Telephonic Tobacco Cessation Counseling Tender in USA - 5204865

Procurement Summary

Country: USA

Summary: Telephonic Tobacco Cessation Counseling

Deadline: 18 Feb 2016

Posting Date: 06 Feb 2016

Other Information

Notice Type: Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 5204865

Document Ref. No.: VA24416N0503

Competition: ICB

Financier: Self Financed

Purchaser Ownership: -

Tender Value: Refer Document

CPV Classification

75121000 - Administrative educational services

Purchaser's Detail

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Tender Details

This is a request for information (rfi) this is in preparation for a solicitation that will tentatively be advertised around march 2016.
The visn 4 healthcare system has a requirement for a contractor to provide telephonic tobacco cessation counseling services. The statement of work is below. Interested companies must be registered in sam, have a duns and tax id. The companies will have to provide the following information:
1. Company name and address, duns and tax id numbers
2. P.o.c. Name, telephone number, email address
3. Business size (small, large, women owned, vosb, sdvosb)
all inquiries concerning this rfi will have to be emailed to [email protected].
The rfi issue date is feb. 4, 2016 and the all responses due feb. 18, 2016.
Description/specifications/work statement
1. Definitions:
a) "program" shall mean the tobacco cessation program as described herein.
B) "participant" shall mean those client eligibles (veterans enrolled in visn 4) who are at least 18 years old and who are enrolled in the program.
C) "registration specialist" means an individual employed and/or retained by the vendor contractor who enrolls eligibles into the program, and are pre-screened by the contractor and appropriately trained in the contractor tobacco cessation registration practices.
D) "tobacco treatment specialist(s)" means those individuals employed and/or retained by the contractor to provide telephonic support, information and counseling to participants. Each tobacco treatment specialist is pre-screened by the contractor and appropriately trained in the contractors tobacco cessation practices to provide telephonic support, information, and counseling to beneficiaries under this contract.
E) contract officer s representative (cor):
george w. Linkhauer, ii
pittsburgh va hcs mdp 130p-a
patriot way, pittsburgh 15215
fully operational program required by may 1st, 2016
f) "visn 4" shall mean the department of veterans affairs, va healthcare veterans integrated services network (visn 4).
2. General requirements:
a) general intention - the visn 4 healthcare system has a requirement for a contractor to provide telephonic tobacco cessation counseling services as described herein to veteran participants. The va will provide pharmacotherapy to veterans enrolled as participants in this program. The telephonic tobacco cessation program shall be fully operational no later than may 1st, 2016. The program launch date shall be mutually agreeable to both parties, and term of contract shall be one year from issuance of notice to proceed. Notice to proceed will be issued by the contracting officer on agreed upon program launch date.
B) the contractor will provide up to six (6) outbound telephone interventions, and one additional end-of-program data collection call per participant enrolled in the program. The contractor will determine where and when the participant would like these calls to be delivered. Participants can initiate unlimited calls to the contractor at any time during the work hours indicated and as often as he/she feels the need for additional help for twelve (12) months from the date of enrollment in the program.
C) enrollment is anticipated to be approximately 600 veteran participants by the end of the twelve-month contract period. Veterans will be referred through entry of electronic consults to this program via va nursing staff and providers and self-referrals that are enrolled in veterans health information systems & technology architecture (vista). Self-referrals are eligible veterans who have a need to join the tobacco cessation program and are listed in the visn 4 localities.
D) the contractor will provide to each participant a "quick kit" of printed materials to assist with tobacco cessation before counseling begins. A "quick kit" is all materials needed for each veteran to participate in the program as designated by the contractor providing the veteran with step-by-step instructions on how the program works and what is expected from the veteran. The kit also includes information for tobacco users about why they should quit tobacco, what steps they need to take to quit and other motivational materials which will be stage appropriate and may include materials for individuals with special needs.
E) the contractor will provide to all participants enrolled in the program a toll-free telephone access to a registration specialist and tobacco treatment specialists employed by the contractor within the work hours identified.
F) there shall be offered to every participant veteran six (6) counseling calls. Each counseling call will be documented as a progress note, the content of which will be mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the va during implementation planning. When an outbound counseling telephone call is attempted three (3) times without reaching the participant, a follow-up letter will be sent to the participant and documented as a progress note. All progress notes will be entered within two (2) business days of the contact. A progress note is the progress report of each individual veteran s summary of their success rate in the program.
G) the contractor will provide to participants decision support and recommendations for tobacco cessation based on criteria developed by the contractor. After the contractor s tobacco treatment specialist assesses the need for pharmacotherapy for a veteran participant and the recommended quantity, this recommendation will be documented in the va cprs progress note which is entered to document counseling. A va employee who has prescription privileges will be designated to enter the prescription into cprs for the veteran. The tobacco treatment specialist will notify this employee (employee s name to be furnished upon award) through having that employee listed as an "additional signer" of the progress note. The nicotene replacement therapy (nrt) will then be provided to the veteran through the usual va pharmacy process. Contractor standard protocol for the nicotine patch is an eight-week course of therapy, and standard protocol for the nicotine gum is a 4- or 5-box course of therapy, depending on level of addiction.
H) the contractor will provide on-going consultation to visn 4 with an assigned contractor s client services manager (csm) regarding the most effective means of marketing and distribution of the program to veterans.
I) the contractor will provide a monthly veteran participant activity report that includes the enrollment status (new enrollments, current enrollments, and disenrollment) of the veterans enrolled in the program for each hospital facility, including nicotene replacement therapy (nrp) dispensed.
J) visn 4 will pay for all eligible individuals enrolled in the program. Names of all enrollees will be made available by the contractor for a cross-check by visn 4.
K) visn 4 will develop with the contractor and carry out a mutually agreeable recruitment plan to encourage self-referrals of eligible veterans to the program.
L) the contractor will be required to provide all labor, supplies, management and expertise necessary to fulfill the requirements of a comprehensive veteran tobacco cessation program throughout visn 4 within two (2) months of award and contract.
1. Vendor shall have ability to provide intense tobacco cessation counseling, particularly for tobacco, to veteran participants throughout visn 4.
I. Coaches and counselors must possess appropriate levels of education, training, and demonstrable competency providing interventions in health behavior change.
2. Vendor shall have the ability to determine degree of nicotine dependence, and make recommendations about pharmacotherapy for tobacco cessation, which may include nicotine replacement therapy (nrt) as part of a comprehensive personalized quitting strategy.
I. For veterans deemed appropriate for nicotine replacement, the medical center will provide the medication by mailing the medication to the veteran s home address.
3. Vendor shall have extensive experience, as well as, strong evidence of high quit rates in telephone based tobacco cessation counseling and intervention that would indicate a high probability of success among visn 4 veteran participants.
I. Evidence of success should include computing similarly sized organization(s), counting all enrolled participants who enter counseling in the denominator, and those who report being totally tobacco free six months later as the numerator (also known as intent to treat), resulting in six month quit rates that approach 20%.
4. Vendor shall have a well developed approach and evidence of success in motivating tobacco users to make a quit attempt.
I. The contractor will provide on-going consultation to visn 4 with an assigned f&c client services manager (csm) regarding the most effective means of marketing and distribution of the program for veterans.
Ii. Contractor will provide one (1) tobacco cessation kit per veteran, which shall be the standard for the program. Each kit will contain a cessation manual, various quit aids, and a cover letter explaining the use of the program.
Iii. Contractor will provide to all veterans enrolled in the program a toll-free telephone access to registration personnel and tobacco treatment specialists employed by the contractor within standard times of availability.
5. Vendor must provide extensive documentation and reporting of tobacco cessation program activity including; but not limited to, tailored/customized financial reporting, invoicing, and performance measurements for each facility/hospital, and individual participant to measure the success of the program.
I. The contractor will document all encounters involving tobacco cessation counseling within 24 hours of each counseling intervention/contact.
Ii. Ability to track quit rates on an ongoing basis and provides frequent data to visn 4 during the program, at the end of counseling, and additional time points as requested.
Iii. Significant interactive discussion between the vendor s counselors and veterans are required.
Iv. Ability to report on level of each enrolled veteran s engagement in treatment.
6. All forms of electronic communication between contractor and visn 4 that include patient identifiers must be secure and encrypted in accordance with department of veterans affairs information system policies.
M) the contractor will provide a monthly contractor s participant activity report that includes the status of the veterans enrolled in the program for each of the 10 facilities in visn 4 which are entering into this contract. The contractor reserves the right to revise the format and content of the reports for its own business reasons.
The ten (10) facilities are:
1. Altoona va medical center
2907 pleasant valley boulevard
altoona, pa 16602
2. Butler va medical center
325 new castle road
butler, pa 16001
3. Clarksburg va medical center
one medical center drive
clarksburg, wv 26301
4. Coatesville va medical center
1400 black horse hill road
coatesville, pa 19320
5. Erie va medical center
135 east 38th street
erie, pa 16504
6. Lebanon va medical center
1700 south lincoln ave
lebanon, pa 17042
7. Philadelphia va medical center
3900 woodland ave.
Philadelphia, pa 19104
8. Va pittsburgh healthcare system
university drive
pittsburgh, pa 15240
9. Wilkes-barre va medical center
1111 e. End boulevard
wilkes-barre, pa 19711
10. Wilmington va medical center
1601 kirkwood highway
wilmington de 19805
n) the contractor shall provide all hardware, software, peripherals, communications lines, maintenance and equipment as mutually agreed by the parties and necessary to access the vista system. The contractor shall be responsible for installation and maintenance of the network infrastructure within the facility including, but not limited to, cabling located inside the walls of the structure. The contractor shall provide necessary antivirus software for pc s and ensure that data definition files are current. In addition, the contractor will ensure that all microsoft critical updates and patches are current. The contractor will provide connectivity to the internet via cable modem, dsl or t1 circuits and provide firewall security for this circuit. Connectivity to the va will be through a va vpn account utilizing contractor provided internet service provider (isp). The contractor shall be responsible for obtaining a one-va client vpn account and software to be provided at no charge by the va. The contractor shall be responsible for maintenance and on-going technical support for all local network hardware and communications lines installed in support of this contract. The contractor is responsible for all long distance phone charges related to the use of contractor installed data lines.
O) the contractor will be required to provide the specific requirements for all of the ten (10) listed items:
1. Ability to provide intense tobacco cessation counseling via the telephone to a large population of smokers.
2. Ability to initiate the program throughout the healthcare system by may 1st, 2015.
3. Capable of assessing degree of nicotine dependence and making recommendation about pharmacotherapy for tobacco cessation.
4. Extensive experience in tobacco cessation telephonic interventions that would indicate a high chance of success with patients, many of whom who have smoked for many years.
5. Evidence of prior success showing tobacco cessation six month quit rates that approach 20%. Evidence of this success should include counting all smokers who enter counseling in the denominator and those who report being totally tobacco free 1 year later as the numerator (also known as intent to treat). Evidence of success should be available in scientific publications based on randomized controlled trials by authors who conducted investigations with the vendor, such that there is high confidence that the rate of tobacco cessation claimed is accurate and conclusions about the success of the program is valid.
6. Track record of ability to work with a large, complex, geographically dispersed organization.
7. Counselors who have competency in providing counseling to economically disadvantaged populations and to a population with high prevalence of racial minorities.
8. A well developed approach and evidence of success in recruiting smokers to make a quit attempt with the assistance of telephonic counseling.
9. Willingness to document tobacco counseling in the va electronic medical record system.
10. Ability to track on an ongoing basis and provides frequent data to visn 4 regarding:
i. The quit rates for enrolled veterans during the program, at the end of counseling, and additional time points as requested. Significant interactive discussion between the vendor s counselors and veterans are required. This discussion means the veteran and counselor will spend time discussing the veterans past attempts to quit, current motivations to quit, current belief that he/she can quit successfully. The counselor will provide personalized advice to the veteran toward assisting them in quitting tobacco permanently.
Ii. Level of each veteran s engagement in treatment.
3. Approval of contractor personnel: the va reserves the right to refuse employment under this contract or require dismissal from contract work of any contractor employee or subcontractor employee who, by reason of previous unsatisfactory performance for the va or for any other valid reason, is considered by the contracting officer to be objectionable, as long as thirty (30) days written notification of unsatisfactory performance has been provided to the contractor; and the problem has not been cured in the thirty (30) day period.
4. Non-solicitation: neither the contractor nor any employee, agent, or subcontractor of the contractor shall solicit or attempt to convince or otherwise persuade any patient not to participate or to discontinue participation in the services provided under this contract.
5. The joint commission and other special requirements:
a) the contractor will be responsible to ensure that contractor employees providing work on this contract are fully trained and completely competent to perform the required work.
B) although this contract does not require joint commission accreditation or other regulatory requirements regarding worker competency, the contractor must perform the required work in accordance with joint commission standards. The contractor is required to maintain records that document competence/performance level of contractor employees working on this contract in accordance with joint commission and other accepted regulatory body requirements. The contractor is required to develop and maintain the following documents for each contractor employee working on the contract who provides patient care services: credentials and qualifications for the job; a written job description; a current competence assessment checklist (an assessment of knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors required to perform a job correctly and skillfully; includes knowledge and skills required to provide care for certain patient populations, as appropriate); a current performance evaluation supporting ability of the contractor employee to successfully perform the work required in this solicitation; and listing of relevant continuing education for the last two years. The contractor will provide copies of the above-described records at the time of contract award to the contracting officer, or upon request, for each contractor employee working on the contract.
C) contractor employees will attend a program specific orientation conference call before the commencement of work. This meeting will be coordinated by the cor and the contractor s designee. The va will conduct and document this meeting which will include discussion of the following area-specific topics:
1. Veterans health information systems & technology architecture (vista)
2. Enrollment of patients
3. Billing/invoices
4. Documentation
5. Confidentiality
d) the visn 4 cor will monitor the contractor employees work to ensure contract compliance on a monthly basis.
E) notwithstanding other contract requirements, upon request of the contracting officer following written notice and a cure period, the contractor will remove from the va program, any contractor employee who does not comply with orientation requirements or meet competency requirements for the work being performed.
F) when changes in contractor personnel occur, the contractor must provide the same documentation as required in paragraph b) above.
G) where the contract does not require joint commission accreditation or other regulatory body requirements, the contractor must perform the required work in accordance with joint commission standards. A copy of these standards may be obtained from the joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organizations, one renaissance blvd., oakbrook terrace, il 60181.
6. Health and human services (hhs)/office of inspector general (oig): to ensure that the individuals providing services under the contract have not engaged in fraud or abuse regarding sections 1128 and 1128a of the social security act regarding federal health care programs, the contractor is required to check the hhs - oig, list of excluded individuals/entities on the oig website www.hhs.gov/oig for each person providing services under this contract. Further, the contractor is required to certify in its proposal that all persons listed in the contractor s proposal have been compared against the oig list and are not listed. During the performance of this contract, the contractor is prohibited from using any individual or business listed on the list of excluded individuals/entities.
7. Protected health information (phi): contractor must adhere to the provisions of public law 104-191, health insurance portability and accountability act (hippa) of 1996 and the national standards to protect the privacy and security of protected health information.
8. Computerized patient record system:
a) the contractor is responsible for utilizing the computerized patient record system (cprs) in veterans health information systems and technology architecture (vista) at the va. Access and training will be provided. The contractor will be expected to fully use the system since cprs will be the sole means of patient record keeping. Record keeping should ensure compliance with applicable joint commission and va requirements to include data entry into cprs by attending physicians for documentation of medical records.
B) contractor will provide health care to patients seeking such care from or through va. As such, the contractor is considered part of the department health activity for purposes of the following statues and the va regulations implementing these statues: the privacy act, 5 u.s.c. AA

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