HI 16-9 - Security Software Architecture
PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE
SECURITY SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE (HI 16-9)
INTRODUCTION
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) anticipates soliciting proposals and subsequently awarding a single award, firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract for non-personal to support the Office of Informatics and Analytics (OIA), Standards & Interoperability (S&I). Please note this Pre-Solicitation Notice is being issued in connection with Request for Information (RFI)/Source Sought Notice VA701-16-N-0106.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) engages in effective use of state-of-the-art Information Technology (IT) activities both inside and outside of the enterprise boundaries that depend upon healthcare standards and standards development. The integrity of VA health information systems require common processes, terms and information attributes to support clinical use, as well as common mechanisms to ensure security, privacy and patient safety. Health information standards development organizations meet these needs by providing the common information attributes upon which VA IT systems depends. Because of the importance of standards in VA healthcare operations, VA participates actively in multiple Standards Development Organizations (SDO) and Standards Related Organizations (SRO).
In addition, the VA must integrate standards into its business processes and health information systems. In particular, standards affect the way that information is stored and used, and the protocols that must be observed to achieve interoperability between systems and business partners. Accordingly, healthcare standards must be integrated into line of business requirements, health informatics and system design and engineering.
SCOPE OF WORK
Activities within scope include participation in or providing support to a wide range of security and privacy standard generally to related activities both external and internal to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
More specifically, Software Security Architecture is focused on activities specific to VHA's legal responsibilities as VHA's designated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) provider for healthcare, healthcare security informatics, healthcare security and privacy business workflow including healthcare security and privacy information models requirements and requirements management. Application analysts support the development of healthcare domain security and privacy vocabulary and standards within Health Level 7 (HL7) crucial to the analysis of security and privacy requirements supporting VHA clinical systems and programs. Security Software Architecture provides:
" Healthcare standards support related to creating, balloting and maintaining information, information models, vocabularies and code sets defining security and privacy healthcare domain concepts and attributes.
" Support for managing healthcare business security and privacy requirements including those that are cross-cutting requirements across the Department.
" Monitors VHA relevant external security and privacy standards.
Core activities include support to VA's engagement with healthcare security standards and standards influencing organizations.
In addition, the VHA must integrate healthcare security and privacy standards into its business processes and health information systems. In particular, standards affect the way that information is stored and used, and the protocols that must be observed to achieve interoperability between/among systems and business partners. Accordingly, healthcare standards must be integrated into all aspects of line of business requirements and health informatics affecting health information system design and engineering.
ADMINISTRATIVE
The solicitation will be issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Parts 12 and 15. The solicitation will be advertised as a total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside. Potential offerors shall be registered and verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at https://www.vip.vetbiz.gov at the time receipt of offers is due. The applicable NAICS code is 541511 with a size standard of $27.5 Million.
A draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) has been posted with this notice. Please provide technical questions to the Contract Specialist (CS) Michelle Rhodes at Michelle.Rhodes@va.gov and Contracting Officer (CO) Laurie Walker at Laurie.Walker@va.gov in writing via email no later than Tuesday August 16, 2016 at 10:00 AM (Eastern). Oral questions of a technical nature are not acceptable due to the possibility of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
The solicitation will be posted on or about August 19, 2016 and proposals will be due September 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM (Eastern). There will be no extensions to the due date of proposals. As a result of technical questions and responses to questions, the PWS may change. The final PWS will be posted as an attachment to the solicitation.
DISCLAIMER
**This notice is not a request for competitive offers. Telephone calls will not be accepted. The VA reserves the right to use only Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), via the internet, to provide any notification of amendments to this notice and the subsequent issuance of the solicitation. It is the Contractor's responsibility to view FBO daily for any amendments to this notice and the subsequent issuance of the solicitation.
Point of Contact: Michelle Rhodes at Michelle.Rhodes@va.gov
Michelle Rhodes
michelle.rhodes@va.gov
michelle.rhodes@va.gov
