Q702--Automation Onsite Administrator for Omnicell

24 Page 1 of Page 1 of Page 1 of Page 1 of This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products and commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.202, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Products and Commercial Services, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ). The solicitation and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2026-01, Effective March 13, 2026. This solicitation is unrestricted by business size. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541519, and the PSC is Q702. The Government anticipates awarding a firm-fixed price service order from this solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Healthcare Administration, Regional Procurement Office West, Network Contracting Office 20, on behalf of the Puget Sound VA Health Care System, requires an automation on-site administrator for all Omnicell pharmacy automation equipment in accordance with the below Statement of Work. All interested companies shall provide the following: Price/Cost Schedule: Prism part are provided for reference:  Line Item   Quantity Total 1 Automation On-site Resident Administrator Service in accordance with the Statement of Work Base Year YR 1 2 Automation On-site Resident Administrator Service in accordance with the Statement of Work Option Year One YR 1 3 Automation On-site Resident Administrator Service in accordance with the Statement of Work Option Year Two YR 1 4 Automation On-site Resident Administrator Service in accordance with the Statement of Work Option Year Three YR 1 5 Automation On-site Resident Administrator Service in accordance with the Statement of Work Option Year Four YR 1 TOTAL Base Year Period of Performance to commence as soon after award as practicable, but not to exceed 14 days. Subsequent Option Years will have Periods of Performance that follow the Base Year. STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) Contract Title. Automation Onsite Administrator (Resident Expert) Background. The Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System (PSHCS) Seattle Division is transitioning its medication distribution from a paradigm whereby daily medications are sent from the central pharmacy to wards and clinics to a paradigm that has medications securely stored in patient care areas, making them immediately available for patients. This will improve care by reducing delays, eliminating medication losses/damage in the pneumatic tube system, increasing accountability, and improving safety by limiting access to only medications that are on each patient s profile. Success of this model of medication distribution is entirely dependent on daily adjustments to cabinet drawer configurations and inventory to assure that needed medications are stocked and nurses can provide seamless care. To assure uninterrupted operation of the equipment (Omnicell brand) and make real time configuration changes, PSHCS requires an automated onsite administrator (AOA) with expert training in Omnicell equipment. The contract is essential to ensure that the new pharmacy automation and inventory management systems are programmed and stocked in alignment with VHA Directive 1195 High Alert Medications, VHA SOP 1108.21 Pharmacy Clinical Informatics, and VHA Directive 1108.07 General Pharmacy Service Requirements. Scope The scope of responsibilities for the AOA will include all tasks listed in paragraph 4 for all Omnicell products (hardware, operating systems, and software applications) in use at PSHCS, including both main campuses and all CBOC s. Services shall be performed at VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108. The contractor shall perform work between the hours of 08:00AM 05:00PM Monday Friday excluding Federal Holidays except by special arrangements with the facility s pharmacy manager. The contract shall be for (1) Base year plus 4 option years. Specific Tasks: Contractor Responsibilities. The contractor shall provide at a minimum one full time (40 hour week) AOA for VA Puget Sound to support optimization efforts, issues management, initial troubleshooting & break-fix, training, and user/system management. Will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the following services in a professional manner in accordance with industry standards: Supports Performance Center/Omnicell One engagement through collaboration with contractor-assigned field strategist and assist by implementing accepted optimization opportunities for all products. On an ongoing basis, prioritizes system configuration activities appropriately and in a timely manner to ensure equipment settings remain standardized to the needs of the government and aligned with the highest degree of patient safety over time. Regularly assists in the use of tools and processes, building reports to show equipment performance levels and objectives to help stay on target and meet contractual standards. Works with Omnicell resources to identify and help government implement efficiency opportunities including but not limited to inventory management, diversion risks, outdate avoidance, hardware changes, and operational usage improvements. Monitors and presents to primary site contact optimization metrics and adjusts cabinet and carousel inventory on hand based on metrics at least quarterly. Maintains subject matter expertise of Omnicell automation solutions. Suggests, arranges, and performs training on all products including training staff on new upgrade features. Establishes new user access to systems. Troubleshoots and completes minor break/fix issues like removing jams, swapping drawers, installing/deinstalling flex locks, upgrading and activating stored cabinets when needed etc. at all VA Puget Sound campuses including Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Coordinates all service resources while on duty, including ticketing system C4C. Assists in the development of internal dashboards for optimizing use of all products, to help identify and implement opportunities for improved inventory management, to help identify potential diversion risks which would be handed off to government s diversion team for researching, and assisting with educational material development by providing best practice recommendations which primary site contact could then use for education at its own discretion. Operates all equipment including assigning, unassigning, restocking, destocking, picking, cycle counting, expiring, cleaning, packaging, delivering etc. whenever called upon to support the pharmacy operation. Assists with implementation of new equipment and services and upgrading of all existing equipment. Government Responsibilities. Government shall appoint a COR responsible for certifying that the work done under the contract is performed to time and standard. Government retains sole responsibility for controlled substances (Schedule II V) handling, stocking, chain-of-custody, and accountability in accordance with agency policy and applicable law. Contractor will not handle controlled substances. Government is responsible for performing activities that must be performed by a licensed pharmacist under law or per VHA regulations. Government is responsible for providing the operational inputs, materials, and clinical oversight required to support delivered pharmacy support activities. 6. Performance Monitoring. COR will conduct routine inspections to measure accuracy and performance to ensure pharmacy automation is deployed properly. A daily performance report by contract personnel at close of business will be provided by and used to monitor performance. 7. VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy Language. A. GENERAL Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security. B. 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. C. 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. D. 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. E. 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. 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 $______ 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. F. 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; (2) Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training; (3) Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; 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. CONTRACTOR RULES OF BEHAVIOR This User Agreement contains rights and authorizations regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This User Agreement covers my access to all VA data whether electronic or hard copy ("Data"), VA information systems and resources ("Systems"), and VA sites ("Sites"). This User Agreement incorporates Rules of Behavior for using VA, and other information systems and resources under the contract. A. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ALL ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES UNDER THE CONTRACT: a. I understand and agree that I have no reasonable expectation of privacy in accessing or using any VA, or other Federal Government information systems. b. I consent to reviews and actions by the Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) staff designated and authorized by the VA Chief Information Officer (CIO) and to the VA OIG regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. These actions may include monitoring, recording, copying, inspecting, restricting access, blocking, tracking, and disclosing to all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel as directed by the VA CIO without my prior consent or notification. c. I consent to reviews and actions by authorized VA systems administrators and Information Security Officers solely for protection of the VA infrastructure, including, but not limited to monitoring, recording, auditing, inspecting, investigating, restricting access, blocking, tracking, disclosing to authorized personnel, or any other authorized actions by all authorized OI&T, VA, and law enforcement personnel. d. I understand and accept that unauthorized attempts or acts to access, upload, change, or delete information on Federal Government systems; modify Federal government systems; deny access to Federal government systems; accrue resources for unauthorized use on Federal government systems; or otherwise misuse Federal government systems or resources are prohibited. e. I understand that such unauthorized attempts or acts are subject to action that may result in criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. This includes penalties for violations of Federal laws including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. §1030 (fraud and related activity in connection with computers) and 18 U.S.C. §2701 (unlawful access to stored communications). f. I agree that OI&T staff, in the course of obtaining access to information or systems on my behalf for performance under the contract, may provide information about me including, but not limited to, appropriate unique personal identifiers such as date of birth and social security number to other system administrators, Information Security Officers (ISOs), or other authorized staff without further notifying me or obtaining additional written or verbal permission from me. g. I understand I must comply with VA s security and data privacy directives and handbooks. I understand that copies of those directives and handbooks can be obtained from the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). If the contractor believes the policies and guidance provided by the COTR is a material unilateral change to the contract, the contractor must elevate such concerns to the Contracting Officer for resolution. h. I will report suspected or identified information security/privacy incidents to the COTR and to the local ISO or Privacy Officer as appropriate. B. GENERAL RULES OF BEHAVIOR a. Rules of Behavior are part of a comprehensive program to provide complete information security. These rules establish standards of behavior in recognition of the fact that knowledgeable users are the foundation of a successful security program. Users must understand that taking personal responsibility for the security of their computer and the information it contains is an essential part of their job. b. The following rules apply to all VA contractors. I agree to: (1) Follow established procedures for requesting, accessing, and closing user accounts and access. I will not request or obtain access beyond what is normally granted to users or by what is outlined in the contract. (2) Use only systems, software, databases, and data which I am authorized to use, including any copyright restrictions. (3) I will not use other equipment (OE) (non-contractor owned) for the storage, transfer, or processing of VA sensitive information without a VA CIO approved waiver, unless it has been reviewed and approved by local management and is included in the language of the contract. If authorized to use OE IT equipment, I must ensure that the system meets all applicable 6500 Handbook requirements for OE. (4) Not use my position of trust and access rights to exploit system controls or access information for any reason other than in the performance of the contract. (5) Not attempt to override or disable security, technical, or management controls unless expressly permitted to do so as an explicit requirement under the contract or at the direction of the COTR or ISO. If I am allowed or required to have a local administrator account on a government-owned computer, that local administrative account does not confer me unrestricted access or use, nor the authority to bypass security or other controls except as expressly permitted by the VA CIO or CIO's designee. (6) Contractors use of systems, information, or sites is strictly limited to fulfill the terms of the contract. I understand no personal use is authorized. I will only use other Federal government information systems as expressly authorized by the terms of those systems. I accept that the restrictions under ethics regulations and criminal law still apply. (7) Grant access to systems and information only to those who have an official need to know. (8) Protect passwords from access by other individuals. (9) Create and change passwords in accordance with VA Handbook 6500 on systems and any devices protecting VA information as well as the rules of behavior and security settings for the particular system in question. (10) Protect information and systems from unauthorized disclosure, use, modification, or destruction. I will only use encryption that is FIPS 140-2 validated to safeguard VA sensitive information, both safeguarding VA sensitive information in storage and in transit regarding my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA. (11) Follow VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization to protect VA information. I will contact the COTR for policies and guidance on complying with this requirement and will follow the COTR's orders. (12) Ensure that the COTR has previously approved VA information for public dissemination, including e-mail communications outside of the VA as appropriate. I will not make any unauthorized disclosure of any VA sensitive information through the use of any means of communication including but not limited to e-mail, instant messaging, online chat, and web bulletin boards or logs. (13) Not host, set up, administer, or run an Internet server related to my access to and use of any information assets or resources associated with my performance of services under the contract terms with the VA unless explicitly authorized under the contract or in writing by the COTR. (14) Protect government property from theft, destruction, or misuse. I will follow VA directives and handbooks on handling Federal government IT equipment, information, and systems. I will not take VA sensitive information from the workplace without authorization from the COTR. (15) Only use anti-virus software, antispyware, and firewall/intrusion detection software authorized by VA. I will contact the COTR for policie...