SOURCES SOUGHT
Q -- Vascular Dialysis Access Procedures
- Notice Date
- 1/9/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 621111
— Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)
- Contracting Office
- Network Acquisitions & Logistics;Department of Veterans Affairs;James J. Peters VA Medical Center;130 West Kingsbridge Road;Bronx NY 10468-3904
- ZIP Code
- 10468-3904
- Solicitation Number
- VA-243-08-RQ-0096
- Response Due
- 1/16/2008
- Archive Date
- 2/15/2008
- Point of Contact
- Christina M Katz Contract Specialist 718-741-4356
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to Contract Specialist
(Christina.Katz@va.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. It is neither a solicitation announcement nor a request for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Responses to this Sources Sought must be in writing. The purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, 8(a), HubZone and other Small Businesses interested and capable of performing the work. Documentation of technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) DUNS number (f) Cage Code (g) Tax ID Number (h) Type of small business, e.g. Services Disabled Veteran Owned small Business, Veteran-owned small business, 8(a), HUBZone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business HUBZone business and (i) must provide a capability statement that addresses the organizations qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the work described below. Description: See below for Statement of Work Important Information: The Government is not obligated to nor will it pay for or reimburse any costs associated with responding to this sources sought synopsis request. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. Currently a total set-aside for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms is anticipated. However, if response by Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business firms proves inadequate, an alternate set-aside or full and open competition may be determined. No sub-contracting opportunity is anticipated. The North American Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 621111 ($6.5 million). Notice to Potential Offerors: All Offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR located on the web at www.ccr.gov). It is desirable that any Offeror to have completed their business Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). Additionally, all Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses or Veteran Owned Businesses who respond to a solicitation on this project must be registered with the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Veterans Enterprise VetBiz Registry located at http://vip.vetbiz.gov. All interested Offerors should submit information by e-mail, mail or ground carrier to: Dept. of Veterans Affairs, James J. Peters Medical Center, VISN 3/Network Acquisition and Logisitics, #10N3-NAL-3, Bronx, NY 10468 or by e-mail to Christina.Katz@va.gov. All information submissions to be marked Attn: Christina Katz, Contracting Officer and should be received no later than 3:30 pm Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, January 16, 2007. After review of the responses to this announcement, the Government intends to proceed with the acquisition and a subsequent solicitation will be published. The Governments intent is to solicit a Firm Fixed Price, Best Value Procurement. Statement of Work: STATEMENT OF WORK VASCULAR DIALYSIS ACCESS PROCEDURES VA NEW YORK HARBOR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM NEW YORK CAMPUS OR BROOKLYN CAMPUS 1. Introduction and Scope of Work An arteriovenous (AV) fistula or graft is a conduit between an artery and a vein that may be surgically created to facilitate dialysis. Due to infection or other factors, a fistula or graft may become occluded, partially or totally, or clotted, compromising dialysis. Treatment of the fistula or graft by open surgical repair, reconstruction or replacement or insertion of a catheter for temporary access exposes the patient to risks associated with surgery, hospitalization, infection, and other negative impacts. These may be avoided by means of nonsurgical interventional vascular access procedures to maintain or restore access patency, which can be performed on an outpatient basis. Capacity to perform these procedures at VA NYHHS is limited. Due to the need to maintain dialysis schedules and avoid surgery and other complications that arise when dialysis access is lost or occluded, it is sometimes impossible or inadvisable to schedule patients to be treated at VA NYHHS within the time frames required for patient care needs. In these circumstances, and only after the Director of Hemodialysis or his designee has determined that other options cannot be employed, will the patient be referred for contract service. A contract is needed to make these services available for dialysis patients when other options cannot be used. Patients may be referred from either the New York (Manhattan) campus or the Brooklyn campus of VA NYHHS. The Contractor will perform vascular access procedures to repair failed fistulas or grafts with the goal of restoring patency in dialysis patients referred through Nephrology Section, VA NYHHS. 2. Requirements The Contractor agrees, in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein, to furnish VA NYHHS with the services specified and at the prices specified in this contract. Contractor services include but are not limited to the following procedures and studies, which will be performed on an outpatient basis at the Contractor's facility: " Percutaneous thrombectomy (de-clotting) of the fistula or graft by the following methods: o Puncture of the AV fistula or graft by needle or vascular sheath o Mechanical and/or pharmacologic methods that dissolve, fragment or remove the obstructing material " Angioplasty of the fistula or graft either as a primary intervention or secondary to thrombectomy if flow remains inadequate and is caused by lesions other than thrombotic material " Angiography in association with thrombectomy or angioplasty " Vascular stenting if angioplasty fails to maintain patency " Placement of tunneled dialysis catheters " Tunneled dialysis catheter exchange " Diagnostic angiography - rarely necessary as a confirmatory study as part of a decision to treat, but is appropriate if one or more of the following indications are present: o Reduced intra-access flow o Elevated static venous pressures o Elevated dynamic venous pressures o Elevated recirculation o Unexplained decrease in U, Kt/V o Abnormal physical exam (loss of thrill, pulsatile graft, arm swelling, development of venous collaterals, pseudoaneurysm) o Prolonged bleeding after needle removal o Elevated negative arterial pre-pump pressures o Ischemic changes of the extremity (steal syndrome) o Inefficient dialysis " Post-procedure evaluation and follow-up and clinical consultation regarding complications of interventional procedures a. Procedure for Referral - All patients will be evaluated and referred by a VA physician assigned to Nephrology Section of Medical Service, VA NYHHS. This evaluation will occur prior to the patient being scheduled for testing or intervention by the Contractor. Referral information will include relevant access and medical history, findings of physical examination, list of medications and indication(s) for performing vascular access procedures. Contact to schedule the patient will be made by telephone to the Contractor in an expeditious manner. Authorization for any additional service, which must be within the scope specified in this contract, will be made by the Director, Hemodialysis. b. Timeliness Requirements - Patients referred for urgent interventional studies and/or procedures will be scheduled for testing and/or treatment by the Contractor within one week of referral. Patients referred for elective procedures will be scheduled within two weeks of referral. Referrals and services to be performed will occur within normal business hours on weekdays. c. Patient Safety - The Contractor shall provide competent, quality medical service to all patients referred under this contract. Appropriate infection control practices for hand hygiene, standard precautions, protective barriers, transmission-based precautions and intravascular devices conforming to recommendations of the CDC and other appropriate authorities must be maintained. Patients will be monitored for excessive bleeding and pain and treated appropriately. Before discharge, they will be hemodynamically stable, having achieved hemostasis, and able to tolerate any pain. Contractor will have standard equipped crash cart available for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, and personnel with appropriate ACLS training and certification on site during patient treatment. Patients in need of additional, urgent or emergency care while undergoing contract services will be treated in the most medically appropriate way by appropriately credentialed and trained personnel either at Contractor's site, the nearest facility with an emergency room or by transfer back to VA NYHHS if the patient is in stable condition and is deemed able to be transported. Authorization for non-emergent additional service, which must be within the scope specified in this contract, will be made by the Director, Hemodialysis. d. Qualifications of Personnel and Contractor Facility- Technicians and physicians assigned by the Contractor to perform the services covered by this contract must have current, full and unrestricted New York State licenses. Physicians assigned by the Contractor must be board certified radiologists or nephrologists. Radiologists performing or interpreting vascular interventional procedures and studies must be either fellowship-trained or certified by the American Board of Radiology in this subspecialty. Nephrologists performing this work must be certified by the American Society of Diagnostic & Interventional Nephrology. Licensed independent practitioners providing contracted services must be credentialed and privileged by VA NYHHS before rendering service. Notice of any substitutions of key personnel must be provided to the Director of Hemodialysis, and the qualifications of the substitutes must be supplied and approved in advance by VA NYHHS's Executive Chief of Staff. The Contractor's facility must have current accreditation by The Joint Commission and notify the Contracting Officer, COTR and Director of Hemodialysis immediately of any changes in such status. e. Reporting and Documentation Requirements - The Contractor shall provide by fax to the referring VA physician immediately after services are rendered a brief report specifying what procedures were performed, diagnostic and operative findings, and the outcome. The Contractor shall provide a full report of the procedure results within one week of the performance of the service, in hard copy format by mail marked "Confidential" or by confidential fax to the Director of Hemodialysis. The information provided will be sufficient for the VA physician to understand the diagnosis and therapeutic result, determine if dialysis is possible through the affected access, and whether surgical follow-up for new access surgery is necessary. Documentation must include accurate CPT coding and meet all requirements for third party reimbursement.. The documentation supplied by the Contractor will be scanned into the VA's computerized patient record system (CPRS) at the direction of the COTR (Contracting Officer's Technical Representative). The Contractor shall establish and maintain a log of patients treated under this contract including the patient's full name and full SS#, scheduled and actual dates of evaluation and/or treatment and the studies and/or procedures performed with accurate CPT coding. This log will be submitted in confidence to the VA COTR on a quarterly basis (for periods January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December), at time of invoicing or at any other time upon request. f. Reimbursement Method - The services shall be performed as a procedure-based fee for service, under the direction of the Medical Director of the Contractor. g. Billing / Payments - Payment will be made on a fee-for-procedure basis, per CPT code. Only the five highest reimbursement CPT codes will be paid. Procedures must be fully documented and coded by the Contractor and must be performed within the timeframes established by this contract. Reimbursement will not be provided for any procedure for which all required documentation is not provided. Invoices must include the VA purchase order number to ensure timely payment. Only VA shall be entitled to claim reimbursement from patient's health insurance for the costs associated with the procedures or studies performed. The Contractor shall not make any third-party claim but shall provide documentation required by VA to submit a claim. h. Workload Data - Although it is not guaranteed, it is anticipated that approximately 5-10 patients will be referred by VA NYHHS during the term of this contract. 3. References None. 4. Delivery All details regarding services to be delivered and timeliness requirements are provided under Paragraph 2, Requirements. 5. Progress and Compliance The Contractor's organization must ensure that all contracted services provided by licensed independent practitioners are within the scope of their privileges. Joint Commission accreditation must be maintained. Performance of the Contractor will be monitored by the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative(s) who is designated as the Administrative Officer, Medical Service, Brooklyn campus (Clelia Sarrapere). In addition, provider-specific clinical performance of the Contractor will be monitored as each case is completed by the Director of Hemodialysis by the following methods: (1) Review of the medical documentation submitted as required in paragraph 2e. (2) Input on Contractor performance by staff involved with the referral and patients referred for service; input may include results of patient/staff satisfaction studies. (3) Follow up of any patient complaints. The results of provider-specific performance reviews will be reported through the Chief of Medicine to the Professional Standards and Credentialing Board as part of the service's ongoing professional practice evaluation reporting, with results and recommendations for performance improvement reported to the Clinical Executive Board, the Executive Council and the Director. The Government Contracting Officer shall make the final determination of the validity of any customer complaints. The Director of Hemodialysis, as well as the Executive Chief of Staff and other facility managers, where necessary, in concert with the Government Contracting Officer, will provide input on steps to improve care, treatment and services in the event that contracted services do not meet expectations. Penalty for Non-Performance - If any of the services do not conform to contract requirements, the Government may require the Contractor to perform the services again in conformity with contract requirements, at no additional cost to the Government. Such cases will be discussed between the Director of Hemodialysis and the Contractor to ensure that expectations in the re-performance are clear and appropriate. When the defects in services cannot be corrected by re-performance, the Government may: (1) Require the Contractor to take necessary action to ensure that future performance conforms to contract requirements; and (2) Reduce the contract price to reflect the reduced value of the services performed.
- Place of Performance
- Address: New York Harbor Healthcare System;423 East 23rd Street;New York, New York
- Zip Code: 10010-5011
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 10010-5011
- Record
- SN01481914-W 20080111/080109224053 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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