DATA ABSTRACTING SERVICES

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP-5400023796) for Cancer Registry Data Abstracting Services targeting cancer case data collection from community hospitals, freestanding treatment centers, and physician offices. The solicitation seeks qualified vendors to abstract approximately 4,500 newly diagnosed cancer cases annually, adhering to Centers for Disease Control's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) standards. Contractors must provide certified tumor registrars (CTRs), abstracting software compliant with NPCR requirements, and computers for performing the work, with cases to be transmitted bi-weekly to SCCCR according to specified security standards. The evaluation criteria prioritize technical proposal approach (45%), experience and resources (30%), and pricing (25%), with award made to the highest-ranked responsive offeror. Key submission dates included a question deadline of October 18, 2022, initial proposal due date of November 17, 2022 (later extended to December 8, 2022), and anticipated award posting on January 12, 2023. The contract term is initially one year with four potential one-year renewal options, potentially extending the total contract period to five years.

The RFP explicitly states that South Carolina vendor preferences do not apply to this solicitation per Section 11-35-1524. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were mentioned in the documents. Contractors are required to provide all necessary resources, including CTRs, abstracting software, and computing equipment, with all travel expenses to be self-funded. The procurement will require strict compliance with DHEC's confidentiality policies, HIPAA business associate agreement requirements, and a mandate for 100% accuracy in data submissions. While no specific budget range was disclosed, the pricing structure is based on an all-inclusive hourly rate covering all services, deliverables, and associated costs. DHEC has historically utilized a mix of in-house Certified Tumor Registrars (both full-time and part-time) and contractors for cancer case abstracting, and this solicitation continues that operational model. The contractor will be responsible for abstracting 500-1,000 remaining 2021 diagnosis year cases and an estimated 4,500 new cases annually, with specific completion deadlines for each diagnosis year's data.