R408--Scanning Services

Active

Contract Opportunity

The VA Capitol Health Care Network (VISN 5) is conducting this Sources Sought to identify contractors who possess capabilities to provide the services described in the Statement of Work below.
As permitted by the FAR Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for the informational and planning purposes. Your responses will assist the Government in the development of its acquisition strategy.
Response is strictly voluntary it is not mandatory to submit a response to this notice to participate in formal RFQ process that may take place in the future. However, it should be noted that information gathered through this notice may significantly influence our acquisition strategy. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitation posted as a result of this sources sought notice.
Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. We appreciate your interest and thank you in advance for responding to the sources sought.
This service will be implemented using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 561210.
If a small business is interested in this procurement, they must provide at least 51 percent of the services rendered.
NOTES
All Capability Statements/Responses to this Sources Sought Notice shall be submitted via email only to tracy.dotson@va.gov. Telephone, Fax, or any other form of communication inquiries will not be reviewed or accepted. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be received no later than March 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). This Sources Sought Notice may or may not assist the VA in determining sources only. A solicitation is not currently available. If a solicitation is issued, it may or may not be announced at a later date, and all interested parties shall respond to that solicitation announcement separately from the responses to this Sources Sought Notice.

DISCLAIMER
This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked a proprietary will be handled accordingly in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), RFIs may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses incurred associated with responding to this RFI.

INTERESTED & CAPABLE RESPONSES:
NCO 5 is seeking responses from businesses that are interested in this procurement and consider themselves to have the resources, rights, and capabilities necessary to provide these services. Please respond with your:
Business name (including Unique Entity ID (SAM.gov), business type, socio-economic status (e.g., Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), etc.), person of contact (including telephone number & email address).
Capability statement
GSA Contract number, if applicable, to include NAICS
Brief summary of categories of professional services that your company can provide.
Applicable Certification(s)/Licenses

STATEMENT OF WORK
1.0 General

1.1 Background

The mission of the Hershel Woody Williams VAMC is to provide patient care. The mission of the VA has a requirement for indexing of medical and administrative active record files into VistA Imaging, an electronic medical records system. These services include accurately attaching indexed images to the appropriate electronic health record. Accuracy is extremely important to maintaining the integrity of the medical record.

1.2 Objective

To place community documentation in patient records for future reference.
1.3 Scope of Work
The Contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the requirements.
Specifically, the Contractor shall perform file room services, or scanning/importing and indexing of newly generated and backlogged clinical documentation for inclusion into the health record, including VACC documentation. The Contractor shall make certain that appropriate physical care and security measures are taken to ensure that documents and health records and the VA information they contain are not damaged or compromised throughout the entire process from the point of receipt through completion of scanning and indexing. The Contractor shall be compliant with all VA established security policies to ensure VA data, whether captured electronically or on paper or other media are not compromised. The Contractor shall adhere to established VA physical security policy prior to receipt and while in possession of documents and health records off-site.

The Contractor shall also complete standard administrative tasks (e.g., background investigation forms, security training, etc.). All clinical documentation, scanned and digitized, shall be incorporated into VistA Imaging. The functionality of scanning/importing and indexing clinical documentation replaces the action of loose filing newly created or received documents into the paper medical record. An interface to move/upload images and their associated indexing information to VistA Imaging is required when a commercial system shall be used. VACC documentation may be received in paper, secured messaging, facsimile, Third Party Administrator (TPA) Portal or via the Fee Basis Claim System (FBCS) Document Manager software. It is the intent to scan selected documents based on input from the facility s medical and Health Information Management staff. Also, the intent is to scan/import and index clinical documentation that has yet to be incorporated into the Veterans health record.

Note: Services not included are as follows:
· It is not expected that special considerations shall be made for diagnostic quality imaging. The digital capture of x-rays or other diagnostic media is not within the scope of work. Digital capture of x-rays or other diagnostic media received relating to VACC shall be sent to the Radiology Service.
· Document destruction is not included in the scope of services. All media will be returned to the facility for review and destruction.
· Contractor storage of active records
· Scanning entire volumes of complete inactive records
· Scanning entire volumes of active records that shall be relocated or remain in the
facility s file room
· Scanning/digitizing clinical documents and providing image files in a shared environment as the end process. Contractor shall be required to incorporate/index appropriately the scanned clinical document into VistA Imaging.

Deliverables Table:
Number
Deliverable Description
1
Scan, Import, and Index Records in accordance with the task details listed
2
Performance of Quality Assurance Checks 100% of quality self-checks by contract staff performing scanning, importing, and indexing services.
3
Performance of Quality Assurance Monitoring Quality assurance monitoring conducted on a monthly basis by contractor management to ensure contract staff are meeting quality standards. The quality assurance monitor report shall be provided weekly to VA technical points of contact via electronic mail.
4
Workload Reporting Contractor shall provide workload reports of contract staff productivity no less frequent than weekly via electronic mail to VA technical points of contact to include number and types of documents/images scanned, imported, and indexed
5
Contractor Project Management Plan Due five (5) business days after award and updated as needed by Contractor; submit via electronic mail to CO and VA technical points of contact.
6
Contractor Staff Roster
Due five (5) business days after award and updated
throughout the period of performance. Sent via encrypted
electronic mail to VA technical points of contact.
7
County/State Locations of Contractor Personnel Contractor, within five (5) business days after award, shall provide via e-mail to CO a listing of Locations (specified by County and State) where Contractor personnel shall be working from.
1.4 Period of Performance
The period of performance (POP) shall be 1 year. Contractor shall work on-site at the Place of Performance or virtual from the contractor s location (as agreed by the Government depending on the task). Contractor shall be available Monday through Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM ET, excluding all Federal holidays, after hours and weekends unless necessary for the successful completion of the projects. 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
Juneteenth
January 1
June 19
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 a 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
Presidents Day
Third Monday in February
Memorial Day First
Monday in September
Labor Day
Last Monday in May
Columbus Day
Second Monday in October
Thanksgiving
Fourth Thursday in November

1.5 Place of Performance

The Contractor place of performance for scanning, importing, and indexing documents shall be Hershel Woody Williams VA Medical Center (Huntington, WV) or remotely if physical presence is not required. Performance may take place outside normal business hours (8:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m.) However, overtime for this work shall not be authorized.
3.0 Delivery or Deliverables

Notice to contractors:

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, all tasks and deliverables described. All deliverables shall be submitted to the local Ordering Officer (OO) and local Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Unless otherwise stipulated, written deliverables shall be phrased in plain English. Statistical and other technical terminology shall not be used without providing a glossary of terms. The Contractor shall provide all management, labor, and resources needed to provide Importing and Indexing of Records, and Project Management. Scanning equipment shall be provided by the Facility the scanning is taking place.
The Contractor shall define a VA-approved project workflow that shall not impede the day-to-day operations of the specific department. Working parameters and workspace shall be delineated per facility and shall vary from file room to file room. When the Contractor cannot meet the specified deadline, they must inform the local facility COR within five (5) business days. If the Contractor is uncertain concerning a policy or procedure, the Contractor shall consult with the local facility COR for clarification. The Contractor is responsible for the management of its staff, and the Contractor is responsible for training its staff on VA policy and procedures, with the assistance of the Health Information Management (HIM) Department. The facility shall provide the Contractor with a high level of explanation of the file room process including the unique indexing requirements for VistA Imaging. The Contractor shall bear the costs of any other training. The Contractor is responsible for performing quality reviews of staff work. The Contractor shall bear the cost of any re-work and/or corrections and take corrective action when services are found deficient or substandard. The Contractor shall perform the tasks and complete the associated deliverables by the scheduled dates within the overall period of performance. The service categories are:
Importing and Indexing of Records, and Project Management.
Scanning and/or Importing and Indexing of Records may be performed on site (at the VA facility) or off site (at the contractor s location). This location will be determined based on what is in the best interest of the government.
Documentation to be imported and indexed may include internal VHA sourced documents, externally sourced documents, including solicited VA Community Care (under VA auspices) or unsolicited documents provided by the Veteran or other non-VA provider for inclusion in the health record.
Contractor shall be required to ensure that images are correctly indexed, oriented, legible, and complete, including signature by the originating provider.
Whether scanning or importing, the Contractor shall index the documents into VistA Imaging
by appropriate index term (e.g., Fee, application, correspondence, advance directive, medical
record, flow sheet,), and ensure the indexing values are assigned properly. The local facility
shall provide the Contractor with guidance to identify the indexing values for all documents.
types. At a minimum there are six (6) data points required for indexing: date of document,
document type, specialty, event/procedure, origin, and a free text description. Due to the
variety of documents the Contractor shall import, documents will be reviewed to
determine the correct indexing values. To ensure accurate indexing, the local facility COR
shall work with the Contractor to identify document index terms and shall update the list.
accordingly, as new document index terms become available.

The Contractor shall make every attempt to identify unclear information and, as necessary,
request assistance/clarification from the facility point of contact specified.
Each VA facility shall identify and provide the records/documents to be scanned, imported,
and indexed.

Either fulltime VA representatives or designated agents of the Government shall perform
quality assurance on-site for a period of time to be determined by VHA.
Contractor shall verify that the documents meet specified criteria for scanning or importing.
Contractor shall follow the facility specified criteria, in accordance with VHA Handbook
1907.01 and VHA Handbook 1907.07 to include checking for the following items: signed. document, not a draft, correct type of document, correct patient, etc.
Scanning - Contractor shall prepare documents for scanning and importing.
Scanning - Contractor shall perform the following items:
remove staples, ensure document is flat,
pages are sequenced in order,
document is not torn and if so repair. it, etc.

The Contractor shall complete the task in a manner that ensures they meet the stated performance metrics indicated in the QASP.
Importing - Contractor shall perform the following items: pages are sequenced in order; pages are readable; page orientation is accurate, etc.
The Contractor shall complete the task in a manner that ensures they meet the stated performance metrics. indicated in the QASP. Index/Importing - Contractor shall index the documents (e.g., match patient identifiers, date of care, document type, index term) in VistA Imaging. Quality Reporting - Contractor shall scan and import the documents in VistA Imaging in accordance with VHA Handbook 1907.01, VHA Handbook 1907.07, VistA Imaging Clinical Capture User Manual, HIM Practice Brief Community Care VistA Imaging Capture and Minimum Documentation Requirements , and HIM Practice Brief HIM Importing from FBCS User Guide . This shall include immediate/urgent (STAT) scanning or importing of documents when requested by facility. STAT scanning is defined by a turnaround time of less than 1 hour of receipt of request during normal business hours. Business hours shall be defined by the location. Contract staff performing scanning, importing, and indexing functions shall perform 100% quality checks in accordance with VHA Handbook 1907.07 (Paragraph 20. Conducting Quality Assurance Monitors) Contract staff shall report any identified quality errors immediately to the Contractor manager/supervisor. In turn, the Contractor manager/supervisor shall notify local VA facility POC of quality error for medical record correction by the timeframe determined.
The contractor shall perform random Quality Assurance (QA) monitoring of staff work and report results of QA monitoring to the designated VA representative at the interval (daily/weekly/monthly). Any identified errors shall be reported and remediated with the facility POC.
Contractor shall return documents to VA s custody for VA quality check and disposition.
Disposition includes returning documents to the medical record volume.
Destruction services are not authorized or required.
Workload Reporting - Contractor shall provide workload reports of contract staff. productivity no less frequent than weekly via electronic mail to VA technical points of contact to include number and types of documents/images scanned, imported, and indexed. The type of deliverables associated with scanning and/or importing of records includes, scanned records, imported records, evidence of performance of 100% quality checks and quality assurance monitoring, and a workload report on the numbers and types of documents/images scanned, imported, and indexed. This report shall be contingent on the needs of the facility.

4.0 Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms

A. COR (Contractor Officer Representative) the designated representative of the Contractor to supervise and coordinate workflow of Contractor Personnel.
B. CPRS -The Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) to access information in the Medical Center Computer System.
C. FBCS - Fee Base Community Services (Non-VA Care) DSS-DOC Manager System is utilized to index and index medical records to consults.
D. Microsoft Office Software - Uses MS Office, Excel, Outlook, Power-Point, or comparable word processing software to execute several office automation functions such as storing and retrieving electronic documents and files; activating printers; inserting and deleting text; formatting letters, reports and memoranda; and transmitting and receiving.
e-mail.
E. Quality Assurance Control Processes - Quality Assurance Control Process for image quality and alternative means of capturing the data when the quality of the source document cannot meet image quality controls:
1. Integrity of data capture.
2. Accurate linking of indexed items or documents to correct a record; and,
3. Accurate indexing of the document.
4. Correction process of erroneously indexed documents.
5. Indexed image must be annotated to identify that it has been indexed; for example, using a stamp on the indexed document.
F. VACC VA Clinical Care
G. VISTA- the Veterans Health Information & Technology Architecture (VISTA) to access information in the Medical Center Computer System.
H. VistA Imaging Capture - Clerks use the VistA Imaging Capture application to import or index documents into VistA Imaging Display and CPRS.
I. VistA Imaging Display - Clerks use VistA Imaging Display to view indexed, indexed, and captured images in CPRS.

Attachments/Links