SOLICITATION NOTICE
Q -- Interpretation of Echocardiograms
- Notice Date
- 11/18/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Attn: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Acquisition & Materiel Management Service, (001C), 5600 W. Dickman Road, Battle Creek, Michigan 49015
- ZIP Code
- 49015
- Solicitation Number
- 515-11-04
- Response Due
- 12/5/2003
- Archive Date
- 1/4/2004
- Point of Contact
- Point of Contact - Katherine S. Young, Contracting Officer, (269) 660-3076, Contracting Officer - Katherine S. Young, Contracting Officer, (269) 660-3076
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Katherine S. Young
(katherine.young@med.va.gov)
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 01-16. The North American Industry Classification System Code is 621111, Office of Physicians. The small business size standard is 8.5 million average annual receipts for the past three years. This is a total small business set-aside. Offerors are encouraged to submit quotes based on the estimated number of examinations listed below. Proposed rates should include all costs associated with providing the following services. Request For Quotes (RFQ) 515-11-04 to provide interpretation of echocardiograms for the VA Medical Center, Battle Creek, Michigan. The VAMC estimates the contractor will interpret approximately 65 echocardiograms per month. CPT codes identified are 93307-26 and 93320-26. C.1.0 SCOPE: C.1.1 Contractor shall provide all facilities supplies, equipment, personnel, and services necessary to interpret echocardiogram studies for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Battle Creek, Michigan. C.1.2 VCR tapes containing the echocardiogram studies will be mailed to the contractor. The contractor shall fax typewritten reports to Primary Care Service within two working days of receipt of a tape containing echocardiogram studies. All tapes will be returned by mail to Primary Care Service along with the original, signed echocardiogram reports. All echocardiogram reports shall become the property of VA. C.2.0 CERTIFICATIONS/MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: C.2.1 Certifications shall be provided prior to contract award. C.2.2 Cardiologist(s) shall be board certified in Cardiology and maintain proficiency in echocardiogram interpretations, a minimum of 25 per month. C.3 COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS: Where the contract does not require JCAHO accreditation or other regulatory requirements regarding worker competency, the Contractor shall perform the required work in accordance with JCAHO standards. The contractor is required to develop and maintain the following documents for each Contractor employee working on the contract: credentials and qualifications for the job; a current competence assessment checklist (an assessment of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors required to perform a job correctly and skillfully; includes knowledge and skills required to provide care for certain patient populations, as appropriate.); a current performance evaluation supporting ability of the Contractor employee to successfully perform the work required in this solicitation; and listing of relevant continuing education for the last two years. The Contractor will provide current copies of these records at the time of contract award and annually on the anniversary date of contract award to the VA COTR, or upon request, for each Contractor employee working on the contract. C.4 Payment: Payment for services rendered shall not be made until VA receives typewritten reports. Payment will be made in arrears upon receipt of a properly submitted invoice. Invoices shall, at a minimum include; patient name, social security number, and pricing in accordance with the contract pricing schedule rate. Invoices shall be submitted monthly, in arrears. After contract award, any incidents of contractor noncompliance as evidenced by the monitoring procedures will be forwarded immediately to the contracting officer. Any incidents of contractor noncompliance as evidenced by the above monitoring procedures will be forwarded immediately to the contracting officer. The Government may evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided, but retains no control over the medical, professional aspects of services rendered (e.g., professional judgments, diagnosis for specific medical treatment), in accordance with FAR 37.401(b). C.5 Term Of Contract: This contract will be effective for a base period from date of award through September 30, 2004, with one consecutive one-year option periods. Options periods shall be pre-priced and awarded at the government's discretion. The contractor shall perform no service after September 30, 2004, or September 30th of any subsequently exercised option year unless the contracting officer authorizes such services in writing. C.6 Qualifications: Contractor personnel furnishing services under this contract shall have a Medical Degree, Board Certified in Cardiology, and have a current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia within which the contractor operates. Qualifications shall also be subject to review, by the VA Chief of Staff and approval by the VA Medical Staff. C.7 Personnel Policy: C.7.1. This is a Non-Personal Services Contract. The contractor shall be responsible for protecting the personnel furnishing services under this contract. To carry out this responsibility, the contractor shall provide Worker's Compensation, Professional Liability Insurance, Health Examinations, Income Tax Withholdings, and Social Security Payments. The parties agree that such personnel shall not be considered VA employees for any purpose and shall be considered employees of the contractor. C.7.2. LIABILITY: Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability. Contractors are required to comply with applicable Federal and State workers' compensation and occupational-disease statues. If occupational diseases are not compensable under those statutes, they shall be covered under the employer's liability section of the insurance policy. Employer's liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 shall be required. C.7.3. GENERAL LIABILITY. (1) The contracting officer shall require bodily injury liability insurance coverage written on the comprehensive form policy of at least $500,000 per occurrence. C.7.4. The above referenced insurance coverage minimums are in reference to VAAR Clause, 852.237-07, included in full text as an addendum to FAR 52.212-4, page. C.7.5. Certificate of Insurance must be received before start of work. C.8.0 JCAHO STANDARD ELEMENTS: The contractor shall continuously meet or exceed all Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) Hospital standards. The patient population treated by the VA Medical Center, Battle Creek, Michigan, consists of veterans with varying physical, psychiatric, and psychological needs. Their conditions are, in many cases, directly related to the individual?s service to this country. C.8. Patient Rights: C.8.1. Protection of all patient rights is of highest priority. VAMC staff will provide all patients a copy of the Patients Rights handbook on entry to care. Patient privacy and confidentiality will be maintained at all times. Computer access will be granted on a need-to-know basis, and security of computerized information shall be maintained at all times. All patient complaints, which are unable to be resolved by the contractor, will be referred to the Patient Representative. The contractor and patient care services provided will be included in VAMC data collection activities related to patient compliments, complaints, and satisfaction. The electronic medical record contains information about Advance Directives, which shall be reviewed and honored by the contractor. No patients will be subject to any research activity without his fully informed consent, and study approval by the Investigational Research Board (IRB). The contractor shall abide by the VAMC Code of Ethics, which addresses marketing, admission/transfer and referral/discharge processes, and billing issues. No eligible veteran shall be denied care for treatment that is not reimbursed by the third party insurance payor. Patient privacy and confidentiality shall be maintained at all times. C.8.2 Patient Safety: Patient Safety shall be a primary focus of the contractor. The VAMC shall inform the contractor of all applicable Sentinel Events or other Patient Safety Alerts received by the VAMC. For every applicable alert, the contractor shall take the necessary steps to redesign processes to prevent occurrence, and provide written feedback to the COTR describing prevention actions taken. All events related to patient injury, medication errors, and other breeches of patient safety will be reported to the COTR utilizing the VAMC Incident Report. The VAMC shall provide the contractor with VAMC Sentinel Event definitions in the start-up phase. The contractor shall verbally notify the VAMC COTR immediately when a Sentinel Event has occurred, which is to be followed by written notification within 3 working days. The VAMC shall determine when a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is required of the contractor; the contractor shall participate in all RCAs according to VAMC policy, and within established timeframes as deemed necessary by VAMC. Completed RCAs shall be provided to the VAMC COTR. C.8.3 Performance Improvement: The contract provider shall fully participate in the VAMC Performance Improvement (PI) program. This will entail monitoring of clinic processes and patient outcomes and satisfaction, data analysis and collaborative design and operationalization of improvement opportunities. PI activities may be directed by the VAMC, VHA or VISN, who will identify data collection methodologies, report generation and oversight bodies related to identified measures. Examples of such required PI activity are the VHA Performance Measure/Clinical Practice Guidelines program, and the JCAHO ORYX/core measurement system. It is noted that PI activities are dynamic and subject to change, as driven by current priorities and resources. In all cases, actions will be taken to continually improve clinical and administrative outcomes, while implementing safeguards to prevent risk. Monitoring for continuous compliance with Joint Commission standards will be driven by VAMC Committees, PI teams and task forces, or through established data collection mechanisms such as the Medical Record Review and Surgical Case Review process (as examples). Measures related to contract compliance will be determined by the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR). The contractor shall abstract, compile and report PI data as requested by the VAMC. Data collection methodology, report format, and reporting deadlines will be defined by the VAMC. High priority shall be given by the contractor to the prevention of risk for the patient. The contractor shall implement process-related internal controls to prevent risk to the veteran. Aggregate and/or practitioner-specific data collected by the VAMC will be provided to the contractor in accordance with established reporting schedules. C.8.4 Information Management: The contractor shall follow the VAMC Information Management Plan. Documentation and record keeping will be in accordance with VAMC policies and procedures. The contractor shall not restrict verbal, written or electronic communication between any VAMC/VISN staff and contracted staff. C.8.5 Medical Staff: The contractor shall report to the Chief of Primary Care Service, and shall practice within a framework that is clinically relevant and scientifically valid. Provision of care shall be based on clinical standards of practice, and scientifically based clinical practice guidelines, which have been approved for use by the VHA, VISN or facility executive medical staff. All applicable VAMC policies and procedures shall be followed by the contractor. C.9. MEDICAL CENTER MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES STATEMENTS The patient population treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs consists of veterans with varying physical, psychiatric, and psychological needs. Their conditions are, in many cases, directly related to the individual?s service to this country. Contractor employees shall provide compassionate care with respect for the special needs of the veteran population served, and show professional courtesy toward the VA support staff as an integrated part of the medical center?s mission, vision and values as stated below. Mission: The mission of the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, including Community Based Outpatient Clinics, is to improve the health of those veterans served by providing primary care, comprehensive psychiatric care, specialty care, extended care and related social support services as a member of an integrated healthcare delivery system. Vision: To become a recognized leader in primary care, psychiatric and geriatric health care, education, clinical research, and human relations, through effective teamwork. We will foster an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect, and pride by those giving and receiving health care. We will continuously improve the quality of services provided. Values: Trust; Respect; Commitment; Compassion; Excellence. The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors ? Commercial (JUL 2003), applies to this acquisition. The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items (JAN 1999), applies to this procurement. Offerors are required to submit the following documentation with proposals: Minimum Requirements: (1) Copy of full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia; where the work will be performed and (2) Copy of board certification in Cardiology. Documentation of the minimum requirement stated above shall be submitted with offers. Evaluation criteria included below are, in descending order of importance, (1) Past Performance, (submit at least three references for the same or similar work with proposal), (2) Competency, (submit qualifications, competency assessments, and/or other relevant documentation), and (3) Price. Past Performance and Competency are significantly more important than Price. Physicians proposed to perform this work, that are currently VetPro credentialed will receive preference in the form of additional points. Offerors are required to include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, (APR 2003), with its offer. The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (FEB 2002), applies to this acquisition with the following clauses added as addenda to the clause: 52.204-4 Printing/Copying Double Sided on Recycled Paper (JUN 1996), 52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification (APR 1984), 52.224-2 Privacy Act (APR 1984), 852.270-4 Commercial Advertising (NOV 1984), 852.237-70 Contractors Responsibilities (APR 1984), 852.270-1 Representatives of Contracting Officers (APR 1984), 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (APR 1989), 852.237-7 Indemnification and Medical Liability Insurance (OCT 1996). The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items (DEC 2001), applies to this acquisition and the additional FAR clauses cited in the clause are: 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (15 U.S.C. 637 (d)(2) and (3)), 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(14)). 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999), 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (E.O. 11246), 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era (29 U.S.C. 793), 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (29 U.S.C. 793), 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era (38 U.S.C. 4212). Proposals are due no later than 4:00 p.m., local time, December 5, 2003. No solicitation document will be issued. Questions may be submitted to the contracting officer via e-mail, by facsimile at (269) 660-6069, or by telephone at (269) 660-3076.
- Web Link
-
RFQ 515-11-04
(http://www.bos.oamm.va.gov/solicitation?number=515-11-04)
- Record
- SN00471955-W 20031120/031118211949 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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