Sources Sought Notice Number: IHS-SS-25-1503174
This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation or commitment by the Indian Health Service.
This notice is intended strictly for market research to determine the availability of Indian Small Businesses Economic Enterprise (ISBEE), Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE), or Other Small Businesses.
Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. The anticipated applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 621399, Office of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners - other relevant NAICS codes will be considered based on responses received and applicable Q201, Medical General Health Care PCS code – other relevant PCS Codes will be considered.
- BACKGROUND
Pharmacy services at the Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility (QNBMHCF) include inpatient and outpatient services to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and all other qualified individuals. Staff consists of 17 pharmacist positions, and 6 pharmacy technician positions.
2.1 OBJECTIVE
The care provided by the Contractor through its employees shall be as comprehensive as the Indian Health Service supplied facilities, equipment and support service permit. The Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel to provide Registered Pharmacist recruitment, credentialing and placement services to the QNBMHCF in the Great Plains Area. The service unit requires these services be provided in the time period stated.
- SCOPE
The Contractor shall furnish Registered Pharmacists for temporary duty assignments at the QNBMHF in Belcourt, North Dakota. Each Contract Pharmacist shall perform pharmacy services compatible with the facilities operating capacity and equipment. Contract pharmacists shall cover the range of pharmacy services typically provided in a rural civilian practice of similar size. Contract performance shall be according to the requirements contained in the statement of work.
The standards of medical practice and duties of the Contractor through its Registered Pharmacists shall be determined pursuant to the bylaws of the QNBMHCF applicable provisions of law, other rules and regulations of any and all governmental authorities relating to the licensure and regulation of physicians and hospital, and the standards and recommendations of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO). All contract Pharmacists shall be required to participate in a hospital-based quality improvement program that is consistent with current JCAHO and Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) requirements for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of quality and appropriateness of care.
The Contract Pharmacist shall provide pharmaceutical services to American Indian/Alaska Native patients at the QNBMHCF. The Contract Pharmacist shall serve as a member of a health care team providing care on a regular basis. The pharmacist will perform the duties in the outpatient department (clinic) and the hospital.
The Contract Pharmacist shall be able to read medication orders from a patient care form or hospital orders, check for completeness, appropriateness, and allergies. The pharmacist must assure all medications are written for are on the Service Unit formulary or have been approved to be dispensed by the Clinical Director. The pharmacist shall check for all drug-drug and food interactions.
In the clinic area, the Contract Pharmacist must be able to enter prescriptions using the ScriptPro and Pyxis computer software. The computer software will provide a label and medication information sheet for each prescription. The Contract Pharmacists must be able to accurately count and attach the prescription and auxiliary labels to the bottle and dispense the medications. The Contract Pharmacist must counsel the patients on their medications.
The Contract Pharmacist must be able to determine appropriateness of the medications. When a medication order is incomplete or inappropriate for medications to which the patient is allergic or for non-formulary medications, the Contract Pharmacist must clarify the order with the prescriber before filling the medication.
The Contract Pharmacist must be able to interact with other medical professionals within the clinic in order to solve problems which occur in the ordering and delivery of medications.
The Chief Pharmacist must be able to keep complete records as far as controlled medications. This would include documenting Schedule II medications in the long, signing out Schedule II medications for hospital and emergency room use. The Contract Pharmacist must be able to order and receive Schedule II medications using appropriate DEA forms.
In the inpatient pharmacy, the Contract Pharmacist must be able to check orders again the MAR to assure they were accurately prescribed. The Contract Pharmacist must be able to compound and accurately label IV additives from doctor’s orders. The Contract Pharmacist should be able to fill the unit dose cart. The Contract Pharmacist should be able to review the chart to assure medication dosages are appropriate, medication orders are appropriate for the condition, and allergies don’t exist to prevent use of the medications. The Contract Pharmacist should review all medication orders for drug-drug and food-drug interactions. The Contract Pharmacist should be able to access renal function by calculating from the patient’s height, weight, age and serum creatinine, the creatinine clearance. All medications need to be adjusted due to decrease in renal function and should be reported to the attention of the prescriber. The Contract Pharmacist must be able to counsel patients on discharge medications they prescribed.
- CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS/ AND PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS (IF APPLICABLE)
The Contractor shall perform the following tasks:
Special Contractor Responsibilities
The Contractor will be responsible to ensure the Contract Registered Pharmacist providing services under this contract are fully trained and completely competent to perform the required work.
The Contract is required to work in accordance with and maintain records which document the competence/performance level of the Contractor employee has working this contract in accordance with JCAHO, HCFA, and other regulatory body requirements.
The Service Unit Chief of Pharmacy will monitor the Contractor employee’s work to ensure contract compliance. Not withstanding other contract requirements, upon the request of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor will removed from the work site any Contractor employee who does not comply with orientation requirements or meet competency requirements for the work being performed.
The Contractor is required to develop and maintain the following documents for each Contract employee working on the contract: credentials and qualifications for the job. The Contractor will provide current copies of their licensure during the solicitation process.
Contract Registered Pharmacist Qualifications
A Contract Registered Pharmacist shall be a graduate of a school of pharmacy approved by a state accrediting agency.
A Contract Registered Pharmacist must have a current, unrestricted license from any of the 50 states.
Contract Registered Pharmacists shall meet the same qualification requirements as permanent IHS Registered Pharmacists before being allowed to perform pharmacist functions.
Contract Registered Pharmacists must not have any work or health restrictions which interfere with the performance of pharmacy services.
Contract Registered Pharmacists shall speak, understand, read and write English fluently and communicate with sufficient clarity to be understood by QNBMHCF personnel and the Native American community.
Contract Registered Pharmacists shall possess sufficient initiative, interpersonal relationship skills, social sensitivity such that he/she can relate constructively to patients from the Native American community.
Contract Registered Pharmacists shall maintain standards of personal hygiene and grooming such that his/her image as a Registered Pharmacist is compatible with the expectations of the Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service clinical staff and the Native American community.
Contractor must provide documentation of vaccination status which include a current vaccination for COVID-19, influenza, Measles and rubella. (per SGM21-04 SGM 21-04)
Verification of Licensure
To ensure the Registered Pharmacists providing services under this contract are properly licensed and the QNBMCHF is aware of any disciplinary actions taken again such pharmacists, the contractor shall:
- Verify through the appropriate state pharmacy licensing board that each pharmacist placed into the service unit holds a current, unrestricted and active pharmacy license which is in good standing.
- Inform the IHS of the status of all licenses for each Registered Pharmacist providing services under this contract to the QNBMHCF.
- Obtain at least two letters of reference from health care providers who have knowledge of the Contract employees current pharmacy practice skills.
- Provide all information regarding performance and disciplinary actions collected on pharmacists who would be placed under this contract to the service unit Chief of Pharmacy.
- Certify all information on Contract Registered Pharmacists has been reviewed and verified by the Contractor. This certification must include a statement that the Contractor has found no reason to reject the pharmacist’s application. The names of the contacts, their titles, telephone number, dates of contact and the name of the Contractor’s representative collecting and reviewing such information must be recorded in writing and made available to the QNBMHCF by the Contractor.
The Contract resulting from this solicitation shall:
- Be non-personal health care services contract under which the Contractor is an independent contract.
- Allow the Government to evaluate the quality of professional and administrative services provided.
- Require the Contractor to indemnify the Government for any liability producing act or omission by the contractor, its employees and agents occurring during the contract performance.
- Require the Contractor to maintain liability insurance, in coverage amount acceptable to the Contracting Officer, which is not less than the amount normally prevailing within the local community for the medical specialty concerned.
- Require the Contractor to assume sole and exclusive responsibility for employee federal taxes, social security, unemployment insurance and workman’s compensation.
- Require the Contractor to provide daily compensation and travel reimbursement to each employee as appropriate.
- Require current and unrestricted license in any state in one of the 50 United States. Unrestricted to include probationary status.
- TYPE OF ORDER
This is a firm fixed price purchase order, non-personal service
- PLACE OF PERFORMANCE
At the Quentin N Burdick Memorial Healthcare Facility 1300 Hospital Loop Belcourt North Dakota 58316
- REPORT(S)/DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE
Hours of Operation: Hours of operation are 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Work shifts will be scheduled as needed based on staffing needs and shall not exceed 40 hours per week. The typical work week will be 40 hours/week Monday through Friday. Work shifts will normally be eight (8) hour days, with a 30 minute lunch. Alternate shift of ten (10) hour days, with a 30 minute lunch depending on need. Weekend coverage may also be required
Scheduled Absences: All scheduled absences shall be coordinated with the Prime contractor who will notify the Chief Pharmacist
Unscheduled Absences: Unscheduled absences are those absences not coordinated at least two weeks in advance. The contractor shall provide notice of an unscheduled absence as early as possible. Notification must be given within a minimum of 1 hour of start of shift (i.e., acute illness).
Notice to contractors:
All information and data related to this project that the contractor gathers or obtains shall be both protected from unauthorized release and considered the property of the government. The contracting officer will be the sole authorized official to release verbally or in writing, any data, the draft deliverables, the final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this project, must not be publicized without the written approval of the contracting officer.]
- PAYMENT
Payment for services
The Government reserves the right to accept or reject services if the level of work is unsatisfactory.
A task order will be used to pay for the services rendered. The payment shall be mutually agreed between the Contractor and the Contracting Officer or designated representative. The Contractor shall submit an original timesheet for review and verification to Nursing Services. The Contractor shall submit an original invoice to purchase order instructions.
4.3.1 Invoice information requirements:
1. Contractor/Vendor Name
2. Mailing Address
3. Telephone Number
4. TIN (Tax Identification Number)
5. Bank Routing Number (9 digits)
6. Checking or Savings Account Number
7. Purchase Order Number (in Block #3 of the OF-347 form)
8. Invoice Date and Number
9. Description of Services Provided, Quantity, Unit Issue, Unit Price, and Total Amount Due
10. UEI (Unique Entity ID) number
Please provide a copy of the invoice to:
Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Healthcare
Facility, Indian Health Service
P.O. 160
Belcourt, ND 58316
F. Closing Statement
Point of Contact: Jody Keplin, Purchasing Agent, at jody.keplin@ihs.gov
Submission Instructions:
Interested parties shall submit capability via email to Jody Keplin, at jody.keplin@ihs.gov . Must include Sources Sought Number IHS1503174 in the Subject line. The due date for receipt of statements is April 1, 2025, 3:00 p.m. Central Time.
All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered.
This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of IHS.
IHS does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, IHS may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ).
THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against IHS shall arise as a result of a response to this notice or IHS’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.
Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.
Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.
