Notice of Intent to Sole Source Solicitation Number: 36C77619Q0016 The Department of Veteran Affairs, Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) intends to solicit and negotiate directly with EBSCO Information Services, 30 Park Road, Suite 2; Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 for the procurement of Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) in support of the Office of Informatics and Information Governance (OIIG) program under the authority of 10 U.S.Code § 2304, Contracts: competition requirements, as implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b) and 13.501(a), Sole source acquisitions. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT: STATEMENT OF WORK CINAHL BIBLIOGRAPHIC AND FULL-TEXT DATABASE A. General Information 1.0 Introduction: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) an existing commercial off the shelf web-based database containing bibliographic and full-text journals information that will be made available throughout the VHA healthcare system. For the purpose of this solicitation, these products must include a comprehensive collection of indexed, abstracted and full-text journal information. This product s emphasis is on nursing and allied health care patient-oriented information, treatment guidelines, continuing education, and other related health education resources. VHA s goal is to ensure uniform availability of high quality nursing and allied health care professionals knowledge-based resources across the VHA system to improve clinical decision making. Performance Period: One-year award plus three Option Years 1.1 Objectives The desired goals of the nationwide provision of a commercial nursing and allied health care knowledge-based resources are as follows: 1.1.1 Providing access nationwide to standard knowledge-based nursing and allied health care information resource. 1.1.2 Initiating a nationwide, centralized purchase to capitalize on the economies of scale offered by vendors. 1.1.3 Negotiating one license/contract to decrease the current contracting and reviewing efforts that are required at the facility and/or VISN level and thereby avoid the costs and workload associated with multiple procurements. 1.1.4 Making this nursing and allied health care knowledge product available through CPRS (Computerized Patient Record System), the VA s Electronic Health Record, nationwide to ensure consistent access at the bedside for all VHA health professionals and staff. 2.0 Scope of Work: 2.0.1 The vendor will provide all sites on the VHA network with access to a single online, web-based product. Authentication will be through IP address validation on an enterprise basis, eliminating the need for users to enter identification, username and/or password. 2.0.2 An unrestricted number of simultaneous users are to have immediate access from any web-enabled computer within VHA. It is required that all authorized remote users with VPN access have access to the product. 2.0.3 Currently there are 152 VHA libraries providing remote access through Athens authentication service. Product must have technical capability to include Athens authentication for remote users. 2.1 Information Scope The product should include: 2.1.1 Knowledge-based information covering the journal literature in the field of nursing and allied health care. Must include indexing and abstracting plus full text access when possible. 2.1.2 Information that reflects current practice issues and supports clinical decision making. 2.1.3 Comprehensive information in a single product available for stand-alone purchase or license, independent of complementary or companion products offered by the vendor. 2.1.4 Related health care books, dissertations, and conference proceedings. 2.2 Information Quality 2.2.1 Information is accurate, authoritative, and relevant. 2.2.2 Authors and sources are well recognized subject experts in their fields. 2.2.3 Best practice , evidence-based information, or treatment practice guideline information is included. 2.2.4 Policies for determining validity and standards for inclusion of material are well described. 2.3 Usability 2.3.1 Navigation within the system is logical and is easy to use. 2.3.2 The product has user friendly help and direction aids. 2.4 Currency 2.4.1 Journals issues will be added at least monthly. 2.5 Access, content, support 2.5.1 Product is 508 compliant. (http://www.section508.gov/) 2.5.1.1 If product is not 508 compliant, vendor must describe measures being taken to bring product into compliance and date, within 12 months of contract award, that product will be 508 compliant. OR 2.5.1.2. If product is not 508 compliant and vendor must describe why no work is being done to make it 508 compliant. 2.5.2 Access to be granted through IP address validation on an enterprise basis, eliminating the need for users to enter identification, username and/or password. 2.5.3 An unrestricted number of simultaneous users are to have immediate access from any web-enabled computer throughout VHA. It is required that all authorized remote users (with VPN, dial-up, wireless, etc. access) have access to the product through any VA networked computer and/or CPRS. A username and/or password option must be offered for remote users if needed. 2.5.4 The product is compatible with most standard web browsers, which have cookies enabled. To insure privacy, the product uses session cookies rather than persistent cookies. 2.5.5 The product is compatible with the Windows environment. 2.5.6 All site content and support of the web site is the responsibility of the contractor. This includes tech support to VHA users nationwide. 2.5.7 System downtime is minimal and VA project manager is notified when such occurs. 2.5.8 Information is easily printed. 2.5.9 The product s licensing agreement must permit free use for educational purposes of all pictures and graphics. 2.5.10 Single point of contact for customer service issues is assigned to VA 2.5.12 Usage statistics are available to the system administrator on an enterprise level. 2.5.13 The product should be accessible via a variety of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) platforms including the Blackberry. 2.5.14 Graphics, pictures, and/or images that are searchable are highly desirable. 2.5.15 The contractor should offer training services. On an as requested basis, training session (web-based or live) will be set up to train VHA staff on use of the product. Specialized training sessions may be requested for VA library staff. 2.5.16 Availability of usage statistics at an IP level is highly desirable. 2.5.17 Information or text can be emailed among VHA colleagues. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Point of contact for this notice is Robert Blasko, who can be reached by email at
[email protected]. Contracting Office Address: Department of Veteran Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central 6150 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 300 Independence, Ohio 44131