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Private Sector Benchmarking


Colorado, United States
Government : Homeland Security
RFP
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This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE for market research purposes only to determine the availability of potential businesses with capabilities to provide the services described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Potential offerors are invited to provide information via e-mail to susan.delacruz@va.gov. All responses will be used to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a potential future acquisition according to PWS.

Potential contractors shall provide, at a minimum, the following information to susan.delacruz@va.gov:

1) Name, address, point of contact name, phone number, and e-mail address.

2) Brief capability statement with enough information to determine if the company can meet the requirement. The Capabilities Statement for this sources sought is not expected to be a Request for Quote nor does restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach, but rather short statement regarding the company's ability to provide the service above. Any commercial brochures or currently existing marketing material may also be submitted with the capabilities statement.

The capabilities will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining to Set-Aside for the Small Business Community or to conduct as an Unrestricted Procurement. The Government must ensure there is adequate competition among the potential pool of available contractors.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pays for information solicited. This synopsis is not a solicitation announcement for Request for Quote. No formal solicitation document exists at this time, and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. All interested contractors should notify this office via email by 4:30 PM (MDT) on January 19, 2017.

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Performance Work Statement (PWS)
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Benchmarking Database


BACKGROUND
The mission of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to efficiently and effectively provide benefits and services to Veterans of the United States. In meeting these goals, the Veterans Health Administration, Office of Finance, Managerial Cost Accounting Office (MCAO) ensures compliance with Public Laws, such as PL 101-576, that mandate the use of an activity-based cost accounting system.
MCAO s Decision Support System (DSS) imports s and processes VA financial and clinical workload information to generate Managerial Cost Accounting (MCA) information for the VA s Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and OI&T, as well as, the Department of Defense (DOD) in support of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. DSS information supports the mission of critical VA program offices, including VHA Allocation Resource Center and Office of Patient Care Services, to make funding and resource allocations and facilitates other critical managerial decisions.
DSS is the VA s only system that provides patient encounter level activity-based costing. As such, VHA workload data is available at product and patient encounter levels.
This Healthcare Performance Benchmark project is to enable, and facilitate VHA Managerial Cost Accounting Office MCAO staff to create analogous and appropriate comparisons of VHA healthcare services with private-sector healthcare providers located in the United States. Work will be conducted primarily by the MCAO staff, with a not-to-exceed twelve (12) individuals. That MCAO staff will be comprised of highly experienced healthcare performance/cost data analysts and clinicians. Contactor shall provide:
Access to Robust Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Database of inpatient and outpatient encounters that is historically linear containing at least three (3) of the most recent years.

APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:
44 U.S.C. B' 3541, Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2, Security Requirements For Cryptographic Modules
FIPS Pub 201, Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors, March 2006
10 U.S.C. B' 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program"
Software Engineering Institute, Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Modeling (SA CMM) Level 2 procedures and processes
5 U.S.C. B' 552a, as amended, The Privacy Act of 1974
42 U.S.C. B' 2000d Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Directive 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program, May 18, 2007
VA Directive 6102, Internet/Intranet Services, July 15, 2008
36 C.F.R. Part 1194 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards, July 1, 2003
OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, November 28, 2000
32 C.F.R. Part 199, Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)/TRICARE
An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule, October 2008
Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. B' 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004
VA Directive 6500, Managing Information Security Risk: VA Information Security Program, September 20, 2012
VA Handbook 6500, Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems Tier 3: VA Information Security Program, September 20, 2012
VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization, March 22, 2010
VA Handbook 6500.2, Management of Data Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI) , January 6, 2012
VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation of VA Information Systems, November 24, 2008
VA Handbook, 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle March 22, 2010
VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, March 12, 2010
Project Management Accountability System (PMAS) portal (reference PWS References -Technical Library at https://www.voa.va.gov/)
OIT ProPath Process Methodology (reference PWS References -Technical Library and ProPath Library links at https://www.voa.va.gov/) NOTE: In the event of a conflict, OIT ProPath takes precedence over other processes or methodologies.
Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.voa.va.gov/)
National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications
VA Directive 6508, VA Privacy Impact Assessment, October 3, 2008
VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, February 26, 2009
VA Handbook, 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, March 24, 2010
OMB Memorandum, Transition to IPv6 , September 28, 2010


3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide (online and/or downloadable) private-sector healthcare datasets, analytical tools and training on how best to utilize for the Government to autonomously conduct targeted analyses with the goal of providing Make/Buy and other types of analysis to support to VHA leaders at the local and regional levels.

Provide Private-Sector Healthcare Benchmarking data such as:
Clinical Performances Measures to include Severity-Adjusted Benchmarks: Mortality Rate, Complication Rate, Readmission Rate, Length-of-Stay, etc.
Cost Performance Measures: to include Severity-Adjusted Benchmarks: Worked/Paid Hours per Encounter/Discharge, Expenses/Costs per Encounter/Discharge, Staffing Levels and Productivity Measures, etc.

Benchmarking tools, online and downloadable information and training to be used for following purposes and/or to meet the following objectives:

Strategic Focus: Identified strengths and weaknesses can be used to develop a smaller, more focused set of strategic initiatives or policy drivers. Examples of such strategic initiatives might include: 1) phasing out or outsourcing of non-competitive health services.

Operational Focus: Provide the appropriate benchmarks necessary to conduct Make/Buy analysis on a regional/local basis for various clinical specialties. Provide the tools and training necessary to allow MCAO staff to assist VHA facilities with benchmarking at the regional and local levels.

Operational Focus: Identify, high volume, high cost opportunities at the operational (Station or Facility) level, where aligning activity-level cost/performance more closely to Best practice healthcare industry benchmarks would produce significant efficiencies and improvements.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The Period-Of-Performance (POP) shall be a one (1) year base period and one (1) year option period.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO).

There are ten (10) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows. Under current definitions, four are set by date:
New Year's Day January 1
Independence Day July 4
Veterans Day November 11
Christmas Day December 25

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday. The other six are set by a day of the week and month:
Martin Luther King's Birthday Third Monday in January
Washington's Birthday Third Monday in February
Memorial Day Last Monday in May
Labor Day First Monday in September
Columbus Day Second Monday in October
Thanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Tasks under this PWS shall be performed at both Government and Contractor facilities. The contractor s ability to support place of performance requirements should be defined in their proposal.

TRAVEL

The Government anticipates limited travel under this effort to attend program-related meetings and/or training the period of performance, at least two (2) instances of travel: (1) Kick-Off Meeting not to exceed one business day at VA Central Office, 810 Vermont Ave., N.W. Washington DC (2) On-Site Face-to-Face Training, not to exceed four business days, at MCAO Offices, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA. This includes all estimated travel costs in firm-fixed price line items. These costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government.

SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform the following:

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

All work to be accomplished under this task order will be managed via a Project Management Plan (PMP) a formal deliverable subject to VA s review and written approval. The PMP is a living document that shall be periodically reviewed for any necessary updates. When accepted by the Government, the PMP will serve as the primary tool through which the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) will manage the work performed by the contractor. The PMP will provide a specific description of the anticipated contractor activities, deliverables, schedule and/or projected outcomes by major task area.
Deliverable:

Project Management Plan. Due Fifteen (15) days after order award and updated monthly thereafter throughout the POP.
PROJECT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall provide a Monthly Progress Report, by the third business day of the month, to the COR and the Contracting Officer (CO), describing the work accomplished during the period covered by the report, the timeliness of that work, and the work expected to be accomplished in the current month. The contractor shall prepare presentations, attend required program meetings, and participate in conference calls, as determined by the COR. Meetings shall be conducted in person or virtual utilizing video or phone conferencing (e.g., MS Lync), the VA National Teleconferencing System (VANTS), or other conferencing capabilities within the VHA and the contractor. All deliverables in support of these tasks shall be formatted as specified in the PMP. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the contractor shall provide an explanation including its plan and timeframe for resolving issue(s). The contractor shall monitor performance against the PMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the contractor shall keep in communication with the VA accordingly, so that issues that arises are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues.
Deliverable:

Quarterly Progress Report: due on the third working day of month during the POP;
Ad-hoc reporting will be agreed to in advance by the contractor and preformed as necessary to support the effort; and
A Quarterly status meeting (teleconference) is required between the COR and contractor PM to maintain communication and progress updates on a regular basis. The framework of the status updates will consist of current milestone status, issues/risks, action items and overall health of the project.

5.2 PRIVATE SECTOR HEALTHCARE PERFORMANCE DATABASE

On-demand, online and down-loadable access to robust U.S.A. Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Database comprised of patient encounters of inpatients and outpatients; with a minimum of three recent years. This database of healthcare performance will, ideally, provide discriminators and benchmarks delineated by diagnosis, procedure, comorbidity, etc., like those frequently categorized by the common medical codes such as, ICD-9, ICD-10, CPT, & DRG; as well as, demographic (age, gender, & geographic); population multiple comorbidities risk and severity adjusted patients; patient cost and utilization by payer type; and cost, performance trends by healthcare institution peer type, e.g., teaching hospital, small community hospital, etc. The private sector care performance database, and accompanying tools, should be flexible enough to allow Government employees to conduct comparative analysis and provide the foundational benchmarks at facility level of detail to conduct both cost and performance evaluations, as well as, make-or-buy analysis of clinical services.
Central to enabling the Government to effectively benchmark VA s performance to the Private-Sector, and conduct make-or-buy analyses, is the Vendor must provide the Government with capability to download the Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Data. In addition, robust and comprehensive Data Dictionaries that define the Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Data are required by the Government to enable effective benchmarking and comparison with VA performance data.

Deliverable: Due 15 days after award
Access to USA private-sector Healthcare Performance Database via online interface and downloadable that will be available via Internet.
Access to telephone/online Help Desk to respond to service trouble and/or interruption. Also the ability for Government to escalate unresolved issues, after one business day, to the Project Manager, if necessary.

5.3 TRAIN VA PERSONNEL

Contractor to provide selected VA staff with training to enable them to autonomously compare/benchmark U.S. private-sector healthcare performance analysis to the Veterans Health Administration that is actionable e.g., improve outcomes, out-source, etc. Training to consist on-site of face-to-face sessions, not to exceed four business days and held at MCAO offices, Bedford, MA for not-to-exceed twelve (12) Government employees to educate how to effectively utilize the private sector care performance database, and accompanying tools for Veterans Health Administration benchmarking for improved operational efficiency, and/or make-or-buy planning. Government staff to be trained by vendor will be comprised of highly experienced healthcare performance/cost data analysts.

5.4 VHA Healthcare Performance Benchmarking (OPTIONAL TASKs)

Optional Task 1 Option Year One

A twelve (12) month




6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The contractor employees shall not have access to VA sensitive or computer information and will not require routine access to VA Facilities.B The contractor employees shall require intermittent access only and will be escorted by VA employees while at VA Facilities. No background investigation is required.

A flash badge shall be obtained from the VA Facility Human Resource office. The flash badge
will be worn while the Contractor employee(s) is on-site and will be returned to the HR office,
upon completion of that job.

6.2 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall deliver documentation in electronic format, unless otherwise directed in Section B of the solicitation/contract. Acceptable electronic media include: MS Word 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Excel 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS PowerPoint 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Project 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Access 2000/2003/2007/2010, MS Visio 2000/2002/2003/2007/2010, and Adobe Postscript Data Format (PDF).


6.3 PERFORMANCE METRICS

The table below defines the Performance Standards and Acceptable Performance Levels for Objectives associated with this effort.
The Government will utilize a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the life of the contract to ensure that the Contractor is performing the services required by this PWS in an acceptable manner. The Government reserves the right to alter or change the surveillance methods in the QASP at its own discretion.
(End of Document)






Deliverable
Acceptance Quality Level
Medium/
Format
Method of Surveillance/Frequency
Incentive
Government access to USA private-sector Healthcare Performance Database via online interface and downloadable via Internet.
PWS 5.2A
One hundred percent (98%)
Electronic
COR will monitor and oversee via Periodic Inspection

Monthly
Past Performance Ratings
Telephone/online help desk support Ensure all electronic translations are returned in a reasonable time frame (5-7 business days)

PWS 5.2B


Available 100% of time with initial support response within 4 hours (business days)
Electronic
COR will monitor and oversee via Periodic Inspection
As required
Past Performance Ratings
Provide Government with robust and knowledgeable training artifacts and training personnel on the attributes, data definitions, and interface(s) of the Vendor s Private Sector Healthcare Performance Database. .

PWS 5.3
One hundred percent (100 %)
In person, document and electronic
COR will monitor and oversee via attendance and Period Inspection

Past Performance Ratings

5. METHODS OF QA SURVEILLANCE: Various methods exist to monitor performance. The COR shall use the surveillance methods listed below in the administration of this QASP for the above deliverables.

a. Direct Observation: Can be performed periodically or through 100% surveillance.

b. Periodic Inspection: Evaluates outcomes on a periodic basis. Inspections shall be scheduled daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually or unscheduled, as required based in part of results of Quality Assurance (QA) surveillance results.

c. User Survey: Combines elements of validated user complaints and random sampling. Random surveys shall be conducted to solicit user satisfaction, generate inspections, and sampling.

d. Validated User/Customer Complaints: The COR shall identify deficiencies, investigate and validate complaints.

e. Periodic Sampling: This is a variation of random sampling. A sample is only taken when a problem/deficiency is suspected. Sample results are applicable only for the specific work inspected. Sampling is not entirely random and cannot be applied to total activity performance.

f. Random Sampling: Designed to evaluate performance by randomly selecting and inspecting a sample of uploads.

g. Progress or Status Meetings: Held with the Contractor to elicit and provide feedback.

h. Analysis of Contractor s Quarterly Progress Reports: Submitted electronically to the COR and PO.

6. RATINGS: Metrics and methods are designed to determine if performance exceeds, meets, or does not meet a given standard and acceptable quality level. A rating scale shall be used to evaluate performance. The following ratings shall be utilized:

a. Exceptional: Performance meets contractual requirements and exceeds many to the Government s benefit.
b. Very Good: Performance meets contractual requirements and exceeds some to the Government s benefit.
c. Satisfactory: Performance meets contractual requirements.
d. Marginal: Performance does not meet some contractual requirements.
e. Unsatisfactory: Performance does not meet most contractual requirements and recovery is not likely in a timely manner.


7. DOCUMENTING PERFORMANCE:

a. Acceptable Performance: The Government shall document positive performance. Any report shall become a part of the supporting documentation for any Contractual action.

b. Unacceptable Performance: When unacceptable performance occurs, a written notice shall be issued to the Contractor, outlining the performance measure(s) that is not met. The Contractor shall provide a written corrective action plan to the COR within ten (10) business days. The COR shall document the discussion and place it in the COR file.

The COR shall prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR), and present it to the Contractor's PM. The Contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing. The CDR shall specify if the Contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the Contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CDR shall state how long after receipt the Contractor has to present this corrective action plan to the COR. The Government shall review the Contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability.

All CDR s shall become a part of the supporting documentation for any Contractual action deemed necessary by the CO.


8. FREQUENCY OF MEASUREMENT:

During Contract performance, the COR shall periodically analyze whether the negotiated frequency of surveillance is appropriate for the work being performed. Various methods cited in para 5 shall be utilized.


9. FREQUENCY OF PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT MEETINGS:

The COR shall meet with the Contractor annually to assess performance and shall provide a written assessment. Feedback shall be provided quarterly.


10. FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS

The Government will provide meeting space and telephone service when authorized contract staff is meeting at Government locations as required accomplishing Tasks associated with this PWS. All procedural guides, reference materials, and program documentation for the project and other Government applications will also be provided on an as-needed basis.
The Contractor shall request other Government documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the Government officials with whom the Contractor has contact. The Contractor shall consider the COR as the final source for needed Government documentation when the Contractor fails to secure the documents by other means. The Contractor is expected to use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work.

11. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

Not Applicable



SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES

Note: If the report is not acceptable as submitted the time frame for resubmission is two (2) days. Days used in the table below refer to calendar days unless otherwise stated. Deliverables with due dates falling on a weekend or holiday shall be submitted the following Government work day after the weekend or holiday.

Task
Deliverable Description
1
Project Management Plan 15 Days Following Award AAwardAward.

2
Project Reporting Requirements
Quarterly
3
Private-Sector Healthcare Performance Database
15 Days Following Award
4
Training
40 Days Following Award

Susan Dela Cruz
susan.delacruz@va.gov

Contracting Officer

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