After Hour Medication Order Verification

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is issuing a Request for Bid (RFB) to procure remote medication order verification services for the Cherokee Mental Health Institute (CMHI) and Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO) during after-hours periods, weekends, and state-paid holidays. The service provider must be a qualified pharmacist with an active Iowa Board of Pharmacy license and must verify an anticipated monthly volume of 500 medication orders with a turnaround time of 60 minutes or less for 90% of orders and an accuracy rate of 98% or higher. Key deliverables include consultation responsiveness within 60 minutes for at least 90% of requests and maintenance of pharmacy licensure throughout the entire contract period. The procurement timetable establishes a letter of intent due by April 20, 2026; written questions due by May 4, 2026; and bid proposal submissions due by May 26, 2026 at 3:30 p.m., with the anticipated successful bidder announcement on June 9, 2026 and contract execution by June 30, 2026. Services are anticipated to commence on July 1, 2026. The contract has an initial one-year term with options for five additional one-year renewal terms at the Agency's sole discretion. Bidders must submit per-order verification pricing using a provided Cost Proposal Worksheet, with the grand total of rates across the base year and all extension years used for scoring, and the Agency reserves the right to apply a five percent deduction to invoices for any billing period in which performance measures are not met.

Bidders must be Iowa residents or registered to do business in Iowa and must comply with drug-free workplace requirements and non-discrimination practices. Professional liability insurance is required with minimum limits of $2 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, along with general liability, automobile liability, and excess liability coverage. The Agency will provide up to two secured laptop computers, login credentials, and necessary system access to qualified bidders. Bidders must provide three professional references from previous clients, and the contract is not exclusive and may involve subcontractors with prior Agency approval. No minimum compensation is guaranteed, and no set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises or specific restrictions on organization types have been indicated in the procurement documents.