Information Technology Solution
1.0 Purpose of this RFI
The Office of Warrior Care Policy (WCP) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research on industry's ability to provide an information technology solution that can support Disability Evaluation System (DES) processes with case management, tracking and reporting, data analytics, and electronic information exchange and storage capabilities.
2.0 Background
The Department of Defense (DoD) uses the DES to evaluate whether Service members can continue to serve when their medical condition(s) interfere with their ability to perform required military duties. Currently, the Military Services are evaluating more than 35,000 Service members through four DES processes: Legacy DES (LDES); Integrated DES (IDES); Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL); and a Non-Duty Related (NDR) disability evaluation process.
A Service develops a DES case on each Service member consisting of medical, human resource, administrative, financial, and Service-specific information that is collected from various data sources. DES cases are routed through medical and personnel evaluation boards to enable the Services to determine a Service member's fitness for continued service or, when necessary, to determine an appropriate level of compensation for those medically separated or retired from a Service. In the case of TDRL determinations, Services members are temporary retired and must be periodically reevaluated before their case can be finalized to determine their appropriate level of compensation.
The Services use various information technologies for managing approximately 15,000 Service members in the IDES and TDRL processes. In addition, the Services also use the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Tracking Application (VTA) to manage approximately 20,000 IDES cases. Although VTA provides limited case management, tracking, and reporting capabilities, the Services must manually input individual case data into VTA; however the actual transfer of cases through each step of the IDES process occurs outside of VTA.
3.0 Current Situation
The Military Departments have varying levels of IT functionality, but lack case management and file transfer capabilities to manage the LDES, IDES, TDRL, and NDR processes. The current DES IT functionality only allows the Services to capture limited information from authoritative medical, human resource, and Service-specific data sources. Further, DES IT lacks document management and upload capabilities, requiring Service personnel to manually capture and enter the majority of DES case information, hampering data accuracy and results with significant latency. Service IT systems lack workflow, queuing, notification, electronic file transfer, and long-term storage capabilities, all of which limit their ability to provide end-to-end electronic case management, tracking, reporting, transfer, and storage of DES cases.
WCP seeks solutions to the aforementioned challenges that offer:
• A single system, single user interface solution
• Comprehensive end-to-end case management capability
• Immediate access and transparency of DES‐related information for the Military Departments operating DES and Service members while adhering to privacy and information security requirements
• Accurate and current reporting of all ongoing activities occurring within the DES processes
o Harmonization of data and reporting across DoD and all Military Departments
o Metrics to monitor and evaluate process activities and performance of users, the Military Departments, and DoD
o User-defined ad hoc reporting capability
o Standardized reporting to Congress, DoD, VA, and Service leadership
• Capture of existing DES information
• Consistent data across DoD and the Military Department to allow for fully searchable case files
• A single repository of data that allows real-time case collaboration with DoD and the Military Departments as well as a consistent capability to transfer electronic case data to and from the VA
• Information retrieval capability from DoD authoritative source system(s) such as Defense Manpower Data Center's (DMDC's) Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) to continually populate and update specific data elements and capture existing documents needed for the case file
• Information retrieval capability with DoD medical case file(s) system(s) such as Defense Health Agency's (DHA's) Health Artifact and Image Management Solution (HAIMS) to continually populate and update specific data elements and capture existing documents needed for the case file
• Case file deactivate/reactivate capability that ensures complete data integrity
• Case file transfer/retrieval capability to electronic archives that ensures complete data integrity
WCP requests information on solutions that can provide the above-referenced capabilities. Descriptions of additional complementary and completing capabilities are also welcome.
All solutions must adhere to security, information assurance, DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP), and Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) requirements and vendors must demonstrate experience deploying solutions in a DoD or equivalent environment.
4.0 Requirements
Specific requirements are detailed in the attached Business Requirements Document. Your submission should address how your solution will address the following areas in detail:
• Case management and tracking
• Reporting capabilities (ad hoc and predefined reports, querying capability to enable Data Analytics)
• Workflow and transparency
• Electronic document and records management
• Secure case file transfer
• Scalability and expandability
• Interoperability
• DoD Information Assurance (e.g., DIACAP/Risk Management Framework compliance)
• Personal Identifiable Information (PII) compliance
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance
• Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) environment hosting
• Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V)
5.0 How To Respond
THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested vendor's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. However this information will go a long way in assisting the government in determining how to source any resultant solicitation.
• Businesses with the capabilities listed in the following section are requested to submit an electronic capabilities package that does not exceed 20 pages (all-inclusive with the exception of the title page, and table of contents). The capabilities package shall be concise and focused. Incomplete packages will not be favorably reviewed.
• Sales brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials are not solicited and will not be reviewed.
• Cost estimates or Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) can be provided.
• No phone calls and no emails related to this RFI will be accepted other than the formal submission of responses.
• All questions shall be submitted no later than 2:00 PM 12/9/2015.
• The total e-mail file limit size is restricted to 10 MB. Files exceeding this threshold shall be submitted over multiple messages, and be identified as "MESSAGE #X of #X."
• All responses must include the following information:
o Company name
o Company address
o Company business size
o Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code and current Facility Clearance Level
o Current North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes
o Point-of-contact name, telephone number, and email address
• The formal closing date for this RFI is 12/11/2015 at 2:00 PM. All responses should be submitted electronically in PDF formats or word with subject "DES IT- RFI Response" to the following email address (es): Roberto.saenz2.civ@mail.mil
Appendix A
1. Does your solution have the ability to interface/integrate with other legacy systems on DoD/VA networks? Does it support real-time connectivity or periodic updates? Please provide the data exchange formats supported.
2. Have you ever developed or maintained a solution that consumes paper documents for electronic transmission to a designated workflow location? If so, please identify this solution.
3. Do you possess an in-depth understanding of the IDES process either from a DoD or VA perspective? How was this understanding obtained?
4. Where is your facility located?
5. Do you possess an in-depth understanding of HIPAA and have you ever designed or developed a HIPAA-compliant solution?
6. Do you currently have customers that utilize your proposed solution(s) specifically for any DoD customers?
a. If so, please describe how the solution(s) are currently integrated within the DoD operating environment.
b. Please provide the current total of users/agencies/annual transactions using your proposed solution(s).
7. Since WCP is a Department of Defense (DoD) Agency, it must comply with Federal and DoD security and Information Assurance requirements.
a. Has your solution(s) obtained Approval to Operate (ATO)/been accredited to operate on any DoD network?
b. If your solution(s) is not accredited, has it gone through any type of Federal requirements certification process (e.g., DIACAP, Risk Management Framework)?
8. Please confirm that the solution supports Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Common Access Card (CAC) authentication and digital signature requirements.
9. What is your typical approach for providing continuing technical support?
SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION
10. What is your typical approach for providing training to DoD agencies and its employees?
11. Please provide the specific hardware, software, and application requirements to implement your proposed solution.
12. WCP anticipates that the solution be hosted at DISA facilities. Is your solution compatible with the DISA hosting environment?
13. Given your understanding of the WCP requirements, what is your estimate of the time it will take to fully deploy your proposed solution? Please provide an estimated range if necessary. What additional information would you need from WCP in order to provide a better estimate?
14. Please provide any other information you think would be valuable to understand your solution's capabilities and technology requirements.
***The Government reserves the right to invite vendor(s) to an industry day forum at their discretion. This action in no way obligates the government to any further actions other than market research.
Roberto Saenz, Phone 7036813980, Email roberto.saenz2.civ@mail.mil
