THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY; it is not a Solicitation (i.e. Request for Proposal, Request for Quotation, or Invitation for Bids) or an indication that the Health Readiness Contracting Office (HRCO) will contract for the supplies contained in the RFI. This RFI is part of a Government market research effort to determine the scope of industry capabilities and interest and will be treated as information only. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary and the Government will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned and respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. If a competitive solicitation is issued, it will be announced on the Federal Business Opportunities website http://www.fbo.gov at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement. This RFI does not restrict the Government's acquisition approach on a future Solicitation. RESPONSES: Respondents to this RFI are to describe their interest and ability to perform the requirements summarized within the attached Draft Performance Work Statements (PWS); there are three (3) Draft PWSs attached to this notice. Responses are to contain (1) company name, (2) CAGE code, (3) mailing address, (4) primary point of contact information, to include telephone number and email address. Responses should be formatted as either MS Word (.doc) or Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) and should be limited to a maximum of four (4) pages. Proprietary/Competition Sensitive information (appropriately marked) will be protected from disclosure to the greatest extent practical, however it is preferred that respondents do not provide proprietary or otherwise restricted responses. No faxes, courier delivered, or telephone inquiries/submissions will be accepted. Responses should be submitted to Miranda Buntyn, Contract Specialist at
[email protected] and Yesenia C. Rodriguez, Contracting Officer, at
[email protected] no later than 12:00 PM Central Time, December 5, 2016. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT: The Government's objective is develop a strategy to provide locum tenens and temporary health care providers to cover short term staffing requirements in Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs). Short term requirements range from two to nine months with a majority of the requirements occurring over the summer months (May through September). Army MTFs are comprised of medical centers with teaching responsibilities, community hospitals, and clinics which are staffed with Department of Defense military personnel, civilian employees and contract staff. Coverage will be for MTFs within the 50 U.S. states and some of the MTFs are located in geographically remote, undesirable or medically underserved locations. MTF staff is composed of a variety of medically-related occupations in the following functional categories: • Physician Services (primary care and specialty care) • Nursing Services (Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses, Registered Nurses, and Advance Practice Nurses) • Allied/Ancillary Services (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Radiology, Pharmacy, Laboratory, Psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, etc) The goals of the RFI: • Gain knowledge of common business practices for the locum tenens and short term health care staffing industry. • Understand best practices to improve efficiencies for placement of locum tenens and temporary health care staffing • Obtain feedback regarding national and regional preferences and capabilities. • Gain an understanding of the functional categories and specialties aligned within the functional areas. The government is seeking information to determine the availability of locum tenens and temporary health care staffing solutions with the capabilities outlined the attached Draft PWSs. QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY: The Government desires that respondents offer their experience and recommendations on the following questions related to the locum tenens and temporary health care staffing industry and the Draft PWSs (1) Does your company currently provide temporary health care staffing services based on some or all of the characteristics described in the Draft PWSs to organizations within the commercial market? If so, describe the types of services that you currently provide. (2) Does your company currently provide temporary health care staffing services based on some or all of the characteristics described in the Draft PWSs to organizations within the Federal Government? If so, describe the types of services that you currently provide. (3) Does your company have a current GSA schedule for temporary health care staffing services based on some or all of the characteristics described in the Draft PWSs? If so, what is the GSA contract number, expiration date, and order limitations? (4) Does your company use functional segments for your temporary health care workforce? If functional segments are used, please list the categories and describe the specialties and/or health care staffing types associated with each functional segment. (5) Does your company consider physician assistants, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, and psychologists included in the physician or locum tenens market or a different functional segment? (6) Should allied and ancillary be separate functional segments? If yes, what specialties are considered in the allied and ancillary segments? (7) Does your company provide national and/or regional coverage? (8) What are the minimum and maximum lengths of staffing assignments for your company? (9) How much lead time is needed to fill a staffing assignment? (10) Does your company make all the travel arrangement for your staff on assignment to locations away from their residence? Is the commercial practice to invoice for travel expenses separately or incorporate travel into the hourly rates? (11) Are the health care providers you place on temporary assignments 1099 employees? (12) What innovative approaches are used by your company to recruit and retain temporary health care staffing? (13) Does your company hold membership in organizations associated with travel? NALTO: National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations NATHO: National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations Other (14) Is your company certified by the Joint Commission or some other health care certification organization? If yes, what is the certification? (15) What is your company's primary NAICS code? What NAICS code would you anticipate for a requirement for services necessary to meet the Government's objective? (16) Should the Government publish a formal solicitation, do you anticipate any challenges preparing a competitive price proposal to provide services based on some or all of the characteristics described in the Draft PWSs. Do you anticipate any perceived barriers to competition? If so, please specify. (17) Do you have any comments on the Draft PWSs? If so, please specify. Include PWS paragraph number references for each comment submitted.