SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Nurse, Vocational Rehabilitation and Medical Advisor Services
- Notice Date
- 6/20/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, Procurement Services Center, S-4306 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20210-0001, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20210-0001
- Solicitation Number
- DOL111RI21281
- Archive Date
- 8/4/2011
- Point of Contact
- Myla Gale,
- E-Mail Address
-
gale.myla@dol.gov
(gale.myla@dol.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information- Nurse, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Medical Advisor Services RFI Number DOL111RI21281 Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI) SYNOPSIS The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting market research to determine feasibility for a potential procurement requirement. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information from industry vendors regarding their interest, capabilities, and recommendations in developing proposals for the Office of Workers Compensation Programs' (OWCP) medical case file review, nurse case management, and vocational rehabilitation services for the Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC) and the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this request is 541990. The small business size is $7.0 million. SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ENCOURAGED TO RESPOND. Include whether or not you are a small business; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small business; women-owned small business; or small disadvantaged business in order to assist the government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. GENERAL PURPOSE 1.0 Purpose The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Programs administers four workers' compensation programs that mitigate the impact of work-related injuries for specified workers, through the provision and management of medical treatment and other benefits. The purpose of this Request for Information is twofold: First, to gather information that will assist the OWCP in planning, formulating, and evaluating vendor capability of executing national program requirements. The OWCP is also open to alternative ideas and respondents are encouraged to provide information about alternative solutions that may assist the OWCP to better meet the program requirements. Secondly, responses to this RFI will help the OWCP assess whether the marketplace has vendors capable of supplying medical case file review, nursing, and vocational rehabilitation services and whether the vendor is capable of providing trained, professionally-certified and qualified staff to manage these services in all 50 States and territories. 1.1 Acquisition Approach The U.S. Department of Labor has not determined the acquisition approach. This market research will allow DOL to make an informed decision about how to proceed. BACKGROUND: 2.0 Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) The OWCP's Division of Federal Employees' Compensation strives to return injured or ill workers to suitable employment through the utilization of medical case file review, nurse case management and vocational rehabilitation services. The DFEC requires the services of District Medical Advisors (DMAs), telephonic nurses, field nurses and vocational rehabilitation specialists/counselors. 2.0.1 DMAs: Medical case file review services are conducted by board certified physicians, acting as District Medical Advisors (DMAs). DMAs' medical file reviews consist of evaluating medical evidence related to causality, disability, permanent impairments, surgical intervention and medical treatment. The DMAs must be well-versed in the utilization and application of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, particularly the 6th Edition when evaluating and analyzing the degree of permanent impairment and the appropriate rating calculation. 2.0.2 Telephonic/Field Nurses: Early nurse intervention during the initial period of impairment is one of the major components of quality case management procedures. The type of nursing intervention needed is based on the nature and severity of the claimant's medical condition, geographic location, and other factors. Nurse case management services are divided into two categories, telephonic and field nursing services. Nurses are contracted to facilitate medical treatment, interact with health care provider(s) to ascertain work limitations, and collaborate with agency officials in the identification of potential work assignments for return to work or re-employment with the date of injury employer. Nurses are to be staffed according to standard criteria that include the appropriate educational background, licensing, clinical experience, medical case management, and specific workers' compensation or occupational health nursing experience to perform these services. o Telephonic nurses are assigned cases at early onset to assist injured workers in a "no work" capacity to obtain medical treatment while facilitating a return to light or full duty with the employing agency. o Field nurses (FN) are assigned when a return to work has not been accomplished through use of a telephonic nurse; face to face interaction is needed with the health care provider(s); or for a complex/catastrophic case requiring specialized medical case management. The FN evaluates treatment plans, projected length of disability, and whether return to work plans are available and feasible. The FN collaborates with all parties (Claims Examiner, Staff Nurse, physician, agency, claimant and possibly the Rehabilitation Counselor) to facilitate the injured worker's successful return to employment. 2.0.3 Voc/Rehab: When return to work efforts are exhausted or work limitations prevent a return to work or reemployment with the date-of-injury employer, vocational rehabilitation specialists/counselors are contracted to assist with vocational testing and/or training and job placement services. These services may also be provided in conjunction with a placement effort with the previous employer in certain instances. The goal of the vocational rehabilitation is to seek or arrange for suitable work with the employing agency. When these efforts have been exhausted or when reemployment with the employing agency is not possible, the claimant is provided vocational assistance and placement services to secure work with a new employer. The vocational rehabilitation counselor initiates vocational testing and training to explore different employment opportunities capable of accommodating the permanent limitations. Vocational rehabilitation services may also include overseeing medical rehabilitation services that may be needed to correct, minimize or modify an impairment caused by the injury or disease so the claimant can return to an adequate level of function and employment. The vocational rehabilitation counselor may also need to facilitate physical, occupational or speech therapy, orthotics, and prosthetics. While the RC may recommend such services, the CE must authorize them. The following case volumes are estimated for the first twelve months. DMA: 20,130 cases per year Telephonic Nurse: 11,725 cases per year Field Nurse: 15,596 case per year Vocational Rehabilitation: 3,851 cases per year 2.1 Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) The Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation is investigating the use of registered nurses (Energy Nurses) to conduct case file reviews to evaluate and make recommendations on in-home health care service requests. The RN will conduct evaluation of physician-directed care plans to assess medical necessity of prescribed level of in-home health care services in conjunction with a patient's accepted work-related illness(es). Other duties will be to ensure development actions adhere to the written guidance provided in program procedures, circulars or transmittals. The RN will also make recommendations on the medical appropriateness of requested home health services including: tasks and duties to be performed, duration of care required per day/week and the professional service level, i.e., RN/LPN/Home Health Aid. The RN will conduct assessment of daily/weekly home health provider records to ensure compliance with prescribed treatment plan and identify anomalies or other deficiencies which require physician intervention. Responsibilities will include verbal interaction with claims staff, physicians, claimants, or service providers to coordinate necessary care, collect information, and provide guidance. RFI REQUIREMENTS 3.0 Description of Information Requested The OWCP is requesting information from vendors regarding industry practice, vendor capabilities to provide DMAs, Telephonic Nurses, Field Nurses, Voc/Rehab specialists/counselors and Energy Nurses and vendors' specific experience providing these services using industry best practices. 1. Provide company information including: a. Company name and address b. size of company (number of personnel, total revenue, ownership, parent corporation, etc) c. point(s) of contact including name, phone number, address, and email; length of time in business d. geographic presence 2. Describe how your product or service would be integrated into the OWCP process as described in the Background section of this RFI. 3. Address how to ensure an adequately experienced and trained labor pool and your process for verifying qualifications, educational, certification, and professional requirements and how often this information is obtained or updated. 4. Provide cost estimates for each service sought in this RFI: • DMAs • Telephonic Nurses • Field Nurses • Voc/Rehab specialists/counselors • Energy Nurses 5. Provide recommendations on benchmarks or criteria used to manage performance of medical case file reviews, physician, nurse and vocational rehabilitation personnel, and case outcomes. 6. Identify conditions or issues requested in the RFI that cannot be met or may interfere with the intention of this project. 7. What are your current capabilities today (including your ability to provide nationwide coverage for face-to-face interaction as required), delivery capabilities, number of claims managed for the following services: • DMAs • Telephonic Nurses • Field Nurses • Voc/Rehab specialists/counselors • Energy Nurses 8. Describe how the additional claim volume and case load would be assigned/absorbed by current staff or whether additional staffing or a teaming arrangement would be required. If additional staffing would be required, please provide your plan to acquire the appropriate number of qualified staff and the length of time needed to bring them on duty. 9. Provide any other pertinent information that will assist us in this assessment. INSTRUCTIONS AND RESPONSE GUIDELINES 4.0 Instructions and Response Guidelines The response must be specific to each of the RFI requirements, from 3.0, listed above to demonstrate that the respondent has the requisite skills and experience. Experience and past performance is requested of qualified, prime respondents only; partner or team member capabilities should not be included. Responses to this RFI shall not exceed 25 pages, and must be in narrative form and provide details on the vendor capabilities to meet each of requirement areas. Responses must be viewable with Microsoft Word 2003, and printable on 8.5" x 11" paper, must use 12 point font, the margins of each page should be at least ½ inch, and each page should contain a page number in the footer. This (RFI) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposal or award a contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted, for the vendor-sponsored demonstration or the Government's use of such information. Sources responding to this Sources Sought should submit the minimum information necessary for the Government to make a determination that the source is capable of satisfying the requirements. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or the Government's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. Responses should be identified with DOL111RI21281, and are due no later than 3:00 P.M. (EST) on July 20, 2011. All interested parties must submit their responses via email to: Gale.Myla@dol.gov and Bailey.Gladys@dol.gov. Questions regarding this RFI will NOT be entertained at this time. Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted. This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the government to pay for the information requested, issue a solicitation, or award a contract. No solicitation document exists at this time. Contracting Office Address: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) OASAM Office of Procurement Services 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S4307 Washington, District of Columbia 20210 Primary Point of Contact: Secondary Point of Contact: Myla M. Gale Gladys M.Bailey Contract Specialist Contracting Officer Tel: 202-693-4570 Tel: 202-693-4570 Fax: 202-693-4579 Fax: 202-693-4579
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOL/OASAM/WashingtonDC/DOL111RI21281/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia, 20210, United States
- Zip Code: 20210
- Zip Code: 20210
- Record
- SN02477091-W 20110622/110620234659-c07173f50ea2474052516b716148be9f (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |