Radiology Interpretation Services

Sources Sought: Radiology Interpretation Services to be provided at the Woodrow Wilson Keeble Memorial Health Care Center (WWKMHCC), Sisseton, SD.

Sources Sought Notice Number: IHS-SS-25-1504317

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 Economic Enterprises (IEE).

Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a Buy Indian set-aside is possible. The anticipated applicable NAICS code for this acquisition is 621111 – Office of Physicians.

1.0 BACKGROUND

The IHS is an agency within the Department of Health & Human Services and is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Indian Health Service provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 567 federally recognized tribes, in 35 states. The Indian Health Service Headquarters is located in Rockville, MD and then divided into twelve (12) physical areas:  Alaska, Albuquerque, Bemidji, Billings, California, Great Plains, Nashville, Navajo, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Portland, and Tucson.

The Great Plains Area Office (GPAO) works in conjunction with 19 Indian Health Service Units and Tribal Managed Service Units to provide health care to approximately 130,000 Native American located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.

WWKMHCC falls under the GPAO and provides medical care to approximately 7,000 tribal members living on the Lake Traverse Reservation. Serving a rural area, many of our patients travel 100 miles round trip to receive care. The Service Unit was built in 2007 to provide an expanded level of outpatient health care services specifically designed to meet the needs of our population. Services include:  Behavioral Health, Community Health, Dental, Laboratory, Nutrition Services, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Public Health Nursing, Purchased & Referred Care Services, and Radiology.

2.0 OBJECTIVE

To provide interpretation of diagnostic imaging for WWKMHCC. The WWKMHCC requires contractor support from board certified radiologists for these services.

3.0 SCOPE

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

Services will be provided as detailed in the attached Statement of Work.

The Contract Radiologist shall:

1. Provide interpretations of all standard radiologic examinations performed at WWKMHCC by qualified technologists. The Contractor shall assume professional responsibility for assisting the Radiology Department at WWKMHCC in meeting and maintaining American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT, and Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) accreditation standards.
2. Provide interpretation of ultrasound studies performed by Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) accredited technologists or equivalent.
3. Provide interpretation of mammography exams. This will include CAD and tomography mammography exams. The Contract Radiologist must be certified by the American College of Radiology Mammography Accreditation Program.
4. Provide a Lead Interpreting Physician to review and approve mammography images and who will be responsible for ensuring that all MQSA-required activities are carried out.
5. Provide setup, technical support, and quality control for equipment associated with teleradiology provided by the contractor.
6. Transcribe reports directly into the Indian Health Service’s Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS)/Electronic Health Record (EHR) computer system. The contractor will need to complete all the appropriate documentation (with the assistance of appropriate IHS staff) and fulfill training requirements to be complaint such as: annual Information System Security Awareness (ISSA) training, HIPAA training, and Privacy Act Training. In the event that RPMS/EHR computer system is inaccessible to the contractor, the method of transmission to submit reports will be via fax transmission to the WWKMHCC radiology department who in turn, will enter the information into the RPMS/EHR computer system.
7. Provide consultation to the WWKMHCC radiology technologists concerning quality of x-ray studies submitted for interpretation. If necessary, the contractor shall assist the technologists in developing and improving quality standards, and monitor repeat rates as required by accreditation standards for diagnostic radiology services.
8. During normal working hours, the contract radiologist shall serve as the consultant for the radiology services provided at the WWKMHCC and participate in a peer review process.
9. Ensure AAAHC accreditation standards are in use during the life of this contract:
10. Shall review and revise, if necessary, the written process improvement plan relating to radiology services. The process improvement plan is designed to objectively and systematically monitor and evaluate the quality and appropriateness of patient care, pursue opportunities to improve patient care and resolve problems. The contractor shall be responsible for the implementation of this plan.

4.0 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS/ AND PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS

PHYSICIAN QUALIFICATIONS: Each Contract Radiologist must meet the following licensure, certification, educational, and experience requirements:

1. Board certification from the American Board of Radiology or has comparable qualifications.
2. Meet the criteria for medical staff membership including:
   1. Current and unrestricted medical license from any of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.
   2. Diploma indicating completion of an approved medical school program.
   3. Completion of an approved medical residency training program in Radiology. If applicable, a copy of the Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduate Certificate (ECFMG) or Fifth Pathway Certificate.
   4. Verification from the Contractor that the health status of the Radiologist is sufficient for the performance of radiology services under the contract. Evidence of a recent physical examination shall be acceptable.
3. Provide information on previously successful or currently pending challenges to any licensure or registration (state or district, DEA) or the voluntary relinquishment of such licensure or registration; voluntary or involuntary termination of medical staff membership, or voluntary or involuntary limitation, reduction, or loss of clinical privileges at another hospital; and current involvement with professional liability actions.
4. Evidence of medical liability coverage.
5. The contractor and any subcontractors must be physically practicing medicine in the United States. The Contractor shall furnish proof of a minimum of 4 peer review (over-reads) annually.

5.0 TYPE OF ORDER

The award for this service will be a firm fixed price non-personal service purchase order.

6.0 ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Period of Performance: November 1, 2025 – October 31, 2026, plus 4 optional years.

7.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Woodrow Wilson Keeble Memorial Health Care Center, Indian Health Service, 100 Lake Traverse Drive, Sisseton, SD.

8.0 REPORT(S)/DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

WORK SCHEDULE: Teleradiology services will be required 0800-1700 Monday through Friday to provide interpretations and reports on images sent via teleradiology to the Contractor for this purpose. The Contractor will interpret and assure that final interpretation results are accessible from the IHS radiology package within 24-48 hours.

After hour services will be considered anytime outside of Monday through Friday 0800-1700 and holidays. The Contractor is required to provide 24 hours, 7 days a week interpretations and verbal reports sixty (60) minutes or less for preliminary ultrasounds and thirty (30) minutes or less on preliminary x-rays sent by WWKMHCC via teleradiology to the Contractor for this purpose. It will be incumbent upon WWKMHCC to identify which images as to avoid confusion about which films are emergent and which are routine.

9.0 PAYMENT

The contractor shall submit bi-weekly invoices for services that is mutually agreed upon by the contractor and the COR through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP.gov).         

10.0 Capability Statement/Information:

Interested parties are expected to review this notice and attached statement of work to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm’s own risk. The following information shall be included in the capability statement:

1. A general overview of the respondent’s opinions about the difficulty and/or feasibility of the potential requirement, and any information regarding innovative ideas or concepts.

2. Information in sufficient detail of the respondent’s (a) current capability and capacity to perform the work; (b) prior completed events of similar nature/size; (c) organizational experience and management capability; and (d) examples of prior completed Government contracts and other related information.

3. The respondents’ UEI number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) Pursuant to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code: 621111 – Office of Physicians.

4. Any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the requirements of the potential acquisition.

5. The capability statement shall not exceed 10 single-sided pages (including all attachments, resumes, etc.) presented in single-space and using a 12-point font size minimum, in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), with 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper size, and 1 inch top, bottom, left and right margins.

6. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Statements should also include an indication of current certified small business status; this indication should be clearly marked on the first page of your capability statement (preferably placed under the eligible small business concern’s name and address). Responses will be reviewed only by IHS personnel and will be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

10.0 Closing Statement

Point of Contact: Andrea Whipple, Purchasing Agent, at Andrea.Whipple@ihs.gov   

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties shall submit capability via email to Andrea Whipple, Purchasing Agent, at Andrea.Whipple@ihs.gov. Must include Sources Sought Number IHS1504317 in the Subject line. The due date for receipt of statements is March 21, 2025, 1:00 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.