[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63424-63437]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25408]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Announcement of Competition Under the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2011: Veterans Medical Appointment Scheduling 
System

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

Action:  Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: To encourage development of systems that help Veterans 
schedule appointments to receive care from the Veterans Health 
Administration and to reduce risks in the future procurement and 
deployment of those systems, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) 
announces a prize contest under Section 105 of the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2011, Public Law 111-358 (2011), 15 USC 3719 
(the ``Act'').

DATES: Entries will be accepted until 10:59 p.m. EDT on March 1, 2013. 
Winners will be announced on or about 90 days after the entry deadline.

ADDRESSES: The official contest Web site is http://vascheduling.challenge.gov. Contestants must register via the official 
contest Web site as provided in Section 4 of the Rules set forth in 
this notice. Entries must be submitted electronically as specified in 
Section 5 of the Rules.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:  Michael A. Moore, Special Assistant to Chief 
Technology Officer, Office of the Secretary, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420; (202) 461-5764. 
(This is not a toll-free number.) Also, see Section 11, below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    VA uses the Medical Scheduling Package (MSP), a component in its 
VistA electronic health record (EHR) system, to perform multiple 
interrelated functions to bring patients, clinicians and other 
resources together so care can be delivered. The MSP also captures data 
which allows VA to measure, manage and improve access to care, quality 
of care, operating efficiency and operating and capital resources.
    VA's current MSP is more than 25 years old. It does not meet 
current

[[Page 63425]]

requirements and does not provide the flexibility to support new and 
emerging models of care. VA will be replacing the MSP.
    Using the authority of the Act and this contest, VA will obtain 
information that will allow it to understand various risks and thus 
reduce risks inherent in the procurement and deployment of highly 
complex mission critical software which integrates with VA's VistA 
system.

VA's Health Delivery System

    VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operates one of the 
largest integrated health delivery systems in the United States, 
delivering comprehensive care to approximately six million Veterans 
through a network of health care facilities owned and staffed by VA, 
academic medical affiliates and other contracted providers, contracted 
networks, and episodic fee-for-service purchases. Veterans scheduled 
approximately 80 million outpatient clinical visits--more than 300,000 
each working day in FY 2011.
    VA delivers care through 21 Veterans Integrated Services Networks 
(VISNs) which administer:
     152 hospitals, sometimes known as VA Medical Centers or 
VAMCs,
     971 outpatient clinics--most of which are extensions of a 
parent hospital, and
     133 community living centers which deliver skilled nursing 
and extended care.
    VHA sites of care are distributed across the United States and 
Puerto Rico with additional clinics in Guam and the Philippines. 
Veterans are administratively aligned with the hospital of their choice 
but may receive care through any hospital.
    VA's care delivery model is centered in the Patient Aligned Care 
Team (PACT), VA's implementation of the Patient Centered Medical Home.
     PACTs consist of multidisciplinary clinical and support 
staff that deliver all primary care and coordinate the remainder of 
patients' needs, including specialty care.
     Veterans assigned to a PACT may schedule appointments with 
any member of the team.
     Routine appointments with specialists are often scheduled 
based on a PACT referral; specialty care referrals can also come from 
clinicians providing inpatient care, the Emergency Department, 
community providers, or patients themselves.
     Veterans generally schedule their own follow-up 
appointments with specialists or specialty care services without the 
intervention of the PACT.
    Appointment scheduling is currently performed primarily via 
telephone, in person, or mail. The intervention of a VA employee is 
currently required to make appointments. VA needs to enable Veterans to 
schedule their own appointments electronically via online and mobile 
devices.
    VA also needs to schedule and coordinate care across internal and 
external administrative, or system, boundaries. As examples:
     Veterans may choose to live in different states at 
different times of the year and need to make appointments to receive 
care where they live when they need it.
     A clinician who can provide needed care for a Veteran may 
be located at a different hospital, in different VISN or at an external 
academic affiliate or contract medical group.
     A physician who will be examining a Veteran to determine 
nature and extent of a service-related disability may also be located 
at a different hospital, VISN, or be delivering examination services 
under contract.
     Telemedicine technologies can support care delivery by a 
clinician who is physically located at a different hospital or even in 
a different VISN than the physical location where the Veteran will 
receive the care.
     PACTS need to coordinate care with non-VA community 
providers when Veterans choose to receive care both inside and outside 
the VA system.
     Support services such as non-VA transportation services 
must be coordinated.
    VA currently relies on the MSP to perform non-scheduling functions 
including workload data capture and a broad range of workload and other 
management reports.

VA's Technical Infrastructure

    VA's current medical MSP is a component (application) of its VistA 
electronic health record (EHR) system.
    The MSP is tightly integrated with VistA; it reads data from more 
than 130 other VistA applications and has read/write functionality with 
more than 30 additional applications.
    VistA systems are localized at the hospital level and will remain 
so for at least the near-term future. Each hospital operates a separate 
instance of VistA. Portions of the VistA code are identical in each 
instance; different instances of VistA may have different interfaces 
between the MSP and other VistA applications.
    Any replacement product must not negatively impact any current 
applications that interface with the MSP or its data.

Replacing VA's Medical Scheduling Software

    VA intends to replace the current MSP with a scheduling product \1\ 
which is a standards-based, modular, extensible and scalable, certified 
as compliant and fully interoperable with the production version of 
VistA now held by the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent 
(OSEHRA), http://www.osehra.org/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ As used in this notice, ``product'' means either a discrete 
software module which is installed on VA servers or a software 
service.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The replacement product must effectively perform VA's scheduling-
centric and scheduling-related legacy business functions. It must also 
demonstrate it can meet non-functional requirements including 
integration with multiple instances of VistA.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The replacement product will, as a part of the overall VistA 
EHR, deliver privacy, security, data integrity, patient 
accessibility, interoperability and other services required by 
federal law, regulations and VA policy. Many of these services are 
delivered by other components of VistA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Role of This Contest in Replacement of VA's Medical Scheduling Software

    This contest will achieve two significant goals in replacement of 
VA's MSP.
     First, it will mitigate risks which VA has identified as 
contributing to the failure of previous attempts to replace the MSP.
     Second, it will encourage commercial software vendors to 
actively engage in development of solutions, by providing a basis on 
which VA can rate proposals in any subsequent procurement of a 
replacement for the MSP.
    Risk Mitigation. VA's previous attempts to replace the MSP module 
in VistA were not successful. Assessments of the reasons for these 
failures identified three critical risks that VA will mitigate via this 
contest:
     Market Research: One of the reasons VA was not successful 
was lack of sufficient knowledge about the actual capabilities of 
vendors to meet VA's business needs. Via this contest, VA will obtain 
valuable information about industry's current ability to meet VA's 
business needs via actual demonstration of product capabilities in a 
VA-defined test environment. Additionally, VA will be able to assess 
industry's ability to perform not just scheduling-centric functions 
offered by most robust scheduling products, but also scheduling-related 
workload-capture and data-reporting functions that are

[[Page 63426]]

unique to VA. This contest will also provide VA with valuable 
information about changes in business workflows that will be needed 
when a replacement product is deployed.
     Integration issues: Another reason why earlier attempts 
were not successful was VA's inability to effectively integrate 
replacement software with the VistA system. Since then, VA has elected 
to place VistA in the open source community and to prefer software 
products which are openly architected to integrate with VistA. Via this 
contest, VA will be able to assess industry's ability to technically 
integrate its products with Open Source VistA.
     Test environment: Analyses for the previous lack of 
success also found that VA was unable to effectively test replacement 
software to assure it met functional and technical requirements. To 
support this contest VA will develop and deploy a test environment, 
judge contest entries using that test environment, assess the 
effectiveness of the test environment, then use the results of that 
assessment to adjust the test environment as needed to support testing 
in a procurement of a deployable scheduling replacement product.
    Via this contest, VA will obtain the needed information in a lower-
risk-of-failure context than if directly procuring a deployable 
replacement product. VA believes the information it obtains via direct 
evaluation of entries in this contest will be superior in quality and 
can be obtained in significantly less time via this contest route than 
by custom development. VA also believes the aggregate cost of the 
contest is highly competitive with the cost of acquiring the same types 
of information via other arrangements. If industry is not able to 
demonstrate it can meet VA's needs then no prize will be awarded.
    Effect on Subsequent Procurement. VA anticipates that compatibility 
with Open Source VistA will be among the requirements in any subsequent 
procurement of a replacement for the MSP. Demonstration of open source 
compatibility in this contest may be taken into consideration in the 
rating of proposals in any subsequent procurement.

Contest Requirements and Rules

    1. Subject of the Contest. The goal of this contest is to encourage 
creation of systems that help Veterans make appointments to receive 
outpatient and ambulatory care \3\ from the Veterans Health 
Administration. VA also seeks to obtain information which will allow it 
to reduce the risks inherent in procurement and deployment of a 
replacement medical scheduling product.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Scheduling of inpatient, surgical, and extended nursing care 
is excluded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Numbers and Amounts of Prizes.
    a. VA will award monetary prizes of as much as $3 Million to as 
many as three entrants that deliver demonstration software or service 
which the judges determine delivers the required functionality and is 
compatible with Open Source VistA, as described in this notice.
    b. Judges will determine the number and amount of monetary prizes. 
Judges may determine that no prize will be awarded.
    c. VA may consider compatibility with Open Source VistA as 
demonstrated in this contest when considering proposals in any 
subsequent procurement of MSP-related product(s).
    3. Basis on which a winner will be selected. (See section 6 for 
judging procedures and point system.) Winners will be selected from 
entries that demonstrate \4\ to the satisfaction of the judges that 
they:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Winning products will be used for demonstration only and 
will not be deployed in VA facilities except for testing or 
demonstration purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    a. Perform as required by these rules while interfaced with VA-
provided VistA instances running on VA-provided virtual machines. 
Performance with other versions or instances of VistA will not be 
considered.
    b. Perform each of the scheduling-centric business functions 
defined by VA on Attachment A to this notice, including particularly:
    1. Automated scheduling of an appointment at any VA site from any 
location by a Veteran using online or mobile devices or by a VA 
employee acting as a scheduler,\5\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See, e.g., Attachment A, sections 1.4.1, 1.4.5, 2.7, 3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Where semi-automated scheduling is performed, use of a calendar-
view format presentation of available resource(s), with support for 
point-and-click scheduling when the calendar view shows needed 
resources to be available.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See, e.g., Attachment A, sections 1.2.5, 3, 3.5, 3.7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    c. Perform all or some of the designated Scheduling-Related/VA-
Specific business functions set forth on Attachment B to this notice, 
including functions related to workload capture, data analysis and 
reporting, operational and capital planning and travel reimbursement.
    d. Perform each of the non-functional requirements set forth on 
Attachment C to this notice.
    e. Do so using open APIs, including open source code for the 
interfaces between the product and VistA, and at the option of the 
entrant, using open source modules to support some or all of the 
product's additional functions. Note: Entries that consist of 
proprietary code are not precluded, so long as interfaces with VistA 
use open APIs and the software implementing the interfaces is made 
available as open source code.
    4. Registration for this Contest.
    a. Not later than 10:59 p.m. EST February 1, 2013, potential 
entrants must request registration for the contest by submitting a 
letter via the ``Submissions'' section of the official contest Web 
site, http://vascheduling.challenge.gov. The letter must be signed by 
the entrant if an individual or by a corporate officer if the entrant 
is a corporation. The letter must:
    1. Attest that the potential entrant is eligible to participate in 
this contest per the requirements of this notice and the Act,
    2. Attest that disqualifying factors for participation in the 
contest, as defined in this notice and the Act, do not exist,
    3. Contain a listing (which may be an attachment) of all owners of 
all intellectual property (IP) which the potential entrant will 
incorporate or use in its entry,
    4. Contain a listing (which may be an attachment) of all components 
of the entry that the potential entrant will designate as open source,
    5. Attest that the potential entrant is the owner or licensee of 
any and all intellectual property (IP) to be incorporated in the entry, 
and by virtue of such ownership or license has full right and authority 
to authorize, and does authorize VA (and any of VA's consultants, 
contractors or collaborating federal agencies) to reproduce, test, 
demonstrate and use such IP for any purpose related to this contest, 
including judging,
    6. Attest that the potential entrant:
    a. Is the owner or licensee of any and all IP in open source 
modules designated by the entrant to be incorporated in the entry;
    b. Has full right and authority to convey all rights set forth in 
an Apache 2.0 license \7\ in the designated open source modules; and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Text available at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    c. Will, if selected as a winner in this contest, apply the Apache 
2.0 license to the designated source modules and contribute the 
software to OSEHRA.

[[Page 63427]]

    7. Attest that the potential entrant agrees it is bound by all 
rules, assumes all risks, and has acquired or will acquire any 
insurance required by this notice.
    8. State whether the potential entry will be an installable 
software, software as a service (SaaS) or contain components of both, 
and whether the contestant intends to supply resources external to the 
virtual machines to be provided by VA to support or execute the 
contestant's entry (e.g., servers that support SaaS), and identifying 
those resources.
    9. State the name, business and email address and telephone number 
of the individual who is the designated contact for and who will 
receive all communications related to this contest.
    a. The letter, attachments, and any additional written materials 
must be submitted electronically in a format fully compatible with both 
Microsoft Word 2007 and Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.
    b. Letters which do not include each of the items stated in 
paragraph 4(a) and in the required formats will not be effective to 
register the potential entrant.
    c. At the option of the potential entrant, letters may be 
accompanied by additional written materials describing the potential 
entrant or the entry not exceeding ten 8\1/2\ by 11 inch pages in 
length. These materials will be in a format fully compatible with 
Microsoft Word 2007 or Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.
    d. Letters and all attachments are subject to file size limits of 
the official contest Web site.
    5. Procedures for Submitting Entries; Confidentiality of Entries.
    a. Potential entrants that submit a letter meeting the requirements 
set forth in Section 4, above, will be registered for this contest.
    1. Registered contestants will be sent an email at the address 
provided by the contestant. The email will contain instructions on how 
to access VA-supplied virtual machine space to integrate, configure, 
and test their solution prior to submission as an entry.
    2. Depending on the number of potential entrants that register for 
this contest and the ready availability of virtual machines, there may 
be a delay between submission of a letter requesting registration and 
an email accepting the letter. There may also be delay in actual 
availability of virtual machines. Potential entrants assume all risk of 
such delays and the possibility that any delay may leave them 
insufficient time before the entry deadline to fully integrate, 
configure and test their solution.
    b. Each contestant will be supplied with three virtual machines.
    1. Each machine will be loaded with a sample instance of VistA with 
sample data, each with a different patch level and each set to operate 
in a different time zone. This will permit configuration and testing of 
multiple-site scheduling functions.
    2. Two of the virtual machines will use the Red Hat Enterprise 
Linux 6.1 (64 bit) operating system. The third machine will use the 
Windows Server 2008 (32 bit) operating system.
    3. Contestants may begin installation and testing of their product 
immediately upon receipt of access to the virtual space.
    c. Contestants may provide resources in addition to the virtual 
machines provided by VA, e.g., servers which support SaaS.
    1. Integration of all external resources with the virtual machines 
provided by VA will be the sole responsibility of the contestant.
    2. All expenses related to any additional resources will be at the 
sole cost and expense of the contestant.
    d. VA will post Screening Use Cases in the ``Updates'' section on 
the contest Web site, http://vascheduling.challenge.gov. These Use 
Cases will be used in the evaluation of the functional and technical 
capabilities of entries.
    e. Each contestant will integrate their solution with the provided 
VistA instances, and will provide test plans and automated test scripts 
that demonstrate performance of the functional requirements on 
Attachments A, B, and C in the context of the Screening Use Cases.
    f. Test scripts must meet the following requirements:
    1. Scripts must be submitted as open source software, in accordance 
with the criteria posted on the contest Web site, including 
documentation and OSI-approved open source licenses, with the Apache 
2.0 license applied to all code. The submittal must include 
instructions for execution and a copy of results for comparison.
    2. Scripts must operate in the OSEHRA CTEST environment.
    3. Scripts must be repeatable, that is, they must include separated 
executable automated code that restores all data values to their 
previous state, allowing the test to be rerun with consistent results.
    4. If any changes are made to the provided VistA instances, those 
changes must also be submitted as open source code, compliant with the 
criteria posted on the contest Web site including documentation and 
OSI-approved open source licenses, with the Apache 2.0 license applied 
to all code. This includes the VistA-side components of any interface 
code, such as Applications Program Interfaces (APIs).
    5. Contestant must submit repeatable open source test scripts for 
all specified use cases in accordance with the instructions posted on 
the contest Web site, with instructions and results from their testing.
    g. Each registered contestant that wishes its or their product to 
be formally entered in the contest shall, not later than 10:59 p.m. EST 
March 1, 2013, submit a letter via the ``Submissions'' section of the 
official contest Web site, http://vascheduling.challenge.gov. The 
letter must be signed by the entrant if an individual or by a corporate 
officer if the entrant is a corporation. The letter must state:
    1. The registered contestant has completed installation of its or 
their product, test plans and automated test scripts on the virtual 
servers provided by VA, has completed testing to its or their 
satisfaction, and formally submits the contents of the virtual machines 
as their entry in the contest.
    2. The letter submitted by the registered contestant at the time of 
registration is incorporated by reference and the contents of that 
letter are in all respects ratified and confirmed. Provided, however, 
that contestants may at their option amend the contents of the 
following sections of the registration letter:
    a. Section 4(a)(3), relating to a listing of the owners of all IP 
incorporated into the contestant's entry;
    b. Section 4(a)(4), relating to the components of the entry which 
the contestant will designate as open source;
    c. Section 4(a)(8), relating to whether the entry is installable 
software, SaaS, or contains components of both and whether resources 
external to the VA-supplied virtual machines is or will be used by the 
contestant to support or execute contestant's entry.
    d. Section 4(a)(9), relating to contact information.
    e. Section 4(d), relating to optional descriptive materials.
    3. If resources external to the VA-supplied virtual machines is or 
will be used by a contestant to support or execute contestant's entry, 
the letter shall also state: ``[I/We] certify that from and after the 
submission of this letter until the announcement of the contest 
winners, no changes whatsoever will be made to any of the external 
software or resources [I/we] have designated to support or execute [my/
our] entry.''
    4. Registered contestants that do not submit a letter as required 
by this subsection will be deemed to have withdrawn from the contest 
and the

[[Page 63428]]

contents of virtual machines assigned to them will not be judged.
    5. Letters formally submitting entries for judging, along with all 
attachments, are subject to file size limits of the official contest 
Web site.
    h. All virtual machine environments will be frozen as of 10:59 p.m. 
EST March 1, 2013. If a registered contestant has submitted a letter as 
provided in section 5(g), then the contestant's entry in this contest 
will be deemed to be the code and other content installed on the 
virtual machines at the time the virtual machine environment is frozen, 
as well as the code and other contest installed on external resources 
if any, at that time.
    i. Submissions or entries will not be readily available to other 
entrants or to the public. These materials may, however, be disclosable 
as determined solely by VA pursuant to its obligation to comply with 
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552.
    6. Judging of Entries.
    a. Method. VA may use any technical means it determines suitable to 
evaluate any entry, award points and determine any winner in this 
contest. All or any part of the evaluation may be conducted by third 
parties under VA supervision. VA may use an entrant's submitted testing 
scripts, routines and software to perform all or part of any evaluation 
and judging. VA may, at its option, request an entrant to demonstrate 
its or their entry either in-person or via web-based technologies.
    b. Technical Evaluation. VA contemplates it will judge entries as 
follows.
    1. An entry will first be evaluated to determine Open Source VistA 
Compatibility, i.e.:
    a. Whether it is compatible with the three separate VistA instances 
on the VA-supplied virtual machines, and
    b. Whether the interfaces between the product and VistA are based 
on software code that either is or can become open source.
    VA contemplates substantial portions of this evaluation will be 
conducted by OSEHRA. Any entry that does not demonstrate Open Source 
VistA Compatibility to the satisfaction of the judges will be 
disqualified and will not be further considered for a prize.
    2. An entry which demonstrates Open Source VistA Compatibility will 
then be evaluated to determine whether it performs all Non-Functional 
requirements set forth on Attachment C. Any entry which does not 
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the judges that it can perform the 
Non-Functional Requirements on Attachment C will be disqualified and 
will not be further considered for a prize.
    3. Entries which demonstrate Open Source VistA Compatibility and 
also demonstrate they meet Non-functional Requirements will be deemed 
to be Technically Compatible.
    c. Functional Evaluation. VA will evaluate an entry that has 
demonstrated Technical Compatibility to determine whether it can 
perform the Scheduling-centric functions defined on Attachment A. An 
entry that does not demonstrate to the satisfaction of the judges that 
it can perform the Scheduling-centric functions defined on Attachment A 
will be disqualified and will not be further considered for a prize.
    d. VA-Specific Functions. An entry that demonstrates Technical 
Compatibility and also demonstrates it can perform all of the 
Scheduling-centric functions on Attachment A will then be evaluated to 
determine whether it can perform any of the Scheduling-related or VA-
specific functions defined on Attachment B.
    1. Judges will award the designated points for each function 
defined on Attachment B that they determine is performed by the entry.
    2. A maximum of 120 points can be awarded for performance of 
functions defined on Attachment B.
    e. Open Source Content. An entry that demonstrates Technical 
Compatibility and also demonstrates it can perform all of the 
Scheduling-centric functions on Attachment A will also be evaluated by 
the judges to determine the extent to which it uses software modules, 
as designated by the entrant, which are or will become open source.
    1. Interfaces between the product and VistA will not be considered 
in this phase of the judging, as they are a required component of Open 
Source Compatibility.
    2. Judges will evaluate the significance of the designated open 
source modules in delivering required functions. For example, judges 
may determine that modules that provide common platform services or 
business logic are more significant than modules that deliver the 
presentation layer.
    3. Judges may award a maximum of 30 points for significant open 
source modules incorporated in an entry.
    Points awarded by the judges will determine the winners of this 
contest.
    7. Eligibility. To be eligible to participate in this contest and 
win a prize:
    a. Entrants must register for this contest as set forth in Section 
4 and submit a letter formally entering their product in the contest as 
set forth in Section 5.
    b. If an individual, an entrant must be a citizen of or permanent 
resident of the United States. If an entity, an entrant must be 
incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
States.
    c. An entrant may not be a Federal entity or Federal employee 
acting in the scope of the employee's employment.
    d. Entrants shall be responsible for obtaining insurance they deem 
necessary to cover claims by any third party for death, bodily injury, 
or property damage or loss resulting from an activity carried out in 
connection with or participation in this contest.
    e. Entrants must have complied with all requirements of this notice 
and all requirements established by the Act.
    f. By registering for or submitting an entry in this contest, 
contestants and entrants agree to assume any and all risks and waive 
any claims against the Federal Government and its related entities 
(except in the case of willful misconduct) for any injury, death, 
damage, or loss of property, revenue or profits, whether direct, 
indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in this 
contest, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through 
negligence of otherwise. Provided, however, that by registering or 
submitting an entry, contestants and entrants do not waive claims 
against VA arising out of the unauthorized use or disclosure by the 
agency of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential 
information of the entrant.
    8. Intellectual Property (IP).
    a. VA is not responsible for a registered contestant's or entrant's 
lack of compliance with copyright, trademark, patent or other Federal 
law. Contestants and entrants will hold harmless, defend, and indemnify 
the Federal Government and any agency or component thereof from and 
against any suit, claim, demand, liability, damages, costs and expenses 
(including attorneys' fees and costs of defense), of whatever nature, 
whether groundless, false or fraudulent, arising out of any use, 
licensing or relicensing of any IP that is incorporated in the 
entrant's entry.
    b. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing and in 
explanation but not limitation of sections 4(a)(5) and 4(a)(6), 
contestants and entrants are responsible for obtaining all third-party 
licenses required to allow the VA and its contractors to receive any 
and all IP installed on any virtual machine, to run any and all testing 
software or scripts, and to demonstrate an entrant's product. Windows 
and Linux operating systems will be accepted; however contestants and 
entrants will need to obtain proper licenses for running any Windows in

[[Page 63429]]

any resource external to the VA-supplied virtual machines that is or 
will be used by the contestant to support or execute contestant's 
entry.
    c. The winner(s) of this contest will, in consideration of the 
prize to be awarded, apply the Apache 2.0 license to the designated 
open source modules (including the interfaces between winner's product 
and VistA) and contribute the modules to OSEHRA.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ http://www.osehra.org/page/osehra-code-repository.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    d. VA may in its sole and absolute discretion choose to negotiate 
with any entrant to acquire, license, use or convey any other 
intellectual property developed in connection with this contest.
    9. Judges and Judging Procedures.
    a. Subject to the requirements of 15 U.S.C. 3719(k), the VA 
Assistant Secretary for Information Technology, acting on behalf and 
with the authority of the Secretary of VA, will appoint one or more 
qualified individuals to act as judges of this contest and may appoint 
himself as a judge. Judges may include individuals from outside VA, 
including from the private sector. Judges will operate in a transparent 
manner.
    b. A judge may not have a personal or financial interest in, or be 
an employee, officer, director, or agent of any entity that is a 
registered entrant in this contest, and may not have a familial or 
financial relationship with an individual who is a registered entrant.
    c. Specific tasks related to the judging process may be delegated 
to VA employees or employees of a collaborating Federal agency. Third 
parties may perform judging tasks subject to supervision by VA or by a 
collaborating Federal agency.
    d. Judges shall have the authority to disregard any minor error in 
any entry that does not create any substantial benefit or detriment to 
any entrant.
    e. Judges shall have the authority to obtain from any entrant 
additional information, clarification of information, or assistance in 
resolving any technical issues relating to the installation, use, 
testing or evaluation of any entry, so long as no substantial benefit 
or detriment to any entrant occurs thereby.
    f. Decisions of the judges are final.
    10. Payment of Prizes.
    a. Prior to payment of any prize, an apparent winner must execute 
(at VA's option, under oath or affirmation) such documents as VA may 
reasonably require, including but not limited to:
    1. Declarations and certifications that relate to the apparent 
winner's eligibility to participate in this contest, the absence of any 
disqualifying factor, the assumption of risks and acquisition of any 
insurance required by the rules,
    2. The conveyance of any intellectual property required by the 
rules, and
    3. Any other matter that VA may reasonably require, including but 
not limited to information reasonably necessary for VA to make payment 
via electronic funds transfer and issue IRS Forms 1099 according to 
VA's fiscal policy.
    11. Procedures for obtaining additional information.
    a. During the period of the contest, potential contestants or 
entrants may submit questions or comments to VA using the 
``Discussions'' section on the official contest Web site, http://vascheduling.challenge.gov.
    b. VA may choose not to respond to any question or comment or to 
delete questions or comments that it determines are not relevant to the 
competition or which seek technical guidance. VA's responses on the 
``Discussion'' section of the contest Web site are not official 
guidance.
    c. VA may also provide information and official guidance related to 
this contest on the ``Updates'' section of the official contest Web 
site, http://vascheduling.challenge.gov. An entrant is bound by 
official guidance on the ``Updates'' section that is posted prior to 
formal submission of their entry.

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. John R. 
Gingrich, Chief of Staff, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this 
document on October 11, 2012, for publication.

    Dated: October 11, 2012.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director, Regulation Policy and Management, Office of the General 
Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.

        Attachment A--Scheduling--Centric Functional Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Owner requirement
      Business need  (BN)       Revised owner No.          (OWNR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 1: Manage National Medical                 1.1  The system shall have
 Scheduling Setup--The                              the capability to
 scheduling system shall                            provide integrated,
 provide the capability to                          electronic access to
 configure and manage business                      and from other VistA
 rules and standards at a                           applications.
 national level including
 establishing parameters for
 role-based user access and
 security and supporting a
 process to monitor and
 evaluate results of audit
 reports.
                                              1.2  Maintain and Modify
                                                    Scheduling
                                                    Configuration--The
                                                    system shall provide
                                                    the capability to
                                                    establish and
                                                    maintain national,
                                                    VISN, VAMC, clinic,
                                                    provider-level
                                                    configuration
                                                    standards.
                                                    Configuration shall
                                                    be enabled for
                                                    facility-level
                                                    within business
                                                    rules and
                                                    parameters.
                                            1.2.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide on-line
                                                    help.
                                            1.2.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    maintain an audit
                                                    trail of changes to
                                                    resource
                                                    configuration.
                                            1.2.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    create, modify, and
                                                    delete configurable
                                                    business rules that
                                                    are used in the
                                                    scheduling process.
                                            1.2.4  The system shall
                                                    provide the
                                                    capability to
                                                    configure resources
                                                    at the National,
                                                    VISN, facility,
                                                    clinic and provider
                                                    levels.

[[Page 63430]]

 
                                            1.2.5  The system shall
                                                    provide
                                                    synchronization with
                                                    individual (patient
                                                    or provider) Office
                                                    Automation calendar
                                                    for multiple types
                                                    of end user devices,
                                                    including mobile
                                                    applications
                                                    irrespective of
                                                    operating system.
                                              1.3  Flexible Appointment
                                                    Scheduling--The
                                                    scheduling system
                                                    shall provide the
                                                    capability to
                                                    configure schedule
                                                    parameters.
                                            1.3.1  The system shall
                                                    allow configuration
                                                    of scheduling to
                                                    accommodate
                                                    holidays.
                                            1.3.2  The system shall
                                                    allow flexible
                                                    schedule options for
                                                    urgent care and walk-
                                                    in appointments.
                                            1.3.3  The system shall
                                                    allow scheduling
                                                    between facilities
                                                    located in different
                                                    time zones.
                                            1.3.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    allow users to
                                                    specify timing
                                                    relationships
                                                    between activities
                                                    (e.g., coordinate
                                                    multiple activities
                                                    in specified order).
                                            1.3.5  The system shall be
                                                    configurable to
                                                    display only
                                                    available resources.
                                            1.3.6  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    allow users to
                                                    define a standard
                                                    set of appointment
                                                    types with default
                                                    appointment lengths.
                                            1.3.7  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    search for available
                                                    appointments using
                                                    specific parameters
                                                    and to display
                                                    results for multiple
                                                    resources in a
                                                    single view.
                                              1.4  User Access--The
                                                    system shall provide
                                                    the ability to
                                                    maintain and modify
                                                    user access.
                                            1.4.1  The system shall
                                                    provide role-based
                                                    security for access
                                                    control and provide
                                                    improved remote
                                                    access for Veterans
                                                    to make and view
                                                    appointments over
                                                    the internet, email
                                                    and other mobile
                                                    devices.
                                            1.4.2  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to
                                                    create, configure,
                                                    and maintain role-
                                                    based user (staff
                                                    and veteran) access
                                                    and authorization.
                                            1.4.3  The system shall
                                                    allow configuration
                                                    and tailoring of
                                                    user access roles at
                                                    the national, VISN,
                                                    facility, clinic,
                                                    and provider levels
                                                    based on business
                                                    rules and policies.
                                            1.4.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    enforce rules
                                                    concerning what
                                                    roles can overbook
                                                    appointments for a
                                                    service or resource.
                                            1.4.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    allow, in certain
                                                    circumstances,
                                                    Veterans to schedule
                                                    appointments via
                                                    remote access
                                                    mechanisms such as
                                                    phone, internet,
                                                    email and other
                                                    mobile devices.
                                              1.5  Resources and Groups--
                                                    The system shall
                                                    provide the
                                                    capability to
                                                    create, modify,
                                                    manage, delete, and
                                                    report on resources
                                                    and groups.
                                              1.6  Audit Trails--The
                                                    system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    display business and
                                                    technical audit
                                                    trails.
                                            1.6.1  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to record data to
                                                    produce audit trails
                                                    for items including:
                                                    user access
                                                    activities,
                                                    modifications to
                                                    schedules.
                                              1.7  Templates--The system
                                                    shall have the
                                                    capability to
                                                    create, modify,
                                                    change status, and
                                                    manage of templates
                                                    which include
                                                    notifications,
                                                    letters, and
                                                    scheduling events.
                                                    The system shall
                                                    allow the templates
                                                    to be shared and
                                                    saved.
                                            1.7.1  The system shall
                                                    allow the templates
                                                    to be shared.
                                            1.7.2  The system shall
                                                    allow the templates
                                                    to be saved.
                                              1.8  The system shall
                                                    allow for the
                                                    configuration of
                                                    notifications, flags
                                                    and alerts for
                                                    scheduling process.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 2: Manage Veteran                          2.1  The system shall have
 Information--The system shall                      the capability to
 have the ability to access                         provide alerts if
 and manage, update and                             patient information
 maintain accurate Veteran                          is missing, out of
 information. Veteran special                       date, or requires
 needs and preferences shall                        verification (e.g.,
 be accessible and able to be                       eligibility, means
 updated in ``real-time''.                          test, demographics).
                                              2.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    maintain and present
                                                    appointment
                                                    information (past
                                                    and future) within a
                                                    specified date range
                                                    (e.g., including
                                                    appointments kept,
                                                    providers,
                                                    cancellations and no-
                                                    show history).
                                              2.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    display eligibility
                                                    information
                                                    necessary for
                                                    appropriate
                                                    scheduling.

[[Page 63431]]

 
                                              2.4  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to
                                                    notify/inform
                                                    schedulers of
                                                    patient preferences.
                                              2.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    receive notification
                                                    of deceased patients
                                                    and allow the
                                                    authorized user to
                                                    cancel future
                                                    appointments/
                                                    ancillary services/
                                                    orders once
                                                    notification has
                                                    been received from
                                                    an authoritative
                                                    source.
                                              2.6  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    establish and update
                                                    patient information
                                                    (enrollment status,
                                                    eligibility,
                                                    demographics,
                                                    preferences and
                                                    special needs, means
                                                    test status,
                                                    provider
                                                    assignments, etc.).
                                              2.7  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    allow patient
                                                    appointments with
                                                    multiple providers
                                                    at multiple
                                                    facilities.
                                              2.8  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to identify and
                                                    verify the
                                                    identification of
                                                    the Veteran.
                                              2.9  The system shall
                                                    support user
                                                    configuration
                                                    preferences for data
                                                    display and entry
                                                    screens within
                                                    security and
                                                    standards
                                                    constraints.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 3: Manage Request--Through                 3.1  Variable Appointment
 the use of a calendar view,                        Types and Lengths--
 the scheduler is able to view                      The system shall
 all providers, services,                           have the capability
 facilities, and Veterans from                      to allow variable
 a variety of calendar views                        appointment types
 such as: daily, weekly,                            and variable
 monthly with multiple                              appointment lengths
 providers, services or                             [e.g., Compensation
 facilities in view on a                            & Pension (C&P),
 single screen. The scheduling                      Mental Health Clinic
 system shall accommodate                           (MHC), Primary Care
 appointment requests from                          Clinic (PCC), New,
 multiple inputs sources,                           Follow-up, Pre-op,
 including Veterans and                             Post-op].
 providers via different
 sources such as MyHeatheVet,
 walk-ins, email and other
 communication modes. This
 forms the basis of non-
 solicited demand. Solicited
 demand emerges in the form of
 unfulfilled appointments
 based on missed opportunities
 or requests outside the
 scheduling appointment
 horizon.
                                            3.1.1  The scheduling system
                                                    shall display any
                                                    other scheduled or
                                                    requested
                                                    appointments for the
                                                    patient when an
                                                    appointment is
                                                    requested.
                                            3.1.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    allow users to
                                                    schedule an
                                                    appointment for a
                                                    specific, user-
                                                    defined, length of
                                                    time, based on role-
                                                    based access rules.
                                            3.1.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    establish recurring
                                                    appointments.
                                            3.1.4  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to verify patient
                                                    information, display
                                                    eligibility, and
                                                    display a warning if
                                                    there is an
                                                    inconsistency
                                                    between service
                                                    requested and
                                                    eligibility.
                                              3.2  Appointment
                                                    Selection--The
                                                    system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    manage the
                                                    appointment
                                                    selection process.
                                              3.3  Providers Per
                                                    Schedule--The system
                                                    shall have the
                                                    capability to
                                                    coordinate
                                                    appointment
                                                    scheduling based on
                                                    resource
                                                    availability.
                                              3.4  Access Restrictions
                                                    for Scheduling
                                                    Appointments--The
                                                    system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    filter available
                                                    appointments based
                                                    on patient
                                                    preferences,
                                                    appointment
                                                    availability,
                                                    geographic
                                                    considerations,
                                                    facility, date
                                                    range, resource
                                                    type, and other
                                                    special needs.
                                              3.5  Waiting Lists--The
                                                    system shall provide
                                                    the capability to
                                                    process various
                                                    lists.
                                            3.5.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide a waiting
                                                    list that appears
                                                    when making or
                                                    canceling
                                                    appointments.
                                            3.5.2  The system shall
                                                    apply configurable
                                                    business rules to
                                                    the management of a
                                                    long-term
                                                    appointment request
                                                    list.
                                            3.5.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    maintain a list of
                                                    patients that can
                                                    fill a cancelled
                                                    appointment on short
                                                    notice.
                                            3.5.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide users the
                                                    ability to view
                                                    available
                                                    appointments beyond
                                                    one year.
                                            3.5.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    maintain an
                                                    electronic waiting
                                                    list.
                                              3.6  Appointment
                                                    Rescheduling--The
                                                    system shall
                                                    identify
                                                    appointments to be
                                                    rescheduled and
                                                    route them
                                                    automatically to the
                                                    reschedule status or
                                                    pending list.
                                            3.6.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    disposition
                                                    rebooking of no-
                                                    shows.

[[Page 63432]]

 
                                            3.6.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    link associated
                                                    appointments so that
                                                    if one is cancelled,
                                                    all linked
                                                    appointments can be
                                                    dispositioned
                                                    together.
                                            3.6.3  The system shall be
                                                    capable of finding
                                                    and displaying
                                                    available
                                                    appointment slots
                                                    due to appointment
                                                    cancellations,
                                                    additional
                                                    resources, etc.
                                                    based upon
                                                    configuration
                                                    parameters.
                                            3.6.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    permit automatic
                                                    rebooking of
                                                    patients into
                                                    comparable
                                                    appointment slots.
                                            3.6.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    merge, purge, or
                                                    distribute scheduled
                                                    appointments from
                                                    one resource to
                                                    another.
                                              3.7  Optimize Resource
                                                    Utilization--The
                                                    system shall
                                                    incorporate
                                                    mechanisms that
                                                    support optimization
                                                    of resources.
                                            3.7.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    capture the coded
                                                    reason for
                                                    cancellations/no-
                                                    shows, e.g., death
                                                    of patient, lack of
                                                    transportation, snow
                                                    day.
                                            3.7.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    book or cancel
                                                    recurring
                                                    appointments (e.g.,
                                                    recurring
                                                    appointments to same
                                                    resource) all at
                                                    once.
                                            3.7.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide users the
                                                    capability to view
                                                    available
                                                    appointments based
                                                    on configuration
                                                    parameters.
                                            3.7.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    receive notification
                                                    of expired/deceased
                                                    patients from
                                                    authoritative source
                                                    and take appropriate
                                                    action such as
                                                    cancel future
                                                    appointments/
                                                    ancillary services/
                                                    orders, etc.
                                            3.7.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    detect and notify
                                                    users if patients
                                                    have similar
                                                    appointments
                                                    (service; provider)
                                                    scheduled close
                                                    together (e.g.,
                                                    possible duplicate
                                                    or both can be seen
                                                    at one time).
                                            3.7.6  The system shall
                                                    check availability
                                                    and status of all
                                                    resources, including
                                                    telecommunications
                                                    system availability,
                                                    for a clinical video
                                                    telehealth session.
                                              3.8  Appointment Requests--
                                                    The system shall
                                                    have the capability
                                                    to manage
                                                    appointment
                                                    requests.
                                            3.8.1  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to place
                                                    Veterans on an
                                                    appointment list
                                                    which is accessible
                                                    throughout the
                                                    scheduling process.
                                            3.8.2  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to
                                                    merge, purge, or
                                                    distribute scheduled
                                                    appointments from
                                                    one resource to
                                                    another when
                                                    emergency scheduling
                                                    changes occur.
                                            3.8.3  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to
                                                    capture attempts to
                                                    contact patient.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 4: Manage Appointment--                    4.1  The system shall have
 Through the use of a calendar                      the ability to
 view, the scheduler is able                        display co-pay
 to view all providers,                             requirements.
 services, facilities, and
 Veterans from a variety of
 calendar views such as:
 daily, weekly, monthly with
 multiple providers, services
 or facilities in view on a
 single screen.
                                            4.1.1  The scheduling system
                                                    will display patient
                                                    special needs and
                                                    preferences when an
                                                    appointment is
                                                    requested and made.
                                            4.1.2  The system should
                                                    allow configuration
                                                    to require approved
                                                    authorizations prior
                                                    to processing an
                                                    appointment request.
                                            4.1.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    create and manage
                                                    various appointment
                                                    types.
                                            4.1.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    manage scheduling
                                                    process, such as
                                                    overbooking, no-
                                                    shows, cancels, re-
                                                    schedules, etc.
                                            4.1.5  The system shall
                                                    support the ability
                                                    to change or edit
                                                    appointments as
                                                    necessary.
                                            4.1.6  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    configure and
                                                    enforce business
                                                    rules at the
                                                    clinical service
                                                    level, clinic level,
                                                    provider, and
                                                    appointment type
                                                    level (e.g., females
                                                    in Obstetrics/
                                                    Gynecology clinic).
                                            4.1.7  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    for providers to
                                                    request
                                                    appointments.
                                              4.2  Linking--The system
                                                    shall have the
                                                    ability to
                                                    automatically link
                                                    relevant
                                                    appointments/
                                                    resources.

[[Page 63433]]

 
                                            4.2.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide alerts when
                                                    ancillary tests/
                                                    specialty consults
                                                    have been scheduled/
                                                    missed.
                                            4.2.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    search for the
                                                    available
                                                    appointment across
                                                    multiple resources.
                                            4.2.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide information
                                                    to assist schedulers
                                                    to consolidate
                                                    appointments in one
                                                    day when possible
                                                    (e.g., flag the fact
                                                    that a patient is
                                                    scheduled to show up
                                                    +X days of desired
                                                    new appointment
                                                    date).
                                            4.2.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    create, re-schedule,
                                                    or cancel recurring
                                                    appointments all at
                                                    once with
                                                    appropriate desired
                                                    date.
                                            4.2.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    define individual
                                                    schedules in terms
                                                    of a single resource
                                                    or as a pre-defined
                                                    set of multiple
                                                    resources.
                                            4.2.6  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    create groups of
                                                    resources for
                                                    scheduling a single
                                                    event (e.g., room,
                                                    equipment, and
                                                    ancillary staff).
                                            4.2.7  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    cancel/restore
                                                    resources and all
                                                    linked appointments
                                                    over multiple days
                                                    (not just one day at
                                                    a time).
                                              4.3  Assign and Configure
                                                    Time Slots--The
                                                    system shall provide
                                                    the capacity to
                                                    assign and configure
                                                    time slots for
                                                    appointments.
                                            4.3.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    block time slots in
                                                    user-defined
                                                    increments.
                                            4.3.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    present alerts and
                                                    reminders for a
                                                    variety of reasons
                                                    (e.g., eligibility
                                                    not verified, means
                                                    test or insurance
                                                    information out of
                                                    date).
                                            4.3.3  The system should
                                                    have the capability
                                                    to support automated
                                                    coordination and
                                                    consolidation (e.g.,
                                                    onto one day) of
                                                    multiple
                                                    appointments per
                                                    patient.
                                            4.3.4  The system shall be
                                                    capable of changing
                                                    appointment types
                                                    for an appointment
                                                    or a request at any
                                                    time (within
                                                    business
                                                    constraints).
                                            4.3.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    configure the amount
                                                    of time allowed
                                                    between appointments
                                                    for a patient with
                                                    multiple
                                                    appointments.
                                            4.3.6  The system shall not
                                                    permit booking
                                                    appointments into
                                                    invalid time slots
                                                    based upon
                                                    configured business
                                                    rules.
                                              4.4  System Prompt Patient
                                                    Notifications--The
                                                    system will provide
                                                    the ability to
                                                    establish and
                                                    provide appointment
                                                    notifications.
                                            4.4.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    generate a list of
                                                    future appointment
                                                    reminders.
                                            4.4.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    produce appointment
                                                    notifications in a
                                                    variety of formats
                                                    (e.g., letter,
                                                    phone, e-mail, text
                                                    messaging, pending
                                                    appointment list, or
                                                    card). Each option
                                                    shall be capable of
                                                    being enabled or
                                                    disabled based upon
                                                    patient preferences.
                                            4.4.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    filter/select
                                                    appointment
                                                    notifications based
                                                    on user defined
                                                    criteria.
                                            4.4.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    tailor appointment
                                                    notifications to
                                                    meet specific clinic
                                                    needs.
                                            4.4.5  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide configurable
                                                    notification
                                                    requests such as:
                                                    alerting staff when
                                                    to contact patients
                                                    about upcoming
                                                    appointments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 5: Coordinate Associated                   5.1  External Data
 and Occasions of Service--The                      Exchange--The system
 scheduling system shall                            shall have the
 provide schedulers the                             capability to
 ability to coordinate medical                      provide secure,
 services throughout the VA,                        automated interfaces
 for other agencies, with                           with external
 private practices, and for                         systems for data
 various delivery modes and                         exchange.
 causes.
                                            5.1.1  The system shall have
                                                    the ability to allow
                                                    inter-facility
                                                    scheduling,
                                                    including non-VA
                                                    facilities.
                                            5.1.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    link unscheduled
                                                    CPRS consults to the
                                                    scheduling system
                                                    for viewing.

[[Page 63434]]

 
                                            5.1.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    support coordinating
                                                    multiple
                                                    appointments (e.g.,
                                                    provide information
                                                    helpful in
                                                    scheduling all
                                                    appointments on one
                                                    day,
                                                    multidisciplinary
                                                    team appointments).
                                              5.2  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to allow display of
                                                    primary and
                                                    associate providers
                                                    designated by
                                                    facilities.
                                            5.2.1  Ability to schedule a
                                                    patient and resource
                                                    on both the VistA
                                                    system where the
                                                    health care resource
                                                    is located and the
                                                    VistA system where
                                                    the Veteran is
                                                    located. This
                                                    combination should
                                                    be handled across
                                                    VistA systems and
                                                    time zones as
                                                    appropriate as a
                                                    synchronized event.
                                            5.2.2  The system shall
                                                    provide the
                                                    capability to
                                                    capture and to
                                                    select locations of
                                                    patient and
                                                    healthcare
                                                    resources, including
                                                    non-VA facilities
                                                    (e.g., Veteran home,
                                                    DoD, academic
                                                    affiliate, contract
                                                    provider, etc.).
                                            5.2.3  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to create, cancel
                                                    and update Clinical
                                                    Video Telehealth
                                                    (CVT) appointment
                                                    sets (patient and
                                                    provider) as a
                                                    single event (to
                                                    prevent creation of
                                                    orphans), including
                                                    the following
                                                    resources:
                                                       CVT
                                                       Rooms.
                                                       CVT
                                                       Equipment.
                                                      
                                                       Telepresenter.
                                            5.2.4  The system shall
                                                    provide the ability
                                                    to modify a CVT
                                                    appointment pair
                                                    (patient and
                                                    provider) as needed
                                                    to prevent creation
                                                    of orphans or to
                                                    correct errors.
                                              5.3  Ancillary Services--
                                                    The system shall
                                                    have the capability
                                                    to accommodate
                                                    different service
                                                    types such as C&P,
                                                    ancillary services
                                                    and specialty
                                                    services.
                                            5.3.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    link ancillary tests
                                                    to appointments (if
                                                    they are changed,
                                                    ancillary tests can
                                                    be updated without
                                                    canceling order and
                                                    re-ordering).
                                            5.3.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    link ancillary tests
                                                    to appointments.
                                            5.3.3  The system shall
                                                    provide the
                                                    capability to
                                                    establish links to
                                                    activities that
                                                    require coordination
                                                    with appointments
                                                    (e.g., ancillary
                                                    services).
                                            5.3.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    coordinate
                                                    appointments with
                                                    related ancillary
                                                    services.
                                              5.4  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide a patient
                                                    preference field
                                                    that informs clerks
                                                    to special
                                                    transportation
                                                    concerns or other
                                                    issues that limit
                                                    availability (e.g.,
                                                    specific days and
                                                    times).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 6: Manage Encounter of                     6.1  The system shall have
 Care--The system will have                         the capability to
 the capability to                                  provide check-in,
 differentiate between                              check-out,
 encounter data and                                 cancellation
 appointment data. The                              reasons, and no-show
 encounter data is not tracked                      data.
 by the scheduler, but by
 providers in the electronic
 health record.
                                              6.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    provide facility-
                                                    wide visibility for
                                                    a patient (i.e.
                                                    checked-in or out,
                                                    in treatment room
                                                    etc.).
                                              6.3  The system shall
                                                    provide statistics
                                                    for appointments
                                                    such as: no-shows,
                                                    left without being
                                                    seen, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BN 7: Reporting--The system                   7.1  General Reporting
 should have the capability to                      Needs
 produce, display and format
 reports, and should be able
 to be saved in various
 formats such as PDF, CSV,
 etc. Reports containing
 personally identifiable
 information that are required
 to be transmitted, retrieved,
 viewed, or printed meet all
 VA Handbook 6500
 requirements. These reports
 represent the as-is process.
 It is expected that report
 requirements will be further
 defined with the business
 owners throughout the system
 development and acquisition
 process.
                                            7.1.1  Ad Hoc Reports--The
                                                    system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    support user-created
                                                    ad hoc report
                                                    generation (without
                                                    re-programming) and
                                                    provide the
                                                    capability to save
                                                    the report
                                                    definition for
                                                    future use and to
                                                    save the reports in
                                                    various standard
                                                    exportable formats.

[[Page 63435]]

 
                                            7.1.2  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    report on scheduling
                                                    measures and metrics
                                                    across the VHA at
                                                    many levels,
                                                    including but not
                                                    limited to National,
                                                    VISN, Facility/
                                                    Station/Clinic/
                                                    Community-Based
                                                    Outpatient Clinic
                                                    (CBOC), and shall
                                                    have the capability
                                                    to ``roll-up'' data
                                                    from the most
                                                    granular level (i.e.
                                                    clinic or station
                                                    level) to the
                                                    highest level for
                                                    reporting purposes
                                                    (i.e. National
                                                    level) as defined by
                                                    the business.
                                            7.1.3  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    establish and ensure
                                                    the use of
                                                    consistent metrics
                                                    and measures across
                                                    different areas of
                                                    the VHA; i.e.,
                                                    ensure that all
                                                    business level
                                                    facilities measure,
                                                    capture and report
                                                    the same data in the
                                                    same ways.
                                              7.2  Operational reports
                                                    are generated by a
                                                    facility, VISN,
                                                    station or clinic to
                                                    facilitate day-to-
                                                    day operations.
                                                    These can range from
                                                    printing daily
                                                    appointment lists
                                                    for a clinic to
                                                    printing a listing
                                                    of patients who
                                                    missed appointments
                                                    or who left without
                                                    being seen.
                                                    Operational reports
                                                    are also generated
                                                    to track performance
                                                    metrics, access to
                                                    care metrics,
                                                    utilization of
                                                    staff, workload
                                                    measurement/workload
                                                    leveling and
                                                    workload planning.
                                            7.2.1  The system shall have
                                                    the capability to
                                                    generate and display
                                                    a work list based on
                                                    unfulfilled
                                                    appointments at the
                                                    operational level to
                                                    capture the source
                                                    of a request, type
                                                    of request, and
                                                    status of a request
                                                    along a timeline.
                                                    Work list (queue) is
                                                    automatically
                                                    updated based on
                                                    tasks that need to
                                                    be completed by the
                                                    scheduler.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Attachment B--Scheduling-Related and VA-Specific Requirements and Point
                               Allocations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Requirement                      Description            Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..............................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to provide for the
                                  enforcement and modification
                                  of national-level data
                                  standards including procedure
                                  and diagnosis codes as
                                  currently defined in VistA.
2..............................  Flexible Schedule Component           5
                                  Organization--The solution
                                  shall have a mechanism to
                                  oversee and manage potential
                                  impacts to the system as a
                                  result of policies,
                                  directives, etc.
3..............................  The system shall provide the          5
                                  flexibility to accommodate
                                  new functional requirements
                                  based on business needs
                                  (e.g., primary care home
                                  (PACT) based care
                                  appointments, telehealth,
                                  etc.).
4..............................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to alert VA staff
                                  when appointments are
                                  scheduled about patient
                                  scheduling reliability (show/
                                  no-show rate) averaged over a
                                  period of time configured by
                                  the authorized end user.
5.1............................  The system will, when managing        5
                                  the appointment selection
                                  process, shall have the
                                  capability to capture the
                                  desired date for the
                                  appointment.
5.2............................  The system shall allow for            1
                                  administrative closure of
                                  consults.
5.3............................  The system shall have the             2
                                  ability to integrate
                                  unscheduled CPRS consults
                                  with the scheduling system.
6..............................  The system shall associate            5
                                  each appointment type with
                                  the correct DSS stop code/
                                  credit stop; see: http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1788 788.
7.1............................  Telehealth--The scheduling            5
                                  system shall provide the
                                  capability for national
                                  Clinical Video Telehealth
                                  (CVT) scheduling which
                                  ensures resources at multiple
                                  ends of a telehealth visit
                                  are coordinated with the
                                  patient across different
                                  VistA systems and capture
                                  workload data.
7.2............................  The system shall have the             3
                                  ability to capture whether
                                  appointment is scheduled vs.
                                  unscheduled to support travel
                                  reimbursement determination.
7.3............................  The system shall provide              5
                                  reports for consults obtained
                                  outside of VHA.
8..............................  The system shall have the             3
                                  ability to disposition for
                                  travel reimbursement.
9.1............................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports containing scheduling
                                  data from both the solution
                                  application and legacy
                                  systems.
9.2............................  The system will collect               5
                                  currently used wait time
                                  metrics including create date
                                  and desired date, scheduled
                                  appointment date and
                                  completed appointment date.
9.3............................  National Reports: National      .......
                                  reporting is generated by
                                  national program managers,
                                  VISN management and by
                                  facility management to review
                                  performance, trends,
                                  analytics, as well as access
                                  to care and payment issues.
                                  National reports are
                                  populated by ``rolling up''
                                  information from the various
                                  stations, clinics, and
                                  facilities across VHA.
9.3.1..........................  The system shall have the             3
                                  ability to capture and
                                  provide the data necessary to
                                  conduct capacity planning
                                  through complete visibility
                                  into supply (provider,
                                  equipment, facility, support
                                  staff) and demand (enrolled
                                  and/or empaneled Veteran
                                  requests for appointments).
9.3.2..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate wait
                                  time metrics and measures
                                  based on clinic operational
                                  metrics.
9.3.3..........................  The system shall have the
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on cost
                                  reporting metrics and
                                  measures (i.e. DSS stop codes
                                  and other financial metrics
                                  and measures as defined by
                                  the business) that are tied
                                  to the scheduling
                                  appointment. Examples of
                                  existing reports include, but
                                  are not limited to the
                                  following:.
                                     DSS Outpatient            3
                                     Encounter and Workload.
9.3.4..........................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on provider
                                  utilization and provider
                                  credentialing.

[[Page 63436]]

 
9.3.5..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  performance reports.
                                  Performance measures include
                                  access measures, clinical
                                  measures and scheduling
                                  measures.
9.3.6                            The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to generate
                                  patient complaint tracking
                                  and status metrics and
                                  measures reports. Examples of
                                  existing reports which work
                                  now and must continue to work
                                  include (but are not limited
                                  to) the following types of
                                  reports:
                                     Survey of
                                     Healthcare Experiences of
                                     Patients (SHEP) Inpatient
                                     and Outpatient Survey
                                     Reports.
                                     Patient Advocate
                                     Profiles.
                                     Number of
                                     Complaint Issues by Type
                                     of Care Patient Advocate
                                     Tracking System (PATS).
                                     Summary of
                                     Responses to Patient
                                     Complaint Data in
                                     Outpatient SHEP (OQP).
                                     Compliments/
                                     Complaints as % of Total
                                     (PATS) Report.
                                     All Complaint
                                     Issue Trending (PATS).
                                     Complaint Clinical
                                     Appeal Data (PATS).
9.3.7..........................  The system shall have the             4
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to Clinic
                                  Resources as defined by the
                                  business.
9.3.8..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate on-
                                  demand reports containing
                                  current data to be presented
                                  to Congress.
9.3.9..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to Mental
                                  Health appointments.
9.3.10.........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on Workload and
                                  Utilization Management
                                  metrics.
9.3.11.........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on unfulfilled
                                  appointment request.
9.4.1..........................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to Workload
                                  management at the local level.
9.4.2..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to patient
                                  information relevant to
                                  supporting the episode of
                                  care, the continuity of care,
                                  and missed opportunities of
                                  all patients.
9.4.3..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to
                                  appointments and clinics,
                                  including availability and
                                  utilization, case load,
                                  cancellations, check-ins,
                                  general/random appointment
                                  information, notifications
                                  and letters, and audits by
                                  supervisors.
9.4.4..........................  The system shall have the             5
                                  capability to generate QA
                                  reports to ensure the proper
                                  disposition of incomplete
                                  appointment information.
                                 Examples of current reports
                                  that rely upon this data and
                                  must be maintained include,
                                  but are not limited to, the
                                  following:
                                     Encounter Activity
                                     Report.
                                     Encounter `Action
                                     Required' Report.
                                     Means Test/
                                     Eligibility/Enrollment
                                     Report.
                                     Outpatient
                                     Encounter Workload
                                     Statistics.
                                     Performance
                                     Monitor Summary Report.
                                     Performance
                                     Monitor Detailed Report.
                                     Trend of Facility
                                     Uniques by 12 Month Date
                                     Ranges.
                                     Error Listing.....
                                     Transmission
                                     History Report--Full.
                                     Transmission
                                     History for Patient.
                                     Scheduling/PCE Bad
                                     Pointer Count.
                                     Alpha List of
                                     Incomplete Encounters.
                                     Incomplete
                                     Encounter Error Report.
                                     Summary Report--
                                     IEMM.
                                     Correct Incomplete
                                     Encounters.
                                     Provider/Diagnosis
                                     Report.
                                     Visit Report by
                                     Transmitted OPT Encounter.
9.4.5..........................  The system shall have the             3
                                  capability to generate
                                  reports based on metrics and
                                  measures related to
                                  diagnostic and procedural
                                  information that ranks each
                                  by frequency and for a
                                  specific date range. Examples
                                  of current reports that must
                                  be maintained include, but
                                  are not limited to, the
                                  following:
                                  Outpatient Diagnosis/
                                  Procedure Frequency Report
                                  Management Report for
                                  Ambulatory Procedures
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                    Attachment C--Non-Functional Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           NFR characteristic                NFR sub-characteristic                  NFR Statement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 Functionality.......................  ...........................  3.1.1.8 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        capable of providing configurable error
                                                                        messages, work flows, and alerts.
                                          3.1.2 Accuracy.............  3.1.1.11 The Scheduling Solution shall
                                                                        display appointment time with
                                                                        appropriate time zones.
                                           3.1.3 Interoperability....  3.1.3.2 The Scheduling Solution shall
                                                                        support content transportation standards
                                                                        and implementation specifications set
                                                                        forth in 45 CFR 170.205.
                                                                       3.1.3.5 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        capable of navigating seamlessly among
                                                                        related modules throughout the end-to-
                                                                        end scheduling process.
                                          3.1.5 Security.............  3.1.5.1 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        able to support secure messaging.

[[Page 63437]]

 
3.3 Usability...........................  3.3.1 Understandability....  3.3.1.1 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        self-descriptive and explain itself
                                                                        through cues (e.g., screen, area, and
                                                                        group titles indicating the purpose of
                                                                        the respective interface element; on-
                                                                        screen instructions/diagrams;
                                                                        explanations/answers that are available
                                                                        on request; no implicit assumptions
                                                                        about how users are expected to behave
                                                                        that would contradict users'
                                                                        expectations; and feedback is given on
                                                                        user actions, system actions, and the
                                                                        system state.
                                                                       3.3.3.2 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        usable across multiple operating
                                                                        systems, browsers, and platforms.
3.5 Maintainability.....................  3.5.1 Analyzability........  3.5.1.1 The Scheduling Solution shall be
                                                                        capable of providing transaction logs,
                                                                        error logs and audit trails for
                                                                        pertinent scheduling transactions.
                                          3.5.4 Testability..........  3.5.4.1 The Scheduling Solution shall
                                                                        provide criteria to enable the
                                                                        measurement to test pieces of code or
                                                                        functionality, or a provision added in
                                                                        software so that test plans and scripts
                                                                        can be executed systematically.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[FR Doc. 2012-25408 Filed 10-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P