SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Independent Authoritative Assessment of Hospital Care and Medical Services
- Notice Date
- 8/30/2014
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, 12501 Ardennes Avenue, Suite 400, Rockville, Maryland, 20857, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- 14-PSC-NAS119A
- Point of Contact
- Michele Namoski, Phone: 301-443-3337
- E-Mail Address
-
SHELLEY.NAMOSKI@PSC.HHS.GOV
(SHELLEY.NAMOSKI@PSC.HHS.GOV)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Title: Independent Authoritative Assessment of Hospital Care and Medical Services Pursuant to the authority of FAR 6.302-1 The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Program Support Center (PSC), Acquisition Management Services, on behalf of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), intends to negotiate on a sole source basis, a cost reimbursement order under the PSC Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) with the National Academy of Sciences, for an "Independent, Authoritative Assessment of Hospital Care and Medical Services" The ‘‘Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014'', was enacted by Congress on August 7, 2014. This Act requires the conduct of an independent assessment of hospital care and medical services, and other health care furnished in medical facilities of the Department. This assessment also includes an identification of appropriate access standards for each individual specialty (i.e. neurology, post-care rehabilitation, etc.). Title II Healthcare Administration Section 201 (a) Independent Assessment, requires within 90 days of the enactment of the Act, the VA would enter into contracts to conduct various assessments. Additionally the Act, "requires establishing the appropriate system-wide access standard applicable to hospital care, medical services and other health care furnished by and through the Department, including identification of access standards for each individual specialty and post-care rehabilitation.", which this acquisition is established to do. The PSC BOA with the National Academy of Sciences is a vehicle that will ensure the VA meets the Act's contract implementation deadlines. Recent investigations and whistle blowing reports have identified wait times for appointments within the VA health care system to be too long, were poorly handled and were erroneously reported. This significantly tarnished the VA's reputation with Veterans, Congress and the American public. VA requires an independent, authoritative source to assess industry wait times, discuss those times and establish standards. In order to regain the credibility of Veterans, Congress and the American Public, it is necessary to have an authoritative, independent, non-profit organization to assess industry standards, convene a formal consensus study team, and establish standards for VHA. The Institute of Medicine is one such an organization who earned the respect and credibility of Congress. VHA has identified the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine as the only source that can provide an independent, unbiased authoritative assessment and recommendation. The IOM is a non-profit having no financial ties to sway its judgment. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is capable of convening a consensus panel which would provide a totally independent unbiased formal consensus study in an open expert forum to discuss and assess the problem at all angels and convene a consortium to discuss the issues and establish a standard. NAS has the unique ability to rapidly assemble the Nation's most eminent scholars and other experts, who are appointed by the President of the Academy to provide their expertise without compensation on committees and boards, which render advice and guidance of the highest quality and unparalleled objectivity to address national issues of high priority. Accordingly, NAS stands alone in its capacity to provide the highest level of expertise, independence, objectivity and audience acceptance necessary to meet the VA's program requirements. The Institutes of Medicine (IOM) have extensive experience convening expert committees from a variety of fields to provide objective, credible, and scientific recommendations addressing the areas of this proposed study. The IOM's selection of experts draws on nationally known experts in the field, with specific consideration of the overall balance of viewpoints on the committee. Studies are undertaken by distinguished individuals selected for their extensive expertise and experience in the topics under study. The IOM can secure the participation of experts whom it invites to serve. The National Academies work is made possible by 6,000 of the world's top scientists, engineers, and other professionals who volunteer their time without compensation to serve on committees and participate in activities. The purpose of this acquisition is to contract with an independent authoritative source in the area of medicine and hospital administration to assess and recommend an objective and attainable clinically relevant "wait-time" standard for the VHA which considers patient acuity, clinician decision-making, and patient preference. Scheduling and wait times for healthcare appointments is very complex and a standard in either public or private healthcare facilities does not exist. VHA has been challenged in the past because of excessive wait times. In order for a standard for VHA to be established, experts in the field are needed to examine literature addressing scheduling and wait times, identify best practice industry, convene a formal consensus team of experts to discuss and hold a public workshop to gather information across the healthcare industry. In accordance with the ‘‘Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014'',the contractor shall conduct of an independent assessment of hospital care and medical services, and other health care furnished in medical facilities of the Department. This assessment also includes an identification of appropriate access standards for each individual specialty (i.e. neurology, post-care rehabilitation, etc.). The contractor shall assess and recommend an objective and attainable clinically relevant "wait-time" standard for the VHA. The standard shall consider patient acuity, clinician decision-making, and patient preference. The contractor shall provide a work plan, inclusive of a Project Master Schedule, preferably in Microsoft Project digital file (mmp) format. The work plan shall define the tasks leading up to the achieving the outcome of this task. The work plan shall address risks, and performance measures. The contractor shall conduct review of all pertinent literature related to medical center appointment wait times and scheduling. The contractor shall synopsize and present findings and recommendations to the government. The contractor shall identify and review industry best practices related to medical appointment wait times. The contractor shall provide a synopsis of its findings and recommendations. The contractor shall develop a discussion paper elaborating on the complexities and challenges of not having a framework for appointment scheduling and wait times. The contractor shall organize and convene a formal consensus study team. The study team shall consist of experts in the field and use their collective wisdom in conducting the following studies: • Review VA wait time proposals coming from the Leading Access and Scheduling Initiative (LASI) (CONTEXT or constraints for VA issues) • Review mandates/guidance coming from recent legislation (Sanders-Miller Bill) The contractor shall synopsize their findings in a report to VHA. The contractor's consensus study team shall organize and convene a public workshop regarding the scheduling and wait time issue. The workshop will also serve as a listening session for the VA Secretary and House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC). The contractor shall invite the healthcare community to include industry and academics. The contractor shall recommend attendees and attend to the logistics of the meeting. The contractor shall record and distribute meeting minutes. The contractor shall develop a final report to include findings and recommendations regarding scheduling and wait times. The contractor shall take into consideration patient acuity, clinician decision-making, and patient preference, as well as other factors the contractor deems relevant. The report shall also take into consideration the ability to compare VA performance on scheduling and wait times with private sector practices and performance. A cost reimbursement order will be negotiated and awarded under the PSC Basic Ordering Agreement with the National Academy of Sciences. The anticipated period of performance shall be for seven (7) months from date of award. This is not a solicitation for competitive proposals, as the Act does not allow time for a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement is based upon the referenced legislation that requires contracts to be established within 90 days from the effective date of the Act which was August 7, 2014. Questions regarding this notice may be emailed to shelley.namoski@psc.hhs.gov through September 4, 2014. Please reference 14-PSC-NAS119A
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/PSC/DAM/14-PSC-NAS119A/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: District of Columbia, United States
- Record
- SN03490352-W 20140901/140830233216-cc9a37446e4fbb97bfa04b789e29013a (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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