36C24923Q0295INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE ?.## The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 9, intends to award a sole-source, firm fixed contract for a FORUM Ophthalmic Software System Update Service to a small business, PROAIM AMERICAS, LLC., 16024 Manchester RD STE 200 Ellisville, MO 63011-2195 for the Memphis VA Health Care System, 1030 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. The contract is expected to be awarded under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b) Soliciting from a Single Source. A Justification for Single Source Awards for Other Than Full and Open Competition has been prepared. The anticipated award date is May 15, 2023. Period of Performance: Base Year: 05/15/2023 09/30/2023 NAICS code: 541510 SBA Size Standard: $34M PSC: DA10 Statement of Work FORUM Ophthalmic Software System Update Service Lt. Col. Luke Weathers Jr. Medical Center Memphis Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) The Contractor shall provide all labor, personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other items necessary to provide annual preventive maintenance and software support remotely and on site for the FORUM Ophthalmic Software System Update Service located at the Memphis VAMC and as defined in this Statement of Work (SOW). SCOPE This request is for an annual connectivity service plan with enterprise architecture customized for our digital radiographic imaging system design along with an upgrade to 35 of our current FORUM Server software from Win Server 2012r2, which is no longer supported by Microsoft, to the current version Win Server 2019. This includes the eye exam viewing application software Forum Viewer v4.2x and glaucoma workplace software applications. BACKGROUND The FORUM software is currently utilized for managing, archiving, and viewing ophthalmic images and data as an interface through which various ophthalmic devices store and/or forward to Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) imaging. FORUM, therefore, provides a centralized system for doctors to analyze all the above in one place. OBJECTIVE Upon purchase, Biomed personnel at the Memphis VAMC shall work with the Contractor to install the above items onto a Government provided virtual server. Biomed personnel, namely Cathy Wall, will have the authority and serve as technical person of contact for this project. The estimated Contractor personnel hours are 35 for this project. The contract project manager shall assist with the server migration from the existing server to the virtual one. The contract project manager shall ensure successful electronic health record integration and ophthalmic instrument connectivity. The contract project manager shall work remotely to accomplish the above tasks. Upon completion, the updated virtual server must run a current, supported version of Win Server 2019 and FORUM 4.2x, the migration from the previous server must successfully transfer all electronic health information, and any ophthalmic device currently connected to the previous server must be connected to the updated server and possess the ability to transfer any ophthalmic test to the updated server. The Contractor s quality/performance shall be based on the timely completion IAW period of performance and government acceptance. Period of Performance: May 15, 2023 -- September 30, 2023. Work Hours: Hours of business the office/equipment will be available for the contractor s access eg: Monday Friday 08:00 AM 4:00 PM CST (Prior communication with Biomed personnel required) Place of Performance: Memphis VAMC Lt. Col. Luke Weathers Jr. Medical Center 1030 Jefferson Avenue Memphis TN 38104-2193 The Certification and Accreditation (C&A) requirements do not apply, and security accreditation package is not required. GENERAL Contractors, Contractor personnel, Subcontractors, and Subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and Veterans Administration (VA) Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS a. A Contractor/Subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, Subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order. b. All Contractors, Subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for Contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures. c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness. d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the Contractor/Subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor e. The Contractor or Subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the Contractor or Subcontractor's employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the Contractor or Subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination. 1) Contractor will comply with VA Handbook 6500.6 that states they will ensure VA sensitive information will be protected 2) Contractor will report to Biomedical Service during regular business hours 8:00AM 4:30PM. After normal business hours, Contractor will check-in through Police between the hours of 4:30 PM 8:00 AM Monday thru Friday or anytime during weekends. 3) Taking of photographs/videos/recording of any kind is PROHIBITED on VA premises unless pertaining to work assignment, instructed or authorized by the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR). 4) Contractor will be escorted by VA employee in all areas where sensitive information is maintained. 5) Contractor will wear his or her approved identification badge at all times while on VA premises. Badge must be worn facing forward above the waist. 6) Taking of Photographs/Videos/Recordings/Images are Prohibited while on VA premises; Wearing of an approved ID badge facing forward above the waist at all times while on VA premises. 7) Contractor will provide the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) a copy of completion certificates of VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior at initiation of contract or before any installation of equipment or service calls. 8) Installation/Training included. 9) Training by Vendor: For training purposes, a dummy patient account will be used instead of an active patient s account. 3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE a. Information made available to the Contractor or Subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the Contractor/Subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the Contractor/Subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1). b. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the Contractors/Subcontractor s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the Contractor must ensure that VA s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on site inspections of Contractor and Subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements. c. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, Contractor/Subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the Contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a Contractor/Subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the Contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract. d. The Contractor/Subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract. e. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on Contractor/Subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the Contractor/Subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed. f. If VA determines that the Contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the Contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12. g. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship. h. The Contractor/Subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated. i. The Contractor/Subcontractor s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request. j. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the Contractor/Subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA s prior written approval. The Contractor/Subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response. k. Notwithstanding the provision above, the Contractor/Subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the Contractor/Subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response. l. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the Contractor/Subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR. 6.The following standard Items relate to records generated in executing this contract 1. Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C. Chapter 21, 29, 31 and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228. 2. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest. 3. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records. 4. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act. 5. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract. 6. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract. 7. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data. 8. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.]. 9. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its Contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules 10. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (Subcontractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under or relating to this contract. The Contractor (and any Subcontractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information. 7.SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION a. The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the Contractor/Subcontractor has access. b. To the extent known by the Contractor/Subcontractor, the Contractor/Subcontractor s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the Contractor/Subcontractor considers relevant. c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement. d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the Contractor/Subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The Contractor, its employees, and its Subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident. 8.LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the Contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the Contractor/Subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract. However, it is the policy of VA to forgo collection of liquidated damages in the event the Contractor provides payment of actual damages in an amount determined to be adequate by the agency. b. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a security incident as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination. c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following: (1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access); (2) Description of the event, including: (a) date of occurrence; (b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code; (3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected; (4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected; (5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text; (6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control; (7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons); (8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any; (9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals; (10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and (11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised. d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the Contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following: (1) Notification; (2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports; (3) Data breach analysis; (4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution; (5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and (6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs. 9.APPENDIX C TRAINING a. All Contractor employees and Subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems: (1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems; The Contractor will go to TMS website (www.tms.va.gov) to self -enroll for the following training. (2) Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior Training #10176. (3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA Privacy Training for Personnel without Access to VA Computer Systems or VA Sensitive Information VA20939 and; (4) successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.] b. The Contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required. c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete. (End of Statement of Work) THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement within seven calendar days after publication of this notice. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The Department of Veterans Affairs will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this notice of intent. Only written responses will be considered. All responses from responsible sources will be fully considered. As a result of analyzing responses to this notice of intent, the Government shall determine if a solicitation will be issued. Any prospective contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be eligible for award and must submit a current authorized distributor letter from the manufacturer. All Service-Disabled Veteran Owned and Veteran Owned Small Businesses must submit a self-certifying statement indicating compliance with the Limitation on Subcontracting criteria established in accordance with VAAR 852.219-77 . Interested parties are encouraged to furnish information by email only with RESPONSE TO INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE 36C24923Q0295 in the subject line. All documents submitted will not be returned. All interested parties shall submit clear and convincing documentation demonstrating their capabilities to satisfy the requirements listed above to Lara Hampton, Contract Specialist, by email at
[email protected] NO LATER THAN May 03, 2022 @ 2:00PM CST. The capability documentation should include general information and technical background describing in detail the prospective contractor's capabilities and experience that will demonstrate the ability to support these requirements.