Homeland Security seeks EHR system
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is soliciting proposals for an EHR system from Alliant Contract Holders.

According to a notice filed by the contracting officer with the DHS' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ICE is soliciting the proposals for phase 1 of the EHR system.

The first phase of the procurement process consists of a white paper response, and the second phase is for a performance work statement, demonstration and cost proposal.

The solicitation is seeking to obtain an EHR system that supports DHS, ICE, Office of Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) to improve the medical safety for detainees, ICE Contracting Officer Phyllis Brokenborough said. This is the first increment and seeks to procure maximum functionality within an allotted $9.3 million budget.

The system must be fully operable, able to stand alone, and able to be integrated with existing and future systems, according to the agency, which added the EHR should support a unified electronic record of medical, dental, mental health and pharmacy services provided to detainees. It must also support the delivery of quality medical care, enhance clinical operations, improve and re-engineer business processes and information and workflows within the ICE medical care community, DHS said.

The procurement will be for two years: a 12-month base period and a 12-month option period, subject to funding availability.

The existing system environment involves many manual and/or automated stand-alone processes which are inadequate or deficient, and create duplicate work, the potential for human error, delays in delivering medical care, and the inability to ensure accountability and integrity of paper documents for reporting and auditing purposes, according to DHS. Other deficiencies include: lack of access to real-time data, medical summaries, alerts, special needs of detainees, and medical histories; a lack of links between detainees and medical encounters; lack of support for record transfers among medical units and facilities; no standard processes, and limited oversight and monitoring tools needed for evaluating performance.

The government is also seeking procurement of a certified ambulatory EHR system using Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS), Government Off-the-Shelf (GOTS), Software as a Service or a suite of COTS/GOTS and/or SaaS products requiring minimal customization. The Ambulatory EHR being considered must be certified by the Office of the National Coordinator-Authorized Testing and Certification Body or certified by the Certification Commission for Health IT.

DHS also said that the ambulatory care EHR or EHR module must be completely tested and certified, and have at least nine of the clinical quality measures specified by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This must include six of the core clinical quality measures, as well as at least three additional quality measures. Developers may include other clinical quality measures above those requirements, the notice said.

All submissions are due by Sept. 1, and more information can be found here.

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