SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Healtcare Cost and Utilization Project Outpatient Initiatives
- Notice Date
- 7/29/2009
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, Parklawn Building Room 5-101, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland, 20857
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- AHR10400
- Point of Contact
- Anthony Foster, Phone: 301-443-3415
- E-Mail Address
-
anthony.foster@psc.hhs.gov
(anthony.foster@psc.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management intends to negotiate with Pamela Owens Ph.D. on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 6.302. The Government intends to negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1). This procurement is under the Simplified Acquisition threshold and will be awarded as a Simplified Acquisition Background: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) seeks to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. As part of this mission, AHRQ provides data resources and evidence focusing on the quality of care in the hospital outpatient setting through the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Half of the states in the U.S. voluntarily provide emergency department (ED) and ambulatory surgery data to AHRQ under HCUP. HCUP recently expanded its family of databases to include the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). This database is particularly relevant to today's healthcare issues as the quality and effectiveness of care in the ED is being challenged by overburdened EDs and the increased use of the ED as a primary source of care. Some have suggested that data from the ED can inform policymakers and researchers about the efficiency of the overall health care system. The purpose of this contract is to provide additional staffing and necessary expertise to continue development and expansion of the HCUP outpatient data. The contractor shall provide advice, technical assistance, analysis, and interpretation on detailed aspects of the data to enhance the data's capacity to inform and provide evidence on quality of ED care and efficiency of the health care system. These data efforts not only support multiple Agency portfolios, including Patient Safety, Comparative Effectiveness, Value of Health Care, Health Information Technology and Innovative programs related to emergency care and emergency preparedness, but also support larger Departmental and Federal Government initiatives, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Emergency Medical Services for Children program and GAO’s report on emergency department overcrowding. Technical expertise and focused attention is required to sustain and promote HCUP’s outpatient initiatives to fulfill the mission of AHRQ. Due to staffing changes and restrictions, AHRQ does not presently have enough regular employees that are qualified and available to perform the particular tasks required to continue the HCUP outpatient initiative in full capacity. General Tasks in the Statement of Work: Task 1: Administration (5% of effort) Subtask 1.1: Within 1 week of the award, the contractor shall meet with the project officer (PO) and other relevant AHRQ personnel to review and clarify the scope of work and delivery schedule for this contract, to delineate further roles and responsibilities, and to establish communication protocols. Subtask 1.2: The contractor shall deliver to the PO a plan including deliverables, tasks and schedule and provide updates for the completion of the project. Subtask 1.3: The contractor shall deliver to the PO and to the Contracting Officer a monthly progress report in electronic format within ten days after the end of the month being reported. Task 2: Projects Related to State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) and Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) (80% of effort) The contractor shall provide technical guidance to AHRQ on the creation and development of the State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) and the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Technical guidance will be given via phone conversations, email exchanges, and participation in conference calls. Technical guidance may include, but is not limited to, the following topics: - Creation of SEDD - Recruitment of states with emergency department data - Guidance to AHRQ and HCUP Partners on the completion of the Memorandum of Agreements with the states regarding the NEDS - Creation of the 2007 NEDS The contractor shall assist in the dissemination of information related to the NEDS. Dissemination may include, but is not limited to, the following: - Briefs submitted to emergency department journals - Comparison of the NEDS to other Federal data sources on emergency department visits - Technical guidance to HCUP presentations - Technical guidance related to the SEDD and NEDS in HCUPnet The contractor shall use the SEDD and NEDS to better inform researchers and policymakers about emergency department care in the U.S. The contractor will not have direct access to intramural databases, but will work with AHRQ to define and interpret appropriate analyses. Use of the databases may include, but is not limited to, the following: - Examination of the patterns of admission from the ED for mental health issues - Examination of hospital characteristics and patterns of ED use for mental health issues - Statistical briefs related to ED care - Technical assistance to AHRQ related to the use of and findings from the SEDD and NEDS Task 3: Technical Assistance and Use of the Data, As Needed (5% of effort) The contractor shall provide technical guidance to AHRQ on the development and use of HCUP data, as it relates to outpatient care, pediatrics, and mental health and substance abuse conditions. Such assistance and use may include, but is not limited to, the following: Technical assistance to AHRQ related to the use of and findings from the NIS and KID related to outpatient care, pediatrics and mental health - Statistical briefs - Examination of pediatric care - Development of emergency department quality indicators Deliverables and Payment Schedule: Deliverables include monthly progress notes, summaries of technical assistance, detailed instructions of work completed on analytic projects, copies of all interim project materials, draft and final briefs, and draft and final manuscripts. Due to the exploratory nature of the data analysis projects, the form of the analytic report deliverables will be determined in consultation with the PO. The contractor shall follow AHRQ’s guidance for completion and specification of all deliverables, with the knowledge that every project will have at least one deliverable associated with it. All written materials to AHRQ in brief or report format will have a draft and final product. Qualifications and Evaluation A highly qualified individual is considered critical to the successful completion of these tasks. Interested parties must be able to demonstrate that they possess the background, skills, professional experience and education required to conduct this work. Specifically, interested parties will be evaluated on the degree to which the offeror is able to meet the following qualifications: At least 5 years of experience in each of the following: • Conducting research, analysis and interpretation using all-payer, administrative hospital claims data broadly and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project databases specifically in areas related to outpatient care, pediatrics and mental health; • Guiding hospital outpatient data processing management, including responsibility for the adapting billing data for research purposes, directing multiple simultaneous data processing tasks, understanding medical coding (ICD-9 and CPT), and overseeing technical components; • Providing technical guidance on the creation and development of the state-wide emergency department databases and to enhance the data's capacity to inform and provide evidence on quality of ED care and efficiency of the health care system; • Collaboration with health services researchers on statistical analyses and research appearing in government reports, in scholarly books or journals, or similar publications; and • Recruiting and informing data organizations to provide outpatient data to a national initiative. At least 2 years of experience in each of the following: • Directing the design and development of a large outpatient administrative encounter-level data in direct support of health services research; • Producing statistical briefs related to emergency department care using HCUP data; Dr. Owens is considered the only source because due to its experience and expertise is the only organization that can provide the services necessary in the time frame given. The purpose of this synopsis is to determine whether there may be other sources with the necessary expertise, qualifications, and experience to perform the work described above. Any source capable of performing the work should submit a Capability Statement demonstrating the ability to provide the services required will be reviewed. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive acquisition. This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. No solicitation document is available; therefore, requests for such documents will be considered invalid responses. A determination by the Government not to compete this modification is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no affirmative responses are received within 15 days from the date of this synopsis, the Contracting Office will proceed with award of the contract to Dr. Owens. NAICS Code: 541990
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/PSC/DAM/AHR10400/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: No specific place of performance is necessary. Occasionally the contractor will be required to travel for face-to-face meetings with ARHQ/HCUP staff. This contract will be for 1 year and will begin August 2009, Rockville, Maryland, 20850, United States
- Zip Code: 20850
- Zip Code: 20850
- Record
- SN01891059-W 20090731/090730000155-db03052f42e2074999c2ad41ceabaca3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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