MODIFICATION
D -- Information Technology Workgroup for the Bemidji Area Indian Health Service, Bemidji, MN.
- Notice Date
- 6/9/2004
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 519190
— All Other Information Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service, Aberdeen Area Office, Federal Building, 115 4th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD, 57401
- ZIP Code
- 57401
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-04-063
- Response Due
- 6/16/2004
- Archive Date
- 6/16/2004
- Point of Contact
- Nichole Price, Contract Specialist, Phone 605.226.7567, Fax 605.226.7669,
- E-Mail Address
-
nichole.price@ihsabr.ihs.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Partial Small Business
- Description
- Amend RFQ-04-063 to change the RFQ due date to June 16, 2004 from June 9, 2004. Clarify the desired start date to begin within 30 days from the date of award. The period of peformance will be 180 days from the date of award. See "Questions and Answers": RFQ-04-063 - QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 1. Is the Government furnishing the web domain, or should the contractor: Answer: Government is 2. Is the Government furnishing hardware to maintain the website, or should the contractor: Answer: Government 3. If the contractor is furnishing the hardware, are there minimum, preferred or required specifications for what type of hardware the contractor should provide? Answer: N/A 4. Does the Government prefer or require a particular software platform for the web survey? Answer: No 5. If the Government is furnishing the web server hardware, are there technology limitations (limited bandwidth, limited server power, etc.) at the web server site: Answer: It is the IHS agency web site 6. Are there technology limitations at the Bemidji Area sites that are taking the survey (they all use dial up, some of them use dial up, they have relatively old computers, etc.)? Answer: Some dial up, some use IP, most are Windows 2000 tho there may be some with 95 or 98. 7. The RFQ mentions several performance conditions, including knowledge of: healthcare systems, IHS federal, Tribal and Urban programs, information systems and management, personnel, hardware, software, assessment design and data analysis. Are each of these conditions given the same weight, or are they weighed differently? Answer: Different weights. Most is on information systems 8. Overall, how do the performance conditions weigh against the price in selecting the winning contractor? Answer: Performance conditions more significant 9. Does the 30 day period of performance cover development of the web site only, or development, used by the I/T/U sites, collection and analysis of the data and presentation of the results? Answer: Development of the web tool 10. Will the government publish responses to contractor questions: Answer: Yes. An amendment will be sent out to all interested parties. 11. Please identify the purpose(s) for which the assessment of current IT resources is being done, e.g. FISMA compliance, IT capital and investment planning, asset management, IT service management. Answer: Strategic planning for IT services 12. We believe that IT assessments are necessarily mission or business driven. Has the Indian Health Service developed a document and/or associated models that generally depict the business and operations of the health centers/stations and will such documentation be made available for use by the successful offeror? Answer: IHS is mission driven. There is some general information available about each site as related to services provided. They are all in healthcare. 13. The RFQ only states a Desired Start Date. What is the overall Period of Performance? Answer: 30 days from the date of award. 14. Will the Government please provide a minimum list of deliverables, deliverable descriptions and a delivery schedule? Answer: Am not sure how much more specific this can be at this time 15. Will the Government please provide the sizing parameters it uses to determine if a facility is small, medium or large? Answer: We do not have sizing parameters for this. 16. Is there a government project manager who will be the principal POC for the contractor to validate the information requirements for the web-based survey, facilitate access to business and technical stakeholders, review interim and draft deliverables, among others? Answer: Yes 17. Is the web-based survey the sole tool that the Government would like the vendor to use in identifying existing IT resources? Answer: It is the preferable one, other tools may be considered for what the web based tool cannot do. 18. Will the web-based survey be hosted on government computers or by the contractor? Answer: On the IHS web site 19. The representative questions on the RFQ are oriented specifically toward the technology side of information systems. Do you want the survey to also address the computer abilities/literacy of the users? Answer: That would be helpful 20. The RFQ states that Tribal and Urban programs can optionally participate in this survey. How many potential Tribal and Urban facilities could be participating and what are they? Answer: Up to 48 21. Will participation for IHS sites be mandatory? If so, will there be a deadline by which they must respond? Answer: Yes but there are only 3. 22. Item 4 called Provided by the Government, states the following ?The government shall provide access to the internet/intranet site for purposes of data collection from the web assessments.? Does this mean that the Vendor who is selected can place their IT survey collection tool on the government internet/intranet site to collect the information for the assessments? Answer: They won?t, the IHS will. 23. Who/what is ITSC? Answer: Information Technology Service Center for the Indian Health Service 24. Does the vendor/contractor need to collect information from each individual program and populate the database? Or, will the vendor only be responsible for creating a tool to collect this information, so that each program can complete the information on their own? Answer: Create the tool, each site will complete, vendor will tabulate 25. How will the data be collected for a program that does not/cannot participate in completing web-based tool? Answer: We won?t collect it. 26. Our understanding of the Statement of Work is that a vendor will create a web based tool and analyze the information collected from various programs. Is this correct? Answer: Yes 27. What are the exact deliverables? Answer: The web based tool and the analysis 28. What are the Government?s future plans for using this web-based tool/information collected from other programs/vendor analysis and recommendations report? Answer: Using it for local and area strategic planning 29. Is this follow-on from an existing contract? Answer: No 30. If the answer above is ?Yes?, is there any incumbent? Can you please identify the incumbent? Answer: 31. Standard Form 18, item 1, asked for an assessment of current IT resources, item 3 in the Statement of Work asks for a web-based tool. Is it the intent of IHS to purchase a web-based software tool for the contractor to utilize in facilitating an assessment strictly online rather than having the contractor conduct onsite assessments? Answer: The intent is that the contractor will develop a web based tool for completion by sites and the contractor will aggragate and analyze. 32. Item 3 in the SOW calls for identifying current technologies operating at each location. If the assessment is conducted strictly online, there is a possibility that some technologies may be overlooked. If the assessment is conducted online, will the contractor be held responsible for technologies not identified? Answer: No 33. Does IHS desire to have online assessments audited/validated by conducting an onsite review? Answer: Not specifically but it could be included in the proposal 34. Is the intent of IHS to conduct this entire project online and eliminate all travel? If travel would be involved, what locations would be involved? Answer: There may be one to two meetings (one at the beginning of the project to define specifics and one at the end for the report) 35. If the presentation to the BAO Executive Committee is to be scheduled in person, please specify what location. Answer: Bemidji, MN 36. Given that participation in the assessment is voluntary, how will the contractor know when the desired level of participation is reached? Answer: We will set a date and analyze data received at that date. 37. Will proposals be accepted via fax and/or email: Answer: The RFQ will be accepted either by fax or mail. 38. Could IHS provide additional information as to the size and scope of the organizations that will participate in the assessment? Answer: Limited 39. Is there an approximate number of known systems either centralized or distributed at the various facilities? Answer: No 40. Would the IHS consider a solution that utilizes the ASP model? Answer: Don?t know what this is 41. Does the IHS anticipate using the tool beyond the 30 day estimated period of performance? Answer: The tool will become the IHS property and may be used. The period of performance is not just 30 days. 42. Has the IHS establish a page limit for responses to this proposal? Answer: No 43. Does the ?Small Business Set-Aside RFQ? mean ?exclusively for Small Business? or ?preference points in scoring given to Small Business?? Answer: This RFQ is exclusively set-aside to small business firms. 44. Does the web-enable IT survey tool need to reside on the government servers or are they expected to reside on the contractor servers? Answer: Government 45. Are any Bemidji Area IHS sites piloting the IHS-developed electronic medical records system? Answer: Not yet 46. What percentage of current BAO sites currently report data on a voluntary basis to the IHS? Answer: 90% 47. What percentage of current BAO sites currently utilizes RPMS? Answer: 90% 48. What percentage of current BAO sites currently utilizes RPMS in addition to another practice/clinical management system? Answer: 25% 49. Will any site visits to BAO provider sites be expected as part of the planning for the survey tool development? Answer: No 50. What?s the time frame for completing this RFQ? Answer: The due date for the RFQ will be June 16, 2004. 51. Are there any preferred development tools? Answer: No 52. Does the development need to be on-site or can this be performed off-site? Answer: Off site 53. Hosting: Will IHS provide the platform for hosting or it needs to be from the vendor/contractor? Answer: IHS 54. Is there a budget set aside for this RFQ? Answer: This is a competitive award in which fair and reasonable pricing will be considered. For a hard copy of this amendment, please submit your request in writing, by telefax, at 605/226-7669, to the attention of Nichole Price, Purchasing Agent.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Bemidji, Minnesota
- Zip Code: 56601
- Zip Code: 56601
- Record
- SN00600815-W 20040611/040609211812 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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