SPECIAL NOTICE
70 -- Analytics Portion of ARK/CIS acquisition
- Notice Date
- 8/18/2009
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 511210
— Software Publishers
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs;VA Boston Healthcare System;Contracting Officer (90C);940 Belmont Street;Brockton MA 02301
- ZIP Code
- 02301
- Archive Date
- 9/2/2009
- Point of Contact
- Cheri K. WicksEmail only; no telephone calls accepted.<br />
- E-Mail Address
-
Contracting Officer's email
(cheri.wicks.va.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) One, has a requirement forthe Solution Analytics RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution. The resulting contract will be a firm fixed price contract for a Term License and shall include all labor, material, tools, equipment, training, software/ software license, and all associated hardware required to furnish and install the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution. A contract with a base of September 15, 2009 through September 14, 2010 with four (4) one-year options is anticipated and shall be awarded. It is the Government's belief that only the Solution Analytics RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution possesses the required capabilities to successfully meet this requirement. It is the Government's intention to solicit and negotiate only with this source. Please refer to the Sole Source Justification. This is not a solicitation; it is notice of intent to sole source a requirement. Inquiries/information received after the established deadline shall not be considered. The submission of any data for review shall not impede award of this contract as planned. The Government does not intend to pay for information solicited. This synopsis is issued pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. Telephone calls will not be accepted. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Solution Analytics, LLC - SDVOSB Sole Source As Required By FAR 6.303-2 1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 1 Consolidated Contract, 940 Belmont street, Brockton, MA 02301 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved: This is a justification for soliciting one source, namely Solution Analytics, LLC, for the brand name specification, the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution, and for the services required. The action required is to furnish and install an RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution as provided by Solution Analytics, LLC for the entire Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 1. The above will be used in conjunction with the new Clinical Information System (CIS) for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and/or Anesthesia Record Keeper (ARK), which is (are) anticipated to also be installed before the end of FY 2010 under a separate procurement. The Analytics System being procured at this time will integrate patient information from a variety of different databases and source clinical information systems within the VA. Sources of information will include, but not be limited to, the CIS (ICU and ARK), and Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) (including but not limited to Surgery services, orders, vital signs and medications data). The Analytics System is an integral part of the ICU/ARK CIS procurement and must be furnished and installed prior to the commencement of any services for the installation of the ICU or an ARK CIS. Background: VISN 1 (VA New England Health Care System) anticipates the installation of Intensive Care Unit and/or an Anesthesia Record Keeper (ARK) Clinical Information Systems (CIS) for all facilities located throughout VISN1. With the anticipated installation of this new ICU/ARK CIS, it is necessary for VISN 1 to establish a unified, integrated analytical database as procured herein. Such an analytic database must include all necessary software and hardware. The VISN's analytic database will be used to integrate ICU or ARK CIS data and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data obtained from the VA's electronic medical record, VistA. The VISN's analytic database must provide clinical users direct access to the data. The VISN will also require technical (database administrator) support of the analytic database. The ICU/ARK CIS data contained in the analytic database will span the entire ICU or surgical visit and include all clinical data available from the ICU or ARK database including detailed, very granular physiologic data. Physiologic data in the analytic database shall include all data captured by the ICU or ARK CIS originating from electronic monitoring devises, and may be stored as frequently as once a minute. The analytic database would specifically allow for the storage and analysis of all very granular data captured by the ICU or ARK CIS, rather than a sample or summary of the data. The design of the VISN analytic database will allow new, previously undefined entries to existing ICU or ARK database tables to be added to the analytic database without first requiring a modeling of the data or the composition of database "business rules." The VISN's analytic database will allow a Veterans Affairs (VA) clinician to add new analytic concepts to the database without first requiring a change in the system architecture or database model and without a loss of performance or functionality. 3. A Description of Supplies/Services required: VISN 1requests the purchase, installation and maintenance of an analytic system. The procurement will include various software and hardware, which will be utilized by all facilities located within VISN1. The contractor will furnish the required computer server(s) and other associated hardware. It is anticipated that the system will be installed at one of the VAMC's within VISN 1. The procurement shall include but not be limited to the RGI Healthcare Analytic Solution system including the RGI Informatics Healthcare Analytics Platform Software Version 2.2 (February 1, 2008) (or the latest version) as well as all other required software and associated hardware to provide the complete RGI Analytics Solution system. Other required software includes the Data Extraction Software OR/ICU CIS Extract Tool Version 1.0 (March 1, 2008), STATA statistical software and Oracle Database Software. Solution Analytics, LLC is the only authorized reseller of the RGI Informatics Healthcare Analytics Solution. The procurement will also include other optional components including analytics support for customized queries of the database by various users of the software solution, Clinical Information Database Support, Database Extract Software and Services, Clinical Information System Support as well as a VISN 1Clinical Information System Disaster Recovery Plan. The total estimated value of the procurement is approximately $674,520.00. The breakdown of this estimate is approximately $49,500 for hardware; approximately $115,800 for software; and, approximately$199,980.00 for the required services. The Analytics Database Solution required by the VISN must be able to readily accept previously undefined/unmodeled data from the source clinical information systems (ARK/ICU CIS, or Vista). If the new previously undefined data are added to existing tables in the ARK/ICU CIS or Vista, the data should not require any new modeling or business rules prior to being added to the analytic database. The required analytic solution must have the ability to allow clinical users to add new analytic concepts and create new queries using these concepts without first requiring a change in the analytic model or the creation of analytic "business rules." Such reports then can be tailored to meet specific VA reporting needs. The analytics system shall also allow for the integration of existing Analytic Reports previously developed by the manufacturer for other VA facilities particularly those already developed for VISN 21. 4.Statutory Authority permitting other than full and open competition: FAR 6.303 One responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) is being used to justify the software procurement. The authority for justifying the sole source procurement of the sources is also being requested pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 8127 (c). Suggested vendor is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business. 5.Facilities Unique Qualifications: The Solution Analytics/RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution will be used by all facilities within VISN1. The Analytic Solution being procured is capable of extracting value from clinical data stores, specifically addressing issues relating to clinical quality; medical errors; healthcare costs; VISN comparisons of costs, practice patterns and outcomes; and differentiating quality; in addition to clinical research endeavors. Both the new ICU/ARK CIS and the analytic solution will be utilized in all of the Intensive Care Units and anesthetizing locations within VISN1. These areas require the most careful, complex monitoring of the most compromised patients and patients undergoing anesthesia- processes that traditionally have required manual documentation of monitored patient data, ventilator settings, and drug delivery devices as well as events, drug delivery case milestones, and patient demographics. The RGI Analytic Solution being procured has been tested in VISN 21, where their entire VISN has adopted and installed a comprehensive and identical ICU and ARK CIS together with the RGI Analytics Solution in all of its ICUs and anesthetizing locations. Solution Analytics has been selected to perform the required services as a SDVOSB in accordance with the VETS First authority provided in 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). Solution Analytics is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of such contract opportunity; the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed $5,000,000; and the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. Solution Analytics, LLC is the only vendor who can meet the needs of our facilities. 6.Efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable: In 2002 VISN 21 sought to identify through market research a medical analytic system with the functions required for the support and analysis of CIS/VistA clinical data-only the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution was identified at that time. On March 7, 2008 VISN 10 issued a Request for Information (RFI) and posted it on the Feb Biz Opps under RFI VA-250-08-RI-0163. The purpose of the RFI was to determine the availability of sources and/or prospective offerors that may meet the needs of the government for a CIS/VistA analytic system. Responses to the VISN 10 RFI were received from ten vendors all of which were large businesses except for one VOSB. During this research, a team of qualified physicians, nurses, other medical professionals, bio-medical engineers and information technology experts, reviewed the data received. Of the ten respondents, the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution (then offered through RDI/dNovus a VOSB) was the only system able to meet the requirements contained in the VISN10 RFI. VISN 21 previously advertised for the same or similar systems with the same results. During their research, the Steering Committee also determined that only the same system offered by one vendor was capable of meeting all of the requirements of VISN 1for the VISN analytic database. Based upon additional research, the Steering Committee found that although other large businesses such as Siemens and Philips do offer data warehouse systems, they still do not provide most of the components required for VISN1. In particular, their systems do not have the architecture to readily import data without first requiring extensive modeling from the VA VistA system and third party clinical data stores nor do they have the ability to create true "ad hoc" reports incorporating new query concepts without first requiring that those concepts be incorporated into the analytic model, and reports that can easily be customized and tailored to meet specific VA reporting needs. The RGI Analytics Solution offered by Solution Analytics, LLC architecture does have this architecture and flexibility. The market research conducted in 2002 for the VISN 21 purchase of analytics did not identify any software product other than the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution that could meet the VISN 21 requirements. The RFI from VISN 10 (March 2008) is essentially identical to the current RFI requirements and did not identify any vendor with a product meeting the requirements-whether it was a SDVOSB or not-other than the RGI Analytics Solution (offered at the time by dNovus). Currently, only Solution Analytics, an SDVOSB, offers the RGI analytics system. No other vendor has developed a medical analytics system that can meet the needs of VA as defined in the RFP. The RGI analytics system has been fully functioning in VISN 21 for past 5 years and does not require development to meet current RFP requirements. The RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution offered only by Solution Analytics, LLC, a SDVOSB, is also the recommended system/vendor as noted herein. 7.Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable: The contracting officer will conduct price analysis to validate the reasonableness of the prices. In addition, the contracting officer will use historical pricing for informational or benchmarking purposes. In conducting the historical pricing analysis the price will be compared to a similar analytic database in VISN21, and one recently installed in VISN 12. Prices will also be confirmed with COTR prior to making the final award. Based upon information received from the station and on the attached, we feel that it is in the best interest of the VA to proceed with a sole source with this SDVOSB. In September 2008, the costs for the commercial licenses (Oracle, Stata) and hardware (server) were evaluated by VISN 12 and found to be reasonable. The 'real dollar' cost for the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution has decreased since 2002 as evidenced by a comparison of the VISN 21 and VISN 12 costs.. 8.Market survey conducted: A search of SBA yielded negative results for 8 (a), Hubzone, SDVOSB, WOSB or Small Businesses when searching under an analytic database or an analytics solution system. No results were also found under IT Systems which is what would be required for this procurement. A search of VETBiz was also conducted and findings are also attached. A search for SDVOSB under the same criteria found that the suggested vendor (Solution Analytics, LLC) was the only vendor found when searching under analytics or analytic solutions. Although there are several firms that can provide IT equipment and/or standard database solutions, the system required for the VA is more complex than the average "off-the-shelf" product. The Steering Committee has confirmed that between the complexity of the data, and the required report flexibility required that there were no other small businesses that either responded to the previous RFI or known that would meet our needs. Although a couple of the vendors (SAS, for example) offer general analytic solutions, none of the vendors provided any solutions that could be called "similar". None of the critical functions required for VA medical analytics could be accessed in these other vendors' solutions without extensive, and expensive, programming development. 9.Other facts: None 10.Other sources expressing an interest: The only interest expressed by other vendors in response to the RFI was for a development program. Responses to the RFI indicated some interest by other vendors but as stated above, none of the vendors had a functioning, viable solution. 11.Actions to remove or overcome any barriers to competition: After Solution Analytics is installed in a number of VISNs, the VA's need for medical analytics will become apparent and competitive proposals are expected in the future. 12.Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. Based upon the above, I recommend that we proceed with a sole source negotiation with this SDVOSB under 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(2) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) for the RGI Healthcare Analytics Solution and the Veterans First Contracting Program (PL-109) for the associated services. The majority however of the costs associated with the above will be obtained under a negotiated procurement as a sole source. This J&A will be posted with the solicitation on FedBizOpps, as required. Based upon the importance of this request to the entire patient care effort in VISN1, it is in the best interest of the government to proceed with this sole source negotiation.
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