NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE The Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Network Contracting Office 6, Hampton VA 23667, intends to negotiate a sole source Firm-Fixed Price contract for the procurement of LaserTrack PH Series Cassette Printer for the W.G. Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center with General Data Company, Inc. dba General Data Healthcare, Inc. in accordance with 41 U.S.C. §3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source. This purchase will be made under Simplified Acquisition Procedures and Other than Full and Open Competition as authorized by FAR 13.106-1(b). This is not a request for competitive offers, and no solicitation is available. Market research has determined that these items are highly specialized and are only available from a single source without an unacceptable delay or duplication of cost. No other type of items will satisfy agency requirements. The Government intends to award the contract with an effective date of 19 February 2021 to General Data Healthcare, Inc.; 4043 McMann Road, Cincinnati, OH 45245-1667, DUNS: 03-96-10852. The Salisbury VA Medical Center, 1601 Brenner Avenue, Salisbury, NC, 28144-2515, Pathology & Laboratory Medical Services has a need for the LaserTrack PH Series Cassette Printer. Current industry standards for histology cassette printers include ink, thermal, ribbon, and laser to transfer/print data to specimen cassettes. Printer ribbons, ink, and thermal products require additional costly consumables that require inventory monitoring, periodic installing of messy ink, and replacing ribbons during the workday. The cassette printer on hand is creating constant work stoppages due to a) cassette jamming, b) printer ribbon breakage, and c) illegible printing, which increases unnecessary delays that are costly to the integrity of the veteran s sample when time matters. The current printers are bottlenecking our processes and require additional time for the technologist to provide corrective actions daily, resulting in case management delays and, ultimately, treatment. The Leica and Thermo cassette printers used in the past are obsolete and lack the precision necessary for consistent barcodes. The laser cassette printer is essential for producing consistent and precise specimen cassettes used for cancer care management. The current specimen tracking software, Vantage, is on-site and is being programmed for use. This tracking software requires a cassette printer that can produce consistent, precise, printed barcodes that can be read without difficulty by barcode scanning devices when printed. The critical component to an effective system is the scannability of the printed barcode. If the barcode on the cassette or slide won t scan, everything slows down, workflow bottlenecks can occur, and the data's integrity is compromised. The printed barcode cassette data (patient information) is reviewed and challenged at no less than ten (10) stations throughout the process when produced. The barcode scanners currently, on-site, lack the reliability to read printed barcodes from our cassettes when ink or ribbons from our printers are used because of the smudged ink from inconsistent printing. Laser-produced barcodes give the users (technicians and pathologists) the precision required to maintain an efficient workflow pace and trust in a system from the process's accessioning portion. Positive patient identification (and therefore, patient safety) is of paramount importance in the lab. It s the primary reason for using barcoding in histology, cytology, pathology, or any lab environment. The tracking software may provide quality control checks throughout its system. This synopsis announcement is being issued for information purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation or request for competitive proposals. If a firm believes it is capable of meeting the Government's requirement, it may identify its interest and capability to the contract specialist within three (3) business days of this publication by contacting Chellry Whittier via e-mail
[email protected]. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. This announcement closes on 14 April 2021 at 1:00 PM EDT. Those interested firms must indicate whether they are large, small, small disadvantaged, 8(a) or woman-owned business and whether they are U.S. or foreign-owned. Respondents who submit proprietary data shall clearly mark the data with appropriate markings. The Government will not pay for any information submitted as a result of this synopsis. This synopsis shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. ***Reference RFQ 36C24621Q0543 in all replies