government and the entire cost of any submission will be at the sole expense of the source submitting the information.  A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

This synopsis is for informational purposes only.  Any Justification & Approval resulting from a decision to award the proposed sole source action will be posted on this website.

All information received in response to this notice that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly.  The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations.  Submissions will not be returned nor will the Government confirm receipt of submissions.

In addition, respondents should be aware that the DHMSM Program Office may utilize contractor support personnel from the below listed companies (under existing contracts) to review responses and information submitted.  These companies and individual employees are bound contractually by Organizational  Conflict of Interest and disclosure clauses with respect to proprietary  information, and they will take all reasonable action necessary to preclude  unauthorized use or disclosure of a respondents proprietary data.  Submissions MUST clearly state whether permission is granted allowing the program office support contractors identified below access to any proprietary information.