This is not a solicitation announcement. This is a sources sought notice only. The purpose of this notice is to gain knowledge of potential qualified contractors and their socio-economic/size classifications (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Vet-owned, Hubzone, Woman Owned, 8(a), small business, and large business) relative to NAICS Code , 493190 , medical records storage and retrieval for James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa Florida and associated sites. Responses to this notice will be used by the Contracting Officer for purposes of assigning the appropriate set-aside, if any, for subject intended contract.. Potential offeror responses should email the Contracting Officer,
[email protected],by May 21, 2014 3 pm. Please include the main point of contact name and phone number, DUNS Number; socio-economic category and business size, and a concise list of facilities currently being serviced for these specific products. Point of Contact Email your questions to
[email protected] Place of Performance Address: James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital;13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612 Records Storage Statement of Work Introduction: The intent of this document is to outline and define services needed for record storage and retrieval by the Veterans Health Administration. For purposes of this document, records are defined as documents, files or records created by and/or maintained by James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital (JAHVA). These records may be in the form of any medium: paper, digital, film, glass slides, paraffin wax, microfilm or microfiche. The Contractor shall provide secure storage of JAHVA records in a facility that meets the requirements of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (see appendix 1). Additionally, the Contractor's storage facility must be officially approved and certified by NARA and located within a 30 mile radius of James A. Haley Veterans Hospital for purposes of short notice delivery. The Contractor shall be required to transport records from all James A. Haley locations to the designated off-site storage. Upon request, the Contractor must have the ability to retrieve or deliver records in any medium within one hour of receiving a request. The Contractor shall be responsible for legal destruction of such records upon authorized written request by JAHVA Records Control Officer or designee. Destruction will occur at the close of each life cycle for records that are stored at the contracted facility. The contract is estimated to be a base year with four options Contractor Responsibilities 1. Accession Processing/Transportation a. Provide bar codes for storage boxes upon request. The bar codes will only be assigned to JAHVA. b. Transportation/shipment of records will be coordinated and executed by the Contractor for locations and time intervals specified by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). After receiving notice from VA staff, Contractor shall provide transportation using contractor owned vehicles equipped with appropriate security measures and refrigerated temperature controls. Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding each shipment while loading, en route and unloading. c. Create a work order to account for all bar coded boxes prior to leaving the VA site. d. Notify the facility Chief, Health Information Manager, Privacy Officer or Record Officer when a shipment is received with missing boxes, damaged or detailed listing of records that are missing or does not comply with established procedures. e. Track box location using automated tracking system. f. The cost to transport the inventory from the storage facility to any location will be negotiated according to the current government mileage rate. g. Storage of cover slipped slides: 1. Store slides front-to-back. 2. Slides should not be stored in direct contact with each other. 3. Avoid separating slides or storing them flat in trays. 4. Avoid humidity greater than 50%. 5. Avoid temperatures greater than 77°F and less than 67°F. 6. Avoid long exposure to fluorescent light or sunlight. 7. Conduct annual, random examination of archived slides. h. Stained and film cover slipped Pathology Slides - In selecting biospecimen storage temperature, consideration should be given to the biospecimen type, the anticipated length of storage, the biomolecules of interest, and whether study goals include preserving viable cells (Hayes et al. 2002; Holland et al. 2003; Stevens et al. 2007; ISBER 2008). Paraffin blocks should be stored at temperatures below 80 °F (27 °C) in an area with pest and humidity control. 2. Recall Processing a. Receive recall record requests electronically from authorized VA staff. b. Review requests and contact facility if pertinent information is omitted. c. Research location of the file or box and prepare for shipping. d. Enter search and shipping results into electronic tracking system. e. Ship, fax or email information to requestor within one hour of receipt of a valid request. The storage facility must be within a 30 mile radius of James A. Haley VA Hospital (JAHVA), to facilitate transportation of records that cannot be e-mailed or faxed; specifically paraffin blocks and pathology glass (tissue) slides. These records are referenced frequently for continuity of patient care. The frequency of this type of record retrieval requests averages two times per week. 3. Re-file Processing a. Receive original document, file or box. Re-file document, file or box in storage area. b. Update electronic tracking system. c. Electronically track receipt and processing information for re-files including the total number of re-file requests processed for the facility. 4. Destruction of Records a. Maintain and track destruction dates of records. b. Forward a "Notice of Intent to Destroy" or similar notification to the VA facility 90 days prior to the scheduled destruction date of records. If the VA facility is deactivated and there appears to be no successor, notify appropriate VA Central Office staff 90 days prior to the scheduled destruction date of the records. c. Locate records scheduled for destruction, verify contents, sort box contents if required before destruction can occur where multiple media types (paper, x-ray, film, etc. were transferred within the same box). d. Contractor shall allow JAHVA Records Control Officer or designee access to VA records daily if necessary. e. Maintain records until written authorization from VA facility is received for destruction of records. f. Destroy records in accordance with regulations issued by the Archivist of the United States and Veterans Health Administration. Destruction will occur at the close of each life cycle for documents that are stored at the contracted facility. 5. Data Base Management a. Contractor shall maintain a secure database for the purpose of indexing and tracking VA files and boxes. b. Contractor shall engage in routine backups of their database. c. Computer systems or transmission of information related to VA documents or files shall be encrypted. 6. HIPAA Compliance a. The Contractor agrees to comply with the regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and E, the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information ("Privacy Rule"); and 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and C, the Security Standard ("Security Rule"). b. In addition, contracted staff shall receive at a minimum annual privacy training that conforms to the requirements of VHA privacy training and annual security awareness training that conforms to the requirements of VA Office of Cyber and Information Security training. 7. Privacy Act (Apr 1984) (a) The Contractor agrees to: (1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies(i) The systems of records; and (requires the design, development, or operation of such a system of records. (b) In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor is considered to be an employee of the agency. (c)(1) "Operation of a system of records," as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records. (2) "Record," as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person's name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph. (3) "System of records on individuals," as used in this clause, means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. 8. Privacy Training All contracted employees and business associates must receive VHA National Privacy Policy training prior to contract performance and annually thereafter. This requirement is met by receiving VHA National Privacy Policy training, other VHA approved privacy training or Contractor furnished training meeting the requirements of the HHS Standards for Privacy of Individually-identifiable Health Information as determined by VHA. VA will provide a video and/or text version of the VHA National Privacy Policy training. Proof of training is required and submitted to the COTR and conformation sent to the Privacy Officer prior to contract performance and annually thereafter. 9. Confidentiality a. VA will provide Contractor with access to pertinent patient medical information, within the existing privacy rules and regulations. Contractor shall ensure the confidentiality of all patient information and shall be held liable in the event of a breach of confidentiality. b. The Contractor is not authorized to release any VA medical record information. The VA is the sole entity authorized to release this information upon written request from the patient. 10. Contractor personnel security requirements Background Investigations: All Contractor employees shall be the subject of a background investigation and must receive a favorable adjudication from the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement prior to contract performance. This requirement is applicable to all Contractor personnel requiring the same access. If the investigation is not completed prior to the start date of the contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for the actions of those individuals they provide to perform work for VA. Position Sensitivity - The position sensitivity has been designated as Low Risk. Background Investigation - The level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access is National Agency Check with Written Inquiries. The Contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations. If the investigation is conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Contractor shall reimburse VA within 30 days. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain a U.S. citizenship and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language. The Contractor shall submit or have their employees submit the following required forms to the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement within 30 days of receipt: " Standard Form 85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions " Standard Form 85P-S, Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected Positions " FD 258, U.S. Department of Justice Fingerprint Applicant Chart " VA Form 0710, Authority for Release of Information Form o Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment o Optional Form 612, Optional Application for Federal Employment The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the VA, the employee from consideration from working under the contract. Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default. 11. Billing a. The Contractor shall submit timely and accurate invoices on a monthly basis to the Austin Automation Center for payment using the appropriate contract and purchase order numbers. Failure to submit timely invoices may result in significantly delayed payments, particularly if the time of invoice submission exceeds the fiscal year in which the service occurred. b. Invoice discrepancies will be handled between the Contractor and the VA COTR. 12. Special Projects a. Contractor shall assist in special projects as needed by the facility or Records Manager. Examples of special projects include: Purging, indexing, records inventory, or any other tasks for the preparation of records for shipment or storage. Government Responsibilities 1. Indexing/Boxing files a. The Government (JAHVA) must ensure records, files and boxes are accurately indexed and boxed in accordance with Contractor and Government specifications. b. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will provide the necessary forms to the Contractor or to the Contractor's employees after receiving a list of names and addresses of employees who are hired to work with VA records. 2. Background Investigations a. The VA office of Security and Law Enforcement will provide necessary forms to the Contractor or Contractor's employees after receiving a list of names and addresses. b. Upon receipt, VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will review the completed forms for accuracy and forward the forms to OPM to conduct the background investigation. c. The VA facility will pay for investigations conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in advance. In these instances, the Contractor shall reimburse the VA facility within thirty days. d. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will notify the contracting officer and Contractor after adjudicating the results of the background investigations received from OPM. e. The contracting officer will ensure the Contractor provides evidence that investigations have been completed or are in the process of being requested.