After Hours Answering Services

MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITY AFTER HOURS, OFF-SITE, ON-CALL ANSWERING SERVICES SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (Not a Notice of Solicitation) This is a Sources Sought Synopsis. There is no solicitation available at this time. This Sources Sought Synopsis is published for Market Research purposes only. This market survey is conducted to identify potential sources capable of meeting the requirements for providing the Medical Treatment Facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH with after hours, off-site, on-call answering services. The Government plans a 3-year contract (Base Year with 2, 1-Year Options). A proposed draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) is attached to provide respondents with a better understanding of the needs of the Medical Treatment Facility. Firms responding to this announcement should indicate their size. If the firm is a small business, advise if the business is a small business, small disadvantaged business, woman-owned business, HUBZone small business, or service disabled veteran-owned small business. All businesses should also indicate if the firm is foreign-owned. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 561421. The Size Standard for a Small Business for that NAICS Code is $6.5M. All interested parties shall submit a capabilities package that explicitly demonstrates capabilities and expertise related to this effort. Past Performance information should be included. Foreign contractor participation is not permitted. The Government will neither award a contract solely on the basis of this synopsis nor will it reimburse the contractor for any costs associated with preparing or submitting a response to this notice. This synopsis does not constitute a Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), or an Invitation for Bid (IFB), nor does this issuance restrict the Government's acquisition approach. The Government reserves the right to reject in whole or in part any industry input as a result of this announcement. The Government recognizes that proprietary data may be part of this effort. If so, clearly mark such restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. If the Government decides to award a contract for this or related effort, a Request for Quote will be published. DATE DUE: Packages must be received in the buying office not later than 12:00 EST, 9 Jun 2008. All questions must be submitted in writing to: Jan Holbrook, Contract Specialist Jan.holbrook@wpafb.af.mil (937) 522-4609 REQUEST FOR CAPABILITY PACKAGE: Request interested firms submit information as to its capability to perform the task set forth in the attached Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS). PACKAGE REQUIREMENTS: 1. Please provide the following information from your firm: a. Company Name b. Address c. Phone Number d. Fax Number e. E-mail f. Point-of-Contact Information g. Indication Business Type (i.e. Large Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, HUBZone Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, or a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business) 2. Respondents are requested to provide a brief description of their firm's capability and approach to accomplishing all tasks described in the draft PWS. Address briefly how your firm will perform this work. Include in your package Past Performance Information. Include the name of the company, a point-of-contact, a telephone number or email address, and contract number for no more than 3 current, relevant companies for which your firm has provided answering services. Limit responses to a total page limit of 20 pages. Each page shall be formatted for 8 " x 11" paper. Pages shall be single-spaced and one-sided. The font shall be Times New Roman and no smaller that 10pt with at least a one-inch margin. Covers, tab dividers, title pages, glossaries, and table of contents are not required. Please submit your responses electronically in a Microsoft Word compatible file. ATTACHMENT: DRAFT PROVIDER OFF-SITE ON CALL ANSWERING SERVICE PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT 1. PROGRAM GOAL: To provide all personnel, labor, materials, equipment, transportation, and services for providing after hours off-site, on call answering service for all privileged providers. 2. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES: Utilize trained Medical Telephone Secretaries to provide a timely telephone-based on call answering service. Following nationally recognized and physician approved clinical protocols and guidelines for symptom based calls, the service will record all incoming and outgoing calls (routine and emergency). The volume and demand for services varies by facility. The contractor shall be paid per call transaction. In the contractor's Statement of Work/Proposal, the contractor is required to submit a cost per On Call Answering Service Transaction. A transaction includes all steps necessary to receive the call, obtain required information over the telephone, dispatch providers, and report to the medical treatment facility as required. Only calls resulting in complete on call answering service are considered to be a transaction. For example, blocked or abandoned calls, wrong numbers, disconnections or informational calls do not count as a transaction. Specific facility estimates will be provided upon ordering service and will include: current eligible beneficiary population (Active Duty, TRICARE Prime enrollees, TRICARE Plus enrollees, and non-enrollees) that may use the service as well as historical workload estimates. 3. MILITARY PARAMETERS: a. The Contractor shall be compliant with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and regulations. All individuals performing services for the MTFs are required to complete the HIPAA Privacy Rule training and will be held accountable for complying with the MTF's specific health information privacy policies and procedures. b. The Contractor must provide a toll free telephone line/number to the requesting location so that they can forward their phone line to it after hours. The contractor shall be responsible for installation, maintenance and costs associated with their own telephone line. The contractor may not use an automated or voice response system. Callers should be able to speak with a person when calling the service. It is the responsibility of the contractor to have a back up system in place for equipment failures and staffing shortfalls. c. Hours of Operation/Federal Holidays. As a minimum, the after hours on-call answering service shall be available with personnel to answer calls. Monday through Friday, non-duty hours (usually 4:30pm-7:30am) and 24 hours a day on weekends and Federal holidays, military-designated family days specified training days or other announced down days. Services required of and performed by the contractor must continue during a crisis, declared by the National Command Authority or Overseas Combatant Commander, due to the nature of the work the contractor is providing. (1) The MTF will submit military-designated family or down days to the contractor at the time of task order proposal request or at least 14 days in advance of closure. For unplanned closures due to weather, natural disaster or other significant military contingency, the MTF will notify the contractor as early as possible. (2) The contractor shall provide services for the Federal holidays listed below: New Year's Day (observed 1 January) Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday (observed the third Monday in January) President's Day (observed the third Monday in February) Memorial Day (observed the last Monday in May) Independence Day (observed 4 July) Labor Day (observed the first Monday in September) Columbus Day (observed the second Monday in October) Veterans Day (observed 11 November) Thanksgiving Day (observed the fourth Thursday in November) Christmas Day (observed 25 December) d. Contractor personnel used to provide this service must have previous telephone answering service experience. They shall receive on-going medical terminology and customer service training. e. The contractor shall maintain medical error and omissions insurance as appropriate. f. The contractor shall provide the title and phone number for a point of contact to receive provider on-call schedules from the MTF and to use whenever a change is needed. 4. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS. The Government will be responsible for the development of an On-Call Provider Roster. An on-call roster for the following month for each MTF clinic will be given to the contractor by the 25th of each month. Required updates are expected and will be provided to the contractor as soon as possible. A provider on-call roster shall be made available 15 days prior to start of the contract. 5. ON CALL ANSWERING SERVICE SCRIPT The contractor personnel (operator) shall: a. use a predetermined personalized answering greeting when answering calls from MTF patients: "Thank you for calling the (MTF Medical Group) Answering Service." b. provide call-screening services using a recommended statement when answering the phone. If the caller feels this is an emergency (e.g. chest pain, severe bleeding, loss of consciousness), direct them to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. An emergency is defined as a sudden and unexpected medical condition or the worsening of a condition that threatens life, limb, or sight and requires immediate treatment. c. obtain required information from the caller: Name of caller, name and age of patient, phone number to reach the caller, provider or clinic to which patient is enrolled, and a short description of the reason for the call to relay to the on call provider. d. contact appropriate provider on call immediately, expect if patient request is for appointment times, prescription refills and test results. A recommended statement will be used if the patient is calling for an appointment, results of test or refill on prescription: "The on-call provider does not have access to the appointment system, computerized pharmacy or laboratory systems needed to fulfill your request. For this information you will need to call the clinic on the next duty day." e. call the provider listed on the on-call roster for the clinic stated by the patient and provide the patient's information. All clinics request the provider's pager be called first. The Government will provide the pager number and code in order for the provider to respond to the dispatch. If no response is received in approximately 10 minutes, the provider's listed home or cell phone number shall be called. If there is no response (do not leave a message on phone recorder), call the next person on the call list and repeat the above procedure. When the provider calls the operator, the operator shall provide them with the information given by caller/patient. 6. PRODUCTIVITY MONITORING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE REQUIREMENTS: In order for a proposal to be properly evaluated, contractors must provide adequate documentation and explanation of their proposed plan and strategy in their Statement of Work for productivity requirements, technologic considerations for patient privacy and protection of PHI data. Offerors need to provide a price per call transaction as well as internal controls for the following monitoring and quality assurance activities: a. The contractor shall answer patient calls in the order they are received within 2 minutes of call placement. b. The contractor shall submit a written monthly productivity report to the MTF designee no later than the 10th working day of each month. The monthly report shall include comprehensive analyses of all activity. For example: Total Number of Calls Received The Service Requested By the Caller Total Minutes until Call is Resolved c. Operator's time is the accumulated time an operator is on incoming and outgoing calls. One (1) call is defined as an incoming call from a patient or physician for which an operator records or provides message information. One dispatch (page) is included in the cost of an incoming call from a patient. Any additional dispatches needed because of non-response to the original dispatch will be considered a call. d. The contractor shall have internal controls in place for quality assurance and will be required to provide a quality control program to the MTF. The contractor shall provide routine customer quality assurance checks. e. The contractor shall be allowed 1 verified discrepancy or 4 verified minor discrepancies per month. (1) Major discrepancy: a) Failure to contact on call provider after call from patient or failure to contact back up on call provider if no response from first provider. (no messages left on provider voice mail); b) Violation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and regulations. (2) Minor discrepancy: a) Delay in implementing back up system for staffing shortfalls or equipment failures; b) Patient complaint of rudeness by answering service staff; c) Answering service does not obtain accurate information from caller to relay to provider on call (i.e. correct phone number, name, nature of concern). DRAFT