Section3.4 Select

Section 3 Select—Soliciting Bids for EHR and HIE: RFI, RFB, RFP - 1

Soliciting Bids for EHR and HIE:

RFI, RFB, RFP

If you are selecting any health information technology (HIT), consider how you will solicit bids from vendors. Use this checklist to assess your solicitation needs. If applicable, use the RFP template to structure your request for vendors to send you proposals on the specific electronic health record (EHR), health information exchange (HIE) organization (HIO), or otherHIT you are interested in acquiring.

Time needed: 40 - 60 hours
Suggested other tools: Section 3.1 Vendor Selection Code of Conduct, Section 3.3EHR and HIE Vendor Selection and Understanding the Marketplace, Section 2.9 Requirements Analysis and Prioritization for EHR and HIE

Introduction

The formality of your solicitation for a bid for products and services will vary depending upon what you are acquiring. Approaches to acquiring hardware and software, from the informal to the formal, include:

  1. Request for information (RFI). This may be as informal as a call to a vendor to send you a price quote for a specific product or service, or it may be a written request stating briefly who you are and what you are looking for. In the past, the RFI was a formal request for specifications on various products in which you are interested. Because of the widespread availability of this information on the Web, RFIs no longer are used for this purpose. Instead, they are a less formal approach to obtaining attention from a salesperson and a formal quote or other materials you need have to sign up for what you are buying. You will most likely use the RFI approach:
  2. If you are an independent home health agency seeking to buy or lease input devices and other hardware.
  3. To initiate participation discussions with the singleHIO in your community.
  4. To request a proposal from a consultant to assist with computer hosting, IT services, HIT vendor selection assistance, implementation support, or other consulting help.
  1. Request for bid (RFB). This is a written request for product information or information on services that the vendor can provide based upon your key requirements. Your resource for preparing the RFB should be your (see Section 2.9 Requirements Analysis and Prioritization for EHR and HIE). You will want to supply the vendor with information on the nature and size of your business, number of nurses in the field, which HIOs you may connect with, etc. The vendor needs information on your capacity requirements in order to prepare an appropriate price quote. You will most likely use this approach:
  2. If you are an independent home health agency seeking to acquire an EHR.
  3. To compare the capabilities of one or more HIOs in your area.
  1. Request for proposal (RFP). This is a formal, detailed document that describes all of your requirements and requests formal, structured proposals from vendors. Any government-sponsored provider is generally required to issue an RFP. A large Long-Term & Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) corporation will very likely issue an RFP. The RFP, however, is generally not needed for small, independent home health agencies seeking HIT bids. Many of the vendors to whom you would send an RFP are also relatively small and may not have the capacity to develop a formal response.

Request for Bid

Use the following template to describe the products and services you are seeking, including any unique requirements.

How to Use

1.Review the request for bid (RFB) template to determine if it contains information you wish to seek from the vendors—adding, changing, and deleting as necessary. Retain or modify any italicized examples.

2.Delete italicized notes that are intended as instructions only.

3.Complete the Cover Page and Section A prior to sending to vendors.

4.Refer to other tools in the HIT Toolkit Select section to conduct your due diligence in reviewing vendor bids.

Date:
Re: Request for Bids for Insert Description of Product, e.g., home health agency EHR, HIO, other HIT
Due Date for Response: Designate a date by which you would like a bid returned.

To: Obtain name of regional sales manager and address in your area.

From: Include the name, address, phone number, and email address of the individual in your organization who will be responsible for all communications with vendors.

Additional Instructions for Responding to this RFB:

Include directions concerning limitations on contacting organization, number of copies of responses to be supplied via paper and/or preference for electronic submission, instructions for vendors to request additional information, etc.

Background and Information

1. Overview of Organization – briefly describe:

  • Number of clients per year:
  • Number of staff:

2. Special characteristics of organization (e.g., home health agency with hospice)

3. Overview of Current IT Environment

  • Extent networked – locally/to other sites:
  • Wireless capability:
  • Internet Service Provider:
  • Web site URL:

4. Current Application Profile

Major Applications Impacted by this RFB / Vendor/Version / Under Consideration for Replacement (Yes/No) / Interface Required (Yes/No)

Request for Bid

Vendor Information

1.Vendor primary contact

  • Name:
  • Title:
  • Office/location address:
  • Email address:
  • Organization’s Internet home page:

2.Identify the location of the following if different from above:

  • Corporate headquarters:
  • Field support offices:

3.Briefly describe your company in terms of number of staff, proportion of staff devoted to sales and marketing vs. implementation vs. research and development, how long the company has been in business, and alliances and partnerships (e.g., do you partner with another vendor to supply e-prescribing, drug knowledge data, report writing tools, HIE, etc.).

Product Information

1.Describe the major version history for the product being sought through this RFB, including the release proposed for this organization and any other planned new releases.

2.How are enhancement and new release priorities determined? How are clients supported during these releases? How much system downtime is required during these upgrades?

3.In how many organizations similar in size to our organization did you install the system you are proposing during the last fiscal year?

References

1.Provide references for at least three similar organizations.

2.Supply information about (and invitation for, if applicable) the next user group meeting you are holding.

Product Requirements

Provide the following information. You may complete the table below or provide the information in another format. Add any additional specifications that are unique to your product and are not listed.

Requirements for EHR/HIE / Available?
(Y/N) / Description/Notes
Functional Requirements – in addition to the typical requirements in an EHR/HIE, describe whether your product provides:
  1. Health risk behaviors in family

  1. Search narrative notes

  1. Prohibit order entry by role

  1. Enforces use of Omaha System

  1. Lab results from all external sources

  1. Exchange of home health plan of care

Technical Requirements
  1. Supports DIRECT protocol for email

  1. Interface with ABC billing system

  1. U.S.-based cloud computing

Operational Requirements
  1. Updates patient consent information based on push from HIE

Transitional Requirements
  1. Template for pre-load of key data

  1. Incorporation of scanned documents

  1. On-site training

Copyright © 2014, Margret\A Consulting, LLC. Used with permission of author.

Price Proposal

Provide—in a separate response—a pricing proposal for the software, implementation, interfaces, and hardware as described in our profile. In the pricing proposal, specify how your products are priced. If you do not supply certain capabilities or technologies, acknowledge these and specify any recommendations.

Copyright © 2013 Updated 03-12-14

Section 3 Select—Soliciting Bids for EHR and HIE: RFI, RFB, RFP - 1