Notice of Intent to Sole Source – Press Ganey Associates, Inc.

The contract is a sole-source procurement awarded to Press Ganey Associates, Inc. by the NIH Clinical Center, covering patient experience surveying services over one base year plus four one-year option periods from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030. The services enable the NIH Clinical Center to conduct ongoing collection, management, and benchmarking of patient experience data essential for maintaining hospital accreditations such as those from the Joint Commission and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program. Press Ganey is uniquely qualified to provide a comprehensive web-based platform that integrates HCAHPS-approved patient surveys, RN satisfaction and engagement assessments, and nurse-sensitive clinical quality indicators, all critical to NIH’s accreditation and quality improvement objectives. The contract structure is effectively firm-fixed price, with an annual amount of approximately $63,163.92, encompassing the full suite of surveying, reporting, advisory support, and 24/7 system access services. Performance encompasses administering validated, multilingual surveys to patients, family members, and referring physicians across inpatient, outpatient, behavioral health, pediatric, and telehealth settings, ensuring compliance with federal privacy laws (e.g., HIPAA, FISMA) and federal acquisition regulations. Deliverables include monthly and quarterly reports, real-time survey data access, “Hot Comment” alerts within two business days, and final data delivery in XML format upon contract completion. The contractor must maintain data security, ensure continuity of accreditation-related data metrics, and provide ongoing advisory and educational support to foster quality improvements. All services must comply with stringent national standards for patient experience measurement and support the NIH Clinical Center’s continuous accreditation with major healthcare quality organizations. The sole-source justification cites operational continuity, proprietary platform integration, and vendor uniqueness as reasons not to conduct market research, with costs deemed reasonable based on prior pricing. The contract is managed under simplified acquisition procedures with point of contact and administrative oversight centralized at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.