R499--RFI for Private Medical Record Retrieval Services

The purpose of Amendment 0001 is to update the response by date for this RFI to July 11, 2025 at 3:00PM EST and to include additional information regarding vendor selections for product demonstrations. Please refer to the Section 3.3 Product Demonstration below for additional information. 1.0 INTRODUCTION THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) for the Private Medical Record (PMR) Retrieval Services. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only. There is no obligation for the Government to acquire any products or services described in this RFI. In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 15.201(E), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by VBA in developing its acquisition strategy and informing, refining, and finalizing the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Only electronic responses to this RFI will be accepted. The Government will not pay for any time expended or information submitted in response to this RFI. Eligibility in participating in a future acquisition does not depend upon a response to this RFI. 2.0 BACKGROUND The Veteran Benefits Administration of the Department of Veterans affairs has been Congressionally mandated Duty to Assist Veterans and claimants with obtaining Private Medical treatment Records (PMRs) to support a claim for benefits. Claimants initiate a request for assistance by submitting a VA Form 21-4142 and 21-4142a providing authorization to release information as well as information about the medical treatment provider. VA is not permitted to complete a claim until a response is received or 30 days have passed without a response. The VA is dedicated to minimizing the retrieval time to the greatest extent possible, with an ideal state being real time transactional retrieval of records such as those available through Health Information Exchanges. Common challenges to retrieval include incomplete or inaccurate information on 21-4142/4142a, providers not accepting electronic signatures, and provider non-responses. VA is seeking comprehensive information from qualified vendors regarding the capabilities, methodologies, and associated costs of their services. 3.0 INFORMATION SOUGHT The Government is seeking the following information to be provided by the vendors when responding to this RFI: Company Information Service Capabilities Compliance and Security Cost Structure Additional Information Product Demonstration 3.1 Company Information RFI respondents shall provide the following information: Company Name Company Address Company Point of Contact (name, address, telephone number, email address) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) NAICS Codes and business size for NAICS code 518210 - Identify if your company has any of the following business concern statuses (include all that apply): Small Business (SB); Certified Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) firm; Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB); Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB); Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB); Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB); Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB); Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HubZone) Small Business; Large Business Existing Multiple Award Contract (MAC) vehicles currently held by your company (examples may include General Service Administrations (GSA) schedules, Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDCs), Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs)) available for the Government use. For each MAC vehicle provide: vehicle name vehicle number date of award expiration date 3.2 Service Capabilities RFI respondents shall provide a response to each of the following bullets below. The bullets that do not apply or if an RFI respondent(s) cannot provide an answer to shall be addressed by marking these as N/A . Describe the scope of your medical record retrieval services, including the types of records you can retrieve. Outline the processes and technologies you use for retrieving, managing, and delivering medical records. Detail your turnaround times for record retrieval. Detail the annual volume of requests you receive Detail the annual responses you receive 3.3 Compliance and Security RFI respondents shall provide a response to each of the following bullets below. The bullets that do not apply or if an RFI respondent(s) cannot provide an answer to shall be addressed by marking these as N/A . Explain how your services comply with relevant healthcare regulations, including HIPAA. Provide details on your data security measures to ensure the privacy and protection of sensitive medical information. 3.4 Cost Structure RFI respondents shall provide a general overview of your pricing model, including any setup fees, per-record fees, or other costs associated with your services. 3.5 Additional Information RFI respondents shall provide a response to each of the following bullets below. The bullets that do not apply or if an RFI respondent(s) cannot provide an answer to shall be addressed by marking these as N/A . Describe your current market share of healthcare providers and facilities. What is your experience performing similar work for government agencies? What are strategies that you utilize to ensure completeness of information to obtain records? Any other information you believe would be relevant to our decision-making process. 3.6 Product Demonstrations Based on the review of the submitted capability statements, the VA will select approximately 10-12 vendors to conduct product demonstrations. These product demonstrations will be scheduled for the week of July 21st. The VA aims to encourage vendor participation and product demonstrations to the maximum extent practicable. However, due to limited resources and scheduling constraints, the government anticipates selecting approximately 10-12 to participate in demonstrations. The final number of selected vendors will be based on the government s assessment of the submitted capability statements, as well as the availability of personnel and other logistical considerations. Please ensure that your submission includes and provides sufficient detail as described above to allow the VA to evaluate your capability to perform the required services. Submission of a capability statement does not guarantee an invitation to demonstrate. The vendors that are selected will be notified directly by VA to the Company s Business Point of Contact listed in their capability statement. 4.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Points of contact for this RFI and response submissions to this RFI are due no later than July 11, 2025 3:00 pm Eastern Time and shall be submitted to contact@example.gov. The email subject line must contain the following: Response to RFI 36C10D25Q0100, PMR Amendment 0001 . Requests for extensions will not be granted at this time. VBA reserves the right to not reply to any emails, responses, questions, and materials submitted in response to the RFI. Mark your response as Proprietary Information if the information included is considered to be business sensitive and/or includes trade secrets. RFI responses shall not exceed 30 pages total. Responses shall be prepared in Microsoft Word with standard 8.5 x 11-inch page format (charts may be landscaped but must be on 8.5 x 11-inch page format) and shall be in Times New Roman, font size (12), with 1 margins. All page format of the response shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the RFI number. The email file size limitation shall be no more than 40MB.