Medical Transcription Services 517-20-1-5056-0001 (VA-19-00059418)
21
Beckley VA Medical Center
Transcription Services
DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/WORK STATEMENT
1. Scope: The Contractor shall provide off-site medical transcription services for digital dictation, traditional medical transcription and correction editing services for The Department of Veterans Affairs, Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, Beckley VA Medical Center, Beckley, WV 25801 (hereafter referred to as VA, VAMC or the Government) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including Holidays, within prescribed turnaround times (TAT), using vendor-supplied dictation/transcription equipment and meeting the prescribed turnaround times discussed herein. This requirement will be for Beckley VA Medical Centers in VISN 5. Due to security and privacy concerns associated with the sensitive data that is the subject of this contract, all transcription, verification and uploading of reports shall be physically performed in the United States of America and there will be no subcontracting of this requirement. The Beckley VA Medical Center address and phone number is below:
Beckley VA Medical Center
200 Veterans Avenue
Beckley, WV 25801
304-255-2121
Contractor shall transcribe reports utilizing appropriate formats including headers and footers. Contractor shall also transmit and/or upload completed reports to VA using transmission and batch protocols provided by VA. The dictated material includes highly technical medical terminology, and requires an in-depth, (minimum of three years experience), knowledge of specialized vocabularies. Specialized vocabularies shall encompass a variety of subjects in the fields of Medicine and Surgery to include: ambulatory care, anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, dentistry, drug and alcohol treatment, endocrinology, general medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, hematology, immunology, internal medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, nuclear medicine, oncology, ophthalmology, oral surgery, orthopedics, otolaryngology, otorhinolaryngology, vascular, pathology, psychiatry, psychology, plastic surgery, pulmonary, renal, radiology, rheumatology, spinal cord injury, thoracic surgery, transplant and urology. Material is dictated by a variety of clinical staff and requires adaptation to variations in accents, speech, tone, voice volume, delivery, pronunciation, enunciation and may require corrections to grammar. The types of reports dictated will vary from facility to facility but may include any and/or all of the following: Discharge (including interfacility transfer, interward transfer and nursing home placement) summaries, procedure reports/notes (including, but not limited to: cardiac catheterization, endoscopy, dermatology, etc.), history and physical examination reports, annual physical examination reports (for outpatients and nursing home residents), radiology reports, emergency department notes, compensation and pension examination reports, outpatient and inpatient progress notes, cardiology reports (Holter monitors, echocardiograms, stress treadmills), neurology reports (Sleep study reports, EEG, EMG, Dopplers), surgical pathology reports, cytology reports, autopsy reports, mental status examinations, Persian Gulf and Agent Orange examination reports, consultations, and other miscellaneous medical reports as required.
Radiology:
Contractor shall furnish the necessary labor, supplies and equipment to provide off-site medical transcription services for the Radiology Service, as a back-up to the current system if needed, to cover routine and emergency services.
Coverage shall be seven days a week 24 hours per day within prescribed turnaround times (TAT)
Radiology reports require a 24-hour turnaround time. Contractor shall transcribe reports utilizing headers and footer and appropriate formats for radiology reports. Contractor shall also transmit and/or upload completed reports to VA using transmission and batch protocols provided by VA. The dictated material includes highly technical medical terminology and requires a comprehensive knowledge of radiology terminology. Material is dictated by a variety of radiologists and requires adaptation to variations in accents, speech, tone, voice volume, delivery, pronunciation and enunciation.
Radiology reports are transcribed directly into VISTA.
Pathology:
Contractor shall furnish the necessary labor, supplies and equipment to provide off-site medical transcription services for the Pathology Service, as a back-up to the current system if needed, to cover routine and emergency services.
Coverage shall be seven days a week 24 hours per day within prescribed turnaround times (TAT)
Pathology reports require a 24-hour turnaround time. Contractor shall transcribe reports utilizing headers and footer and appropriate formats for radiology reports. Contractor shall also transmit and/or upload completed reports to VA using transmission and batch protocols provided by VA. The dictated material includes highly technical medical terminology and requires a comprehensive knowledge of pathology terminology. Material is dictated by a variety of radiologists and requires adaptation to variations in accents, speech, tone, voice volume, delivery, pronunciation and enunciation.
2. System: The VA Medical Centers do not have dictation equipment. The transcribed documents are either typed directly into the VAMC Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) system or are typed and uploaded into the VISTA system. Remote access to VA systems that contain sensitive information must be done through the One-VA VPN. After contract award and prior to VA granting VPN access, the contractor shall be required to complete all privacy and security requirements. Contractor must be able to connect via One VA/VPN (Virtual Private Network) into the system, transmit transcribed documents, monitor jobs in the dictation system database and produce management reports from the database. Equipment necessary to comply with the terms of this contract is the responsibility of the contractor. Contractor must utilize the VPN software supplied by the VAMC. Contractor shall connect to the VAMC system utilizing a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). The VA shall provide the license for the VPN. Currently, there is no cost to the Contractor for a VPN license, but this may be subject to change. Contractor shall pay all for connect/toll changes for dialing any and all VA-provided telephone numbers. Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with connection to the VPN. VA will be transitioning to the Remote Enterprise Security Compliance Update Environment (RESCUE) for upload purposes at some point in the future, and Contractor will be required to be able to connect through this system, once it is brought on-line. Adequate power and connections will be maintained by the Contractor to provide uninterrupted service. Contractor shall notify the specific VAMC Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) immediately of any equipment or connections that are not functioning properly and could adversely affect dictation and/or transcription.
Contractor shall assign a job number to each transcription job that will be used to track that job throughout the process. The Contractor shall send the digital dictation system s dictation activity log, complete with the job numbers, covering midnight to midnight of the previous day s dictation (Friday through Sunday on weekends) showing dictated date and time, transcription date and time, report type, author identification, patient identification (name, Social Security Number) and line length. This shall be transmitted daily electronically or to a specified printer or fax by 7:00 a.m. EST each business day or immediately upon request by VA personnel and will be validated by a designated Medical Center employee. The Contractor shall send electronically the digital dictation system s dictation activity log for previous months upon request.
3. Set-up/Support: The Contractor shall spend as much time as necessary at each facility to ensure that the implementation of services is smooth and seamless to users at each facility. The Contractor shall ensure that STAT and H&P Reports will reprioritize when entering the Contractor s transcription system. The Contractor shall continue to provide assistance as needed to those facilities that request it, and shall continue to provide daily communication by e-mail, telephone or fax for jobs not transcribed or pulled. The Contractor shall ensure that all requested jobs are returned to their respective facilities by 3:30 p.m. EST each day.
4. Term: Services are required for a base and four (4) years for each facility.
5. Prices All Inclusive: Any equipment, material, or services required in the performance of this contract (i.e., dialing toll charges, site visit(s) to the VAMC for training the Contractor, background investigations, etc.) shall be included in the price of the line items.
6. Orientation and Training: Given the complex nature of this contract, the Contractor shall be required to undergo training as follows:
Contractor and certain members of Contractor s personnel shall be required to come to the VAMC for on-site orientation and training if needed. The number of technical staff to need to be trained will be determined by the VA. The length of training should be a minimum of two (2) days, longer if necessary. Training shall focus on all aspects of the requirement to ensure all personnel are adequately trained and ensure as few problems as possible arise in uploading and other areas. As technical questions arise, VA staff shall assess for content and provide direction.
b. Government regulations mandate that any individuals given access to a Federal System, or a system being operated on behalf of the Federal Government, must complete annual security awareness training that conforms to the requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Cyber and Information Security Training. Contractor is required to ensure that all their employees with such access receive this training as part of their orientation, as well as, repeating this training annually. These individuals are required to complete the intranet-VA Information Security Awareness Course which is provided to meet this requirement, complete the course test, and obtain the on-line certificate to that effect. A copy of the certificate must be provided to each specific VAMC COR.
c. Per VHA Handbook 160 5.1, contractor and business associates are required to complete annual VHA Privacy Training. Contractor is to ensure that their personnel receive privacy training that conforms to the requirements of Veterans Health Administration during their initial orientation as well as annually.
d. Contractor shall be required to ensure that all transcriptionists being assigned to work on this account go through a probationary period, during which time; every report transcribed must be proofread and checked for errors by a member of the Contractor s QA/supervisory/editing staff. The length of time required for this process of editing/training/proofreading shall be determined by the Contractor s QA/supervisory/editing staff based on the transcriptionists ability to transcribe the VAMC reports correctly, including formatting and text content. However, the VAMC reserves the right to require the Contractor to put any transcriptionist back into a probationary status, if the COR determines there is a need for such action based on the quality of work being received by the VA.
e. The VHA requires contractors performing services directly or indirectly affecting the VHA Revenue Cycle complete Compliance training. This training will be accomplished using one of the following two options:
The contractor may use VISN 5 s Course Content Outline for New Employee Orientation.
The contractor s own Compliance training course will suffice if it is supplemented by the information that is contained in VA s course content.
The contractor will provide a copy of the training certificate to the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR). A copy of the training certificate will also be maintained in the Contractor s contract file.
7. Contingency Services: Contractor shall maintain the resources necessary to ensure that transcription services for the Beckley VA Medical Center are uninterrupted, regardless of contingency or circumstance. Immediately upon implementation of any contingency services by Contractor, the Contractor s account manager shall notify the COR or designee at the specific VAMC. A detailed explanation of the problem shall be provided to VA and any deviations from current practice shall be outlined to the specific VAMC COR or designee annotating how TAT shall continue to be met.
Offerors shall submit with their proposal, documentation detailing an adequate contingency plan in the event of a Contractor system failure. The contingency plan will be reviewed and either accepted or rejected by the Contracting Officer.
8. VA Records: In accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Contractor shall have the plant security and ADP security necessary to safeguard VA records. The Contractor shall also maintain backup media (voice recording) of dictated material for a period of no less than 90 days from the date of dictation, as well as backup media (copies all transcribed documents) for a period of no less than 12 months from the date of dictation, with the ability to be verified by the ISO and OI&T. If, at any time, VA is in need of backup reports, Contractor shall provide to VA within 24 hours at no additional cost.
9. Physical Plant Security: Contractor shall make every effort to provide a secure physical plant wherever the transcription is being performed. This could be accomplished in many different ways, such as but not limited to: locked buildings, locked offices with limited access, security camera s, card reader access, security codes, locked server rooms, etc. Contractor should always be mindful and aware of security concerns, as transcription is a type of service that can be prone to security breaches.
*****If the Contractor is using remote transcriptionists, at no time are these remote transcriptionists to save any VA information onto their hard drives. Contractor should read this contract thoroughly and ensure their company is able to fully comply with VAAR Clause 852.273-75 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources (October 2008) contained herein. Noncompliance with this clause, any security requirements contained herein, and any associated information listed or inferred by this contract, could be grounds for immediate termination. VA reserves the right to perform on-site inspection(s) of any facility where work is being performed on this contract in order to ensure the contractor is in compliance with all Security, Cyber Security, Privacy and Protected Health Information requirements.B Inspection(s) may be performed by VA s COR, ISO, and/or CO.
SPECIAL TERMS & CONDITIONS
DEFINITIONS:
(a) Visible Black Character: A Visible Black Character is defined as strike-able and visible characters and includes any printed letter, number, symbol, and/or punctuation mark excluding any or all formatting (e.g., bold, underline, italics, table structure, formatting codes). All visible black characters can be seen with the naked eye as a mark, regardless of whether viewed electronically or on a printed page.
(b) Visual Black Character (VBC) Line or ASCII no Spaces Line: A VBC Line is defined as the total number of characters you can see with the naked eye, divided by 65. It includes any character contained within (between) a header or footer. Spaces, carriage returns, and hidden format instructions, such as bold, underline, text boxes, printer configurations, spell check, etc., are not counted in the total character count. A VBC Line is calculated by counting all visual characters and simply dividing the total number of characters by 65 to arrive at the number of defined lines. Font will be Courier New 11 point. No charges are assessed for blank lines (a line containing no text). There will be no bolding or underlining of words in transcribed reports due to incompatibility with VISTA. Transcription shall be completed in Microsoft Word. Site must be configured with the following line counting options enabled, unless otherwise specified in the contract or elsewhere in this section:
(1) Include Headers and Footers;
(2) Include Template;
For billing purposes, lines are calculated by adding the number of characters in a report and dividing by 65. Not all characters in a report are countable for line counting and billing purposes. Only those characters in a report following the upload header up to and including the footer are countable for line counting and billing purposes. The upload header includes all text/characters including and between $HDR and $TXT. The COR will provide a sample report that illustrates what is considered countable and non-countable for line counting and billing purposes. The Contractor shall not bill the VA for any other typed documents this includes but is not limited to logs, TAT reports, e-mails or correspondence to the VA, and any typing required to upload patient reports into the patient s electronic medical record. The VA will be responsible for payment of lines received rather than lines transmitted which will be determined upon upload to the correct patient s electronic record in VISTA/CPRS by the VA s VISTA system.
(c) TAT (Turn-around-time): The Contractor s system shall allow the Contractor to immediately access jobs through a pool assignment as soon as they are dictated. TAT is the difference between the time the author hangs up at the conclusion of dictating into the system, and the time the Contractor s correctly transcribed report is uploaded (regardless of upload methodology) into the appropriate patient s electronic record in VISTA/CPRS. When the author begins to dictate a job number will be assigned for tracking purposes. When the author hangs up at the completion of a dictation, that same job number is repeated. The dictation system shall then record the date and time that the dictation was completed/closed. The system shall also record the date and time the transcription of that report was completed. However, it must clearly be understood that the date and time the transcription is completed has absolutely no bearing on the overall TAT. Overall TAT can only be determined by the VAMC s COR or designee once the correctly transcribed report has been uploaded into the appropriate patient s electronic record.
NOTE: Turnaround Time is calculated on a 24-hour basis (including weekends and holidays). Overall turn-around-time (TAT) requirement varies between report types, as described below:
TURNAROUND TIME
REPORT TITLE REQUIRED TAT
STAT dictation (any report dictated and
designated to be transcribed STAT Two (2) hours
Transfer Discharge Summaries Two (2) hours
Emergency Room Notes Four (4) hours
History and Physicals Four (4) hours
LTC (Long-Term-Care) Placement Summaries Four (4) hours
Interim Summaries Four (4) hours
Discharge Summaries Twenty-Four (24) hours
Addendum to any Report Twenty-Four (24) hours
Operation Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Non-OR Procedure Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Consultation Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Annual Physical Exam Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Persian Gulf/Agent Orange Exam Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Compensation & Pension Exam Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Radiology Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Pathology Reports Twenty-Four (24) hours
Emergency Room Notes Twenty-Four (24) hours
Progress notes Twenty-Four (24) hours
Other non-STAT dictation Twenty-Four (24) hours
(d) VISTA: VA electronic health care architecture based on software modules developed with M ( MUMPS ).
(e) STAT: Report needs to be transcribed within the turnaround time indicated or sooner as designated by the report work type, author of the report and/or the COR or HIMS designee.
(f) COR: Contracting Officer s Representative
(g) VPN: One VA VPN is the connection method Contractor shall use.
2. PREPARATION & FORMAT OF REPORTS:
(a) General Format: The length of each report shall vary according to the type of medical report required. The reports shall be created and saved as ASCII text only printable characters, single spaces, and
Phillip.Duba@va.gov
Phillip.Duba@va.gov
