RFP As Needed Medical Dictation Services With Options to Bid for Transcription and/or Speech Recognition Services

Transcription

1 RFP As Needed Medical Dictation Services With Options to Bid for Transcription and/or Speech Recognition Services DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH San Francisco Health Network Request for Proposals (RFP) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE OF CONTRACT MANAGEMENT AND COMPLIANCE 1380 HOWARD STREET, SUITE 419 SAN FRANCISCO, CA CONTACT MAHLET GIRMA CONTRACT ANALYST (415) Date issued: September 25, Question Period: September 25, 2014 to October 9, 2014 Proposal due: 12:00 p.m., October 22, 2014

2 Request for Proposals for RFP : As Needed Medical Dictation and Transcription Services Table of Contents Page I. Introduction, Contract Term and Schedule... [1] II. Scope of Work... [2] III. Proposal Submission Requirements... [8] IV. Evaluation and Selection Criteria... [10] V. Questions and Contract Award... [12] VI. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Proposals... [13] VII. City Contract Requirements... [18] VIII. Protest Procedures... [19] Attachments: RFP Provided separately in a zipped file attachment for this RFP: A. Appendix A: These forms must be completed in order for a proposer to be considered: a. DPH Forms: RFP Form #1 Solicitation and Offer; RFP Form # 2 Contractual Record Form b. Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) Attachment 2 B. Appendix B: Proposed Service Rates Schedule C. Appendix C: Dictated Report Types and Laguna Honda Hospital Report Format (Transcription format for History and Physicals, Discharge summary, Death Summary, Combined History and Physical/ Discharge summary for LHH) D. Appendix D: Insurance Requirements E. Appendix E: Acknowledgement of Requirements of 12B Declaration F. Appendix F: Standard Forms: for Information only Listing and Internet addresses of Forms related to Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, to Business Tax Declaration, and to Chapters 12B and 12C, and 14B of the S.F. Administrative Code and LBE Certification application G. Appendix G: Agreement for Professional Services (form P-500) separate document upon request only Note: The current DPH Standard Boilerplate Agreement for Professional Services (form P-500) can be furnished by the Contracts Office either electronically by , or a hard copy by mail or pick up. P-590 (11-07) i September 25, 2014

3 I. INTRODUCTION, CONTRACT TERM, FUNDING AND SCHEDULE A. General The City and County of San Francisco (CITY), Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking proposals for a Medical Dictation Service. This solicitation is specifically seeking proposals for dictation services for the physicians and the Health Information Services (Medical Records) Department of San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center (SFGHMC) and Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (LHH). Bidders also have the option of submitting separate proposals for Transcription and/or Speech Recognition Services. After award of initial contract(s) additional and/or related services may be added to the contract(s) awarded by mutual written agreement due to changes in need, medical practice or as dictated by government agencies or JCAHO (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations). San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center is a teaching facility budgeted to operate approximately 450 beds, with Acute and Intensive Medical and Surgical Care as well as Obstetrics, Intensive Care Nursery, Newborn Nursery Care, Skilled Nursing Facility and a Behavioral Health Center. It serves as San Francisco City and County s only Level I Trauma Center, which provides 24-hour Trauma, Surgical, Emergency Medical and Psychiatric Services. As a member of the San Francisco Health Network, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center is a general acute care facility providing acute care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation services to San Franciscans. Laguna Honda is one of the largest skilled nursing facilities in the country and one of the few publicly owned with 780 beds. A longtime civic icon, Laguna Honda has served San Francisco s population since the Gold Rush. Rebuilt in 2010, Laguna Honda is the first LEED-certified hospital in California and the most modern skilled nursing facility in the United States. Residents at Laguna Honda have access to a comprehensive system of care that spans the continuum of care including Rehabilitative Services, Pain Management and Palliative Care. Separate Proposals Solicited Dictation Services: All bidders MUST submit a proposal for Dictation Services. Vendor must be willing to use Vendors contracted with the CITY to provide Transcription services. Transcription Services: Bidders have the option to also submit a separate proposal for Transcription Services, but it is not mandatory. If a bidder does not submit the mandatory proposal for Dictation Services, its proposal for Transcription Services will not be considered. Speech Recognition Services: Bidders have the option to submit a separate proposal for Speech Recognition Services. If a bidder does not submit the mandatory proposal for Dictation Services, its proposal for Speech Recognition Services will not be considered. Award of a contract establishes a Vendor s right to work for the San Francisco Department of Public Health strictly according to the needs of the Department. In no way does it imply or guarantee the Vendor unlimited work. P-590 (11-07) 1 of 20 September 25, 2014

4 B. Contract Term & Funding The contract shall have an original term of one (1) year from January 1, 2015 to December 31, In addition, the City shall have seven (7) options to extend the term for a period of one (1) year each, for a total of eight (8) years contract, subject to annual availability of funds and annual satisfactory contractor performance. DPH reserves the right to select vendors from the list of bidders who respond to this RFP at any time during the next eight (8) years. The City has the sole, absolute discretion to exercise this option. The total estimated annual allocation for this contract is $1,070,000 per year (SFGH $780,000 and LHH $290,000), which may increase or decrease depending on funding available. The selection of any proposal shall not imply acceptance by the City of all terms of the Proposal, which may be subject to further negotiation and approvals before the City may be legally bound thereby. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated with the highest ranking proposal in a reasonable time DPH in its sole discretion may terminate negotiations with the recommended Proposer and begin contract negotiations with the next highest ranked proposal. C. Schedule The anticipated schedule for selecting a contractor is: Proposal Phase Time Date RFP is issued by the City September 25, Questions begin September 25, Questions end 12:00 Noon October 9, 2014 Deadline for submission of written questions Proposals due 12:00 Noon October 22, 2014 Estimated Dates: Technical Review Panel Week of October 27, 2014 Selection and Negotiations Week of November 3 and 10, 2014 Contract Development & Certification November and December, 2014 Service Start Date January 1, 2015 Separate Proposals Solicited II. SCOPE OF WORK Dictation Services: All bidders MUST submit a proposal for Dictation Services. Vendor must be willing to use Vendors contracted with the CITY to provide Transcription services. Transcription Services: Bidders have the option to also submit a separate proposal for Transcription Services, but it is not mandatory. If a bidder does not submit the mandatory proposal for Dictation Services, its proposal for Transcription Services will not be considered. P-590 (11-07) 2 of 20 September 25, 2014

5 Speech Recognition Services: Bidders have the option to submit a separate proposal for Speech Recognition Services. If a bidder does not submit the mandatory proposal for Dictation Services, its proposal for Speech Recognition Services will not be considered. Award of a contract establishes a Vendor s right to work for the San Francisco Department of Public Health strictly according to the needs of the Department. In no way does it imply or guarantee the Vendor unlimited work. Services Solicited General Requirements Vendor agrees that it shall not hire any SFGHMC or LHH employee currently employed by the CITY for the services being bid. Vendor s employees will sign Confidentiality Statements, which will be provided at the time of contract award. Provide strong security by sign-in and password protection. Bidders must be compliant with the Business Associates provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Vendor plus employees must be legal residents of the United States and services must be performed within the confines of the 50 states. Vendor is forbidden to subcontract services without DPH s approval. COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER 12B OF THE SAN FRANCISCO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE-EQUAL BENEFITS COMPLIANCE Bidder must acknowledge that it either does now, or has the intent and ability to comply with the City and County of San Francisco's Administrative Code Chapter 12B Nondiscrimination in City Contracts and Equal Benefits (otherwise known as the Domestic Partners Ordinance ). Administrative Code Chapter 12B prohibits the City and County of San Francisco from entering into contracts with any entity that discriminates in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and between the domestic partners and spouses of employees. The same benefits that are provided and/or given access to employees and their spouses must be provided and/or given access to employees and their domestic partners. Compliance must extend to entire organization. Bidder s Employee Benefits Manager must contact the Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) prior to submitting a proposal in order to familiarize itself with the requirements of 12B and the steps it must take to become compliant. Bidder must complete and include in the proposal the Acknowledgement of Requirements of Chapter 12B Declaration form found in Appendix E. Please review in Appendix F (Standard Forms) the Quick Reference Guide to Chapter 12B, and visit the CITY and County of San Francisco Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) s website at and click on Equal Benefits. P-590 (11-07) 3 of 20 September 25, 2014

6 Services Solicited Specific Service Requirements/Qualifications Contractor shall perform services on an on-call basis pursuant to the following specifications: DICTATION SERVICES a. Provide efficient hardware and Dictation software system that give quick turnaround time for SFGHMC & LHH Transcriptionists and/or Transcription Vendors under contract with the CITY. b. Vendor must be able to process a volume of two million (2,000,000) to two million five hundred thousand (2,500,000) minutes of dictation per year with up to five hundred (600) dictators. c. Vendor must have a minimum of three (3) years experience of dictation services with acute medical facilities similar to SFGHMC and LHH. Proposal must identify the medical facilities, which are similar to SFGHMC and LHH. d. Provide day, evening and weekend technology support. e. Provide a system for the Physicians to dictate their reports. Dictation bidder s system should be able to interface with the standard industry Chart Completion Software. Bidder must indicate in the proposal if it has the ability to interface. Extra points will be awarded to bidders whose systems interface with the standard industry chart completion software. Chartfact application is used to track the status of the reports. Before a report is dictated, Chartfact displays a D in the status field, which means it needs to be dictated. When the physician dictates, the status field changes to T for transcription. When the report is transcribed, the report is uploaded by CITY Transcriptionists or CITY Transcription Vendors to ChartScript. Dictation services should be able to integrate in terms of the changing of the status of the reports in ChartFact. f. Software service must be easy to understand and navigate through once inside the service. Description on how the system is accessed and navigated must be described in the proposal. g. All voice files shall be digitally maintained by the Vendor for no longer than six (6) months from the time of dictation. No work will be maintained in hard copy or analog files by the Vendor for any reason. h. The service should provide reporting tools for the SFGHMC and LHH in order to oversee the quality and quantity of the Dictation process. The reporting tools and their attributes must be described in the proposal. The reporting tools should be web based. i. Provide an organized tracking system of the physicians who are dictating with the date, work type, minutes, physician ID number and medical record number associated with each dictated report. Tracking system must be discussed in the proposal. j. Vendor must have the ability to assign specific work to each individual CITY Transcriptionist/CITY Vendor, as needed. P-590 (11-07) 4 of 20 September 25, 2014

7 k. All reports shall be directly transcribed from the digital dictation system. No work will be taken off ( bled from ) the dictation system for any purpose. l. Vendor must supply education and training of Dictation software to Physicians and CITY Transcriptionists/CITY Vendors. m. Rates will be accepted on a per minute basis for straight dictation and Speech Recognized dictation. TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES NOTE: Vendors currently under contract to the CITY to provide transcription services to SFGHMC do not have to submit proposals for Transcription Services. If they respond to this RFP, they must submit a proposal for Dictation Services and, have the option to submit a separate proposal for Speech Recognition Services. a. All Transcription services will be completed in accordance with the approved Public Health Department and SFGHMC and LHH formats. b. Vendor must have a minimum of three (3) years experience of transcription services with acute medical facilities similar to SFGHMC and LHH. Proposal must identify the medical facilities, which are similar to SFGHMC and LHH. c. Transcription formats for Transfer Summaries, Operative Reports, Discharge Summaries, and Clinic notes, Trauma Reports, EEGS and EMGS are found in Appendix C Titled Dictated Reports. Text will start four (4) spaces below field demographics. Line length will be 65 characters per line. Transcribed work shall have unstructured header formats with the required field criteria for importing purposes. Transcribed work will be typed in Arial 10 Font for SFGH and Courier New 12 font for LHH. Excessive, arbitrary, unwarranted creation of paragraphs shall not be permitted. d. Transcription format for History and Physicals, Discharge summary, Death Summary, Combined History and Physical/ Discharge summary for LHH are attached, see Appendix C. e. Completed work will contain no more than one (1) error per page. Vendor shall re-transcribe said pages at no additional cost. f. Rates will be accepted on a per unrecognized and recognized line of transcription basis. Charge per line is to reflect a gross line of text and does not include footers and carriage returns. Headers are not included after the first page. The charge per line shall include orphan lines. f. All work shall be directly transcribed from the digital dictation system. g. Bidder must be trained in current rules of style as defined in the AAMT (American Association of Medical Transcription) Manual of Style. Bidder must confirm in the proposal if it is trained in said style. P-590 (11-07) 5 of 20 September 25, 2014

8 h. Vendor will be responsible for proofreading all reports before transmittal and will follow the prescribed format for using initial capitalization on brand name pharmaceuticals. i. Method of counting lines will be by Sylvan Sylcount. Bidder will use that or a similar line counting software to count lines. j. Vendor shall submit a monthly invoice with an itemized list of each report produced. The following information will be provided for each report. Patient s last name Medical record number Type of report (DS for Discharge Summary, OP for Operative Report, HP for History and Physical Examination Reports and TS for Transfer Summary Report.) Number of lines Number of pages k. Vendor must be able to be reached at the commencement of the working day, by 7:00 AM PST in the morning until 4:00 PM PST, and work done the previous day will be modemed/transmitted no later than 8:30 AM PST the next morning. Speech Recognition Services Reports a. Vendor must have a minimum of three (3) years experience of Speech Recognition Services with acute medical facilities similar to SFGHMC and LHH. Proposal must identify the medical facilities, which are similar to SFGHMC and LHH. b. All bidders for Speech Recognition Services must participate in two (2) separate rounds of the same standardized text to tests the recognition capabilities against SFGHMC physician dictators in order to be considered. The same dictators will dictate the same text two different times. The results of the tests will be factored in the rating of the Speech Recognition proposals. c. Rates will be accepted on a per minute basis for straight dictation and Speech Recognized dictation. d. The interoperability to provide enterprise licensing for medical voice recognition software, for clinicians to efficiently navigate an EMR and dictate medial decision-making and treatment plans directly into a patient s electronic record. Examples of EMRs; e-clinical Works, Siemens Invision, Epic, PulseCheck, Cerner Dictation and/or Transcription Services must provide services within the following time frame: 1. STAT reports within one (1) hour. 2. Priority Reports: H&P 12 hours Discharge Summary 12 hours P-590 (11-07) 6 of 20 September 25, 2014

9 Operative Report 8 hours Consultation 12 hours Progress Notes 12 hours Progress Notes for LHH 2 hours 3. Routine Priority Reports within (24) hours. *Pathology transcription services, Clinical Data Dictation, a Gross and Micro are considered one report. Pathology coverage is an optional service - Work Type Clinical Data Dictation Gross Dictation Micro Dictation Delivery Type Billing Metric Expected Annual Volume TAT 12 Hours 12 Hours 12 Hours PATHOLOGY TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES On-Shore Report 4000 annually each containing 3 dictations: 1. Clinical Data dictation 2. Gross dictation 3. Micro dictation (frozen section) BILLING METRIC DEFINITION Pathology Report Definition: Each billable Pathology Report is comprised of three (3) dictations: Pathology Clinical Data, Pathology Gross and Pathology Micro. Letters of Recommendations and References Bidder must submit at least three (3) Letters of Recommendation and three (3) References all from US based clients for previous and current contracts with the proposals. The Letters of Recommendation should include comments on the error ratio, reliability and downtime of services provided to the client writing the letter. The letters and references cannot be from the same clients. (See Section E3 on page 8 following.) Service Rates Rates are to be entered on the Proposed Rate Sheet found in Appendix B. Such rates should include all costs chargeable. Local Business Enterprises The CITY strongly encourages proposals from qualified Local Business Enterprises (LBEs). Pursuant to Chapter 14A, bidders who are certified by the Contract Monitoring Division as a LBE, or joint venture partners who were certified as an LBE prior to January 1, 2014 are eligible for certain rating discounts. Certification applications may be obtained by calling the Contract Monitoring Division (415) or online at Bidders should indicate if they are applying for Discount Points in their proposals. P-590 (11-07) 7 of 20 September 25, 2014

10 III. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Failure to provide any of the following information or forms may result in a proposal being disqualified. A. Time and Place for Submission of Proposals Proposals must be received by 12:00 p.m., on October 22, Postmarks will not be considered in judging the timeliness of submissions. Proposals may be delivered in person and left with SFDPH Office of Contracts Management and Compliance ( Contracts Office ), or mailed to: Mahlet Girma, Contract Analyst San Francisco Department of Public Health Office of Contracts Management and Compliance 1380 Howard St., 4 th Floor, # 419 San Francisco, CA Proposers shall submit one (1) original and five (5) copies of the proposal, and one (1) copy, separately bound, of required CMD Forms in a sealed envelope clearly marked RFP As Needed Medical Dictation and Transcription Services to the above location. The original copy of the proposal must be clearly marked as ORIGINAL. Proposals that are submitted by facsimile, telephone or electronic mail will not be accepted. Late submissions will not be considered. B. Format All submission must be typewritten on standard recycled paper with an easy to read 12-point font such as Arial or Times New Roman and one inch margins. Please print on double-sided pages to the maximum extent possible (note that one, double-sided page is the equivalent of two proposal pages when meeting program proposal page limits). Please bind your proposal with a binder clip, rubber band or single staple. Please do not use binders. Please do not bind your proposal with a spiral binding, glued binding or anything similar. You may use tabs or other separators within the document. If your response is lengthy, please include a Table of Contents. C. Content Failure to provide any of this information or forms may result in a proposal being disqualified. Firms interested in responding to this RFP must complete the required forms and describe how it meets the Minimum Qualifications and provide the required information using the proposal content below: Required DPH RFP Forms: Appendix A Required Forms are provided on paper/ hard copy or electronically (See Zip File) RFP Form#1-Solicitation and Offer CMD Forms to be Submitted with Proposal (Appendix A) a. All proposals submitted must include the following Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) Forms contained in the CMD Attachment 2 (Appendix A): i) Form 2A, CMD Contract Participation Form, ii) Form 3, CMD Non Discrimination Affidavit, iii) Form 4, CMD Joint Venture Form (if applicable), and iv) Form 5, CMD Employment Form. If these forms are P-590 (11-07) 8 of 20 September 25, 2014

11 not returned with the proposal, the proposal may be determined to be non-responsive and may be rejected. b. Please submit only one (1) copy of the above forms with your proposal. The forms should be placed in a separate, sealed envelope labeled CMD Forms. If you have any questions concerning the CMD Forms, you may call Contract Monitoring Division (415) or visit D. Minimum Qualifications (no more than 2 pages) Bidder must have a minimum of three (3) years experience of dictation services, transcription services and/or speech recognition services with acute medical facilities similar to SFGHMC and LHH. Proposal must identify the medical facilities, which are similar to SFGHMC and LHH. Proof that the bidder is an existing approved city vendor at the time proposals are submitted. Bidders must be compliant with the Business Associates provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Note: Any proposal that does not comply with all of the Minimum Qualifications will not be considered for evaluation by the Evaluation Pane and will be considered non-responsive. Compliance is demonstrated by supporting documentation in the proposals that indicates that a vendor meets all the items listed above. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee an award of a contract with the City & County of San Francisco. E. Proposal Contents (no more than 20 pages total) The following information must be provided in the following order: 1. Introduction and Executive Summary (no more than 1 page) Provide a brief summary of your firm s capability to provide the services being bid and how it meets and/or exceeds the Minimum Qualifications and Requirements. A description of the firm s organizational structure (e.g., corporation, partnership, limited liability company, etc.), the jurisdiction in which firm is organized and date of such organization. 2. Program/ Project Description (no more than 5 pages) Provide a narrative of the services you are proposing to offer. The proposal is to be as specific as possible. The following elements should be included: i. Scope, terms and conditions of services to be provided, including description of system and how to access and navigate the system. ii. How you will respond to calls for service. 3. Recent/Relevant Experience / Contractual Record (no more than 5 pages + 3 pages for the references) Bidder s general experience in the dictation service industry with regard to public health care systems and medical centers, which are acute medical facilities, must be provided and discussed fully in the response. You must have a minimum of three (3) years experience in providing dictation services for institutions similar to SFGHMC Provide at least three (3) letters of recommendation, which discuss the bidder s services and include comments on the error ratio, reliability and downtime of services provided to the client writing the letter. P-590 (11-07) 9 of 20 September 25, 2014

12 4. Personnel and Professional Background (no more than 3 pages) Please provide the following information; i. Provide information on the number of personnel and the number of years they have worked as transcriptionists. ii. Indicate how you recruit and screen employees and evaluate them after employment 5. Proposed Service Rates Schedule (no more than 2 pages) Complete rate information in the format provided in Appendix B The City intends to award this contract to the firm determined to be the best provider of solicited services. The City reserves the right to accept an offer other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request. 6. Insurance Requirement (sample) Upon award of contract submit a Certificate of Insurance and Endorsement (see Appendix D for samples) evidencing the insurance listed and included in the appendix 7. Acknowledgement of Requirements of Chapter 12B Declaration (1 page) Complete Acknowledgement and submit with proposal. See Appendix E A. Selection Criteria IV. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA The proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee comprised of city staff and appropriate outside experts using the criteria below. In so doing, the panel members may also consider the results of telephone reference checks. DPH reserves the right to decide whether to check references and the number of references to check, if any. Bidders should review the Evaluation Criteria and the points assigned carefully. The Evaluation Criteria lists what items will be used to rate the proposal. At any time during the evaluation process, the City may require a Proposer to provide oral or written clarification of its Proposal Statements. NOTE: (a) Proposals must be submitted for Dictation Services. Vendors have the option to submit separate proposals for Transcription and/or Speech Recognition Services. If Transcription and/or Speech Recognition Services are bid, a separate proposal must be submitted for each. If a bidder does not submit a proposal for Dictation Services, the proposals for Transcription and/or Speech Recognition will not be considered. (b) Proposals for the same services will be evaluated together. 1. CONTRACTOR S RESPONSE See Section E2 page 8 25 Points Poor: 0 Marginal: 1-8 Acceptable: 9-17 Exceeds: a. Does the bidder s qualifications to provide the service(s) being bid, discussed fully in the response? And does it meet and/or exceeds the Requirements/Qualifications? (10 points) b. Is the Bidder s proposal presented in a clear and concise manner and does it include all the following information: i. Scope, terms and conditions of services provided, including all the required information listed under each Service category (5 points) P-590 (11-07) 10 of 20 September 25, 2014

13 ii. How it will respond to calls for service (5 points) iii. Dictation Services bidders whose systems integrate with the standard industry Chart Completion Software will have 5 Points added to their score. 2. RECENT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE See Section E3 page 8 25 Points Poor: 0 Marginal: 1-8 Acceptable: 9-17 Exceeds: a. Does the bidder s general experience, in the service industry bid with regard to public health care systems and medical centers, which are acute medical facilities, provide and discuss fully in the response? Does the bidder have a minimum of three (3) years experience in providing the service(s) being bid to institutions similar to SFGHMC? (15 points) b. Does the bidder provide with each proposal at least three (3) Letters of Recommendations from US based clients, which should include comments on the error ratio, reliability and downtime of services provided to the client writing the letter? (10 points) 3. PERSONNEL S PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND See Section E4 page 9 20 Points This category DOES NOT apply to Speech Recognition Proposals Poor: 0 Marginal: 1-6 Acceptable: 7-13 Exceeds: a. Does the bidder provide the Number of personnel and the number of years they have worked in the services bid. (10 points) b. Does the bidder provide Information on how bidder recruits and screens its employees and evaluates them once in its employment? (10 points) 4. TESTS FOR PROPOSALS OFFERING SPEECH 20 Points RECOGNITION SERVICES ONLY Poor: 0 Marginal: 1-6 Acceptable: 7-13 Exceeds: DPH reserves the right to decide how many of the Speech Recognition bidders will be invited to test their systems with SFGHMC dictators. A score will be assigned to the un-transcribed speech results based on the error rate percentage. There will be two (2) separate rounds of dictation. The same text used for both Tests II and I. The dictators will also be the same for both tests. Test I 10 Points Unacceptable 50% or more Error Rate 0 Points Acceptable 40 49% Error Rate 2 Points 30 39% Error Rate 3 Points 25 29% Error Rate 5 Points Exceeds 15 24% Error Rate 7 Points 06 14% Error Rate 8 Points 05 0% Error Rate 10 Points Test II Unacceptable 40% or more Error Rate 0 Points 10 Points Acceptable 30 39% Error Rate 2 Points 20 29% Error Rate 3 Points P-590 (11-07) 11 of 20 September 25, 2014

14 15 19% Error Rate 5 Points Exceeds 10 14% Error Rate 7 Points 05 09% Error Rate 8 Points 0 04% Error Rate 10 Points a. CUSTOMER SUPPORT - Response time - The ability to monitor and measure same day resolution to customer s request. Unscheduled system downtimes will not exceed (50) hours annually. b. REPORTS - The ability to provide month reports to reflect quality in the category of critical non critical and other grammar typos. A monthly report of front end and back voice recognition. A monthly report to account of detail of line count. A monthly report for turnaround time by report type. 5. SERVICE RATES See Appendix B 30 Points The maximum points will be assigned to the lowest, averaged proposed rate/cost proposal. All other proposals will be assigned points by dividing the lowest proposal rate by the other proposal rate(s) and multiplying the results by 20 (the maximum points allowed). TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE FROM PROPOSAL: 100 Points TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE UNDER LBE ORDINANCE: 10 Points This may include: 10% to a certified Micro or Small LBE; or a joint venture between or among certified Micro or Small LBEs; 5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose participation is equal to or exceeds 35%, but is under 40% or 7.5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose participation equals or exceeds 40%; or 10% to a certified non-profit entity. The Contract Analyst will calculate any LBE discount points TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 110 Points V. QUESTIONS AND CONTRACT AWARD A. Question Period All questions and requests for information must be received by electronic mail, fax and/ or US Mail and will be answered at the end of the E-Question period, by electronic mail, fax and or US Mail to all parties who have requested and received a copy of the RFP. The questions will be answered by the program staff. This is the only opportunity firms can ask direct programmatic questions of the Department staff. All questions are to be directed to the following address: Mahlet.Girma@sfdph.org (contract analyst), OR by electronic mail, fax and or US Mail to: P-590 (11-07) 12 of 20 September 25, 2014

15 Mahlet Girma, Contract Analyst San Francisco Department of Public Health Office of Contracts Management & Compliance 1380 Howard St., 4 th floor, #419 San Francisco, CA Phone (415) / Fax (415) E-questions may only be submitted from September 25, 2014 until 12:00 Noon October 9, 2014 No questions or requests for interpretation will be accepted after 12:00pm on October 9, 2014 If you have further questions regarding the RFP, please contact Mahlet Girma at or at Mahlet.Girma@sfdph.org. B. Contract Award The Department of Public Health, Community Health Network will issue Notices of Intent to Award to the selected Proposer with whom DPH staff shall commence contract negotiations. The selection of any proposal shall not imply acceptance by the City of all terms of the Proposal, which may be subject to further negotiation and approvals before the City may be legally bound thereby. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated in a reasonable time DPH, in its sole discretion, may terminate negotiations with the recommended Proposer and begin contract negotiations with the next recommended Proposer. VI. TERMS AND CONDITION FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS A. Errors and Omissions in RFP Proposers are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFP. Proposers are to promptly notify the Department, in writing, if the proposer discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the RFP. Any such notification should be directed to the Department promptly after discovery, but in no event later than five working days prior to the date for receipt of proposals. Modifications and clarifications will be made by addenda as provided below. B. Inquiries Regarding RFP Inquiries regarding the RFP and all oral notifications of an intent to request written modification or clarification of the RFP, must be directed to: Mahlet Girma, Contract Analyst San Francisco Department of Public Health Office of Contracts Management & Compliance 1380 Howard St., 4 th floor, #419 San Francisco, CA Phone (415) / Fax (415) Mahlet.Girma@sfdph.org P-590 (11-07) 13 of 20 September 25, 2014

16 C. Objections to RFP Terms Should a proposer object on any ground to any provision or legal requirement set forth in this RFP, the proposer must, not more than ten calendar days after the RFP is issued, provide written notice to the Department setting forth with specificity the grounds for the objection. The failure of a proposer to object in the manner set forth in this paragraph shall constitute a complete and irrevocable waiver of any such objection. D. Change Notices The Department may modify the RFP, prior to the proposal due date, by issuing Change Notices, which will be posted on the website. The proposer shall be responsible for ensuring that its proposal reflects any and all Change Notices issued by the Department prior to the proposal due date regardless of when the proposal is submitted. Therefore, the City recommends that the proposer consult the website frequently, including shortly before the proposal due date, to determine if the proposer has downloaded all Change Notices. E. Term of Proposal Submission of a proposal signifies that the proposed services and prices are valid for 120 calendar days from the proposal due date and that the quoted prices are genuine and not the result of collusion or any other anti-competitive activity. F. Revision of Proposal A proposer may revise a proposal on the proposer s own initiative at any time before the deadline for submission of proposals. The proposer must submit the revised proposal in the same manner as the original. A revised proposal must be received on or before the proposal due date. In no case will a statement of intent to submit a revised proposal, or commencement of a revision process, extend the proposal due date for any proposer. At any time during the proposal evaluation process, the Department may require a proposer to provide oral or written clarification of its proposal. The Department reserves the right to make an award without further clarifications of proposals received. G. Errors and Omissions in Proposal Failure by the Department to object to an error, omission, or deviation in the proposal will in no way modify the RFP or excuse the vendor from full compliance with the specifications of the RFP or any contract awarded pursuant to the RFP. H. Financial Responsibility The City accepts no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a firm in responding to this RFP. Submissions of the RFP will become the property of the City and may be used by the City in any way deemed appropriate. I. Proposer s Obligations under the Campaign Reform Ordinance P-590 (11-07) 14 of 20 September 25, 2014

17 Proposers must comply with Section of the S.F. Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, which states: No person who contracts with the City and County of San Francisco for the rendition of personal services, for the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment to the City, or for selling any land or building to the City, whenever such transaction would require approval by a City elective officer, or the board on which that City elective officer serves, shall make any contribution to such an officer, or candidates for such an office, or committee controlled by such officer or candidate at any time between commencement of negotiations and the later of either (1) the termination of negotiations for such contract, or (2) three months have elapsed from the date the contract is approved by the City elective officer or the board on which that City elective officer serves. If a proposer is negotiating for a contract that must be approved by an elected local officer or the board on which that officer serves, during the negotiation period the proposer is prohibited from making contributions to: the officer s re-election campaign a candidate for that officer s office a committee controlled by the officer or candidate. The negotiation period begins with the first point of contact, either by telephone, in person, or in writing, when a contractor approaches any city officer or employee about a particular contract, or a city officer or employee initiates communication with a potential contractor about a contract. The negotiation period ends when a contract is awarded or not awarded to the contractor. Examples of initial contacts include: (1) a vendor contacts a city officer or employee to promote himself or herself as a candidate for a contract; and (2) a city officer or employee contacts a contractor to propose that the contractor apply for a contract. Inquiries for information about a particular contract, requests for documents relating to a Request for Proposal, and requests to be placed on a mailing list do not constitute negotiations. Violation of Section may result in the following criminal, civil, or administrative penalties: 1. Criminal. Any person who knowingly or willfully violates section is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and a jail term of not more than six months, or both. 2. Civil. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section may be held liable in a civil action brought by the civil prosecutor for an amount up to $5, Administrative. Any person who intentionally or negligently violates section may be held liable in an administrative proceeding before the Ethics Commission held pursuant to the Charter for an amount up to $5,000 for each violation. For further information, proposers should contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at (415) J. Sunshine Ordinance In accordance with S.F. Administrative Code Section 67.24(e), contractors bids, responses to RFPs and all other records of communications between the City and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be open to inspection immediately after a contract has been awarded. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person s or organization s net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted P-590 (11-07) 15 of 20 September 25, 2014

18 for qualification for a contract or other benefits until and unless that person or organization is awarded the contract or benefit. Information provided which is covered by this paragraph will be made available to the public upon request. K. Public Access to Meetings and Records If a proposer is a non-profit entity that receives a cumulative total per year of at least $250,000 in City funds or City-administered funds and is a non-profit organization as defined in Chapter 12L of the S.F. Administrative Code, the proposer must comply with Chapter 12L. The proposer must include in its proposal (1) a statement describing its efforts to comply with the Chapter 12L provisions regarding public access to proposer s meetings and records, and (2) a summary of all complaints concerning the proposer s compliance with Chapter 12L that were filed with the City in the last two years and deemed by the City to be substantiated. The summary shall also describe the disposition of each complaint. If no such complaints were filed, the proposer shall include a statement to that effect. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements of Chapter 12L or material misrepresentation in proposer s Chapter 12L submissions shall be grounds for rejection of the proposal and/or termination of any subsequent Agreement reached on the basis of the proposal. L. Reservations of Rights by the City The issuance of this RFP does not constitute an agreement by the City that any contract will actually be entered into by the City. The City expressly reserves the right at any time to: 1. Waive or correct any defect or informality in any response, proposal, or proposal procedure; 2. Reject any or all proposals; 3. Reissue a Request for Proposals; 4. Prior to submission deadline for proposals, modify all or any portion of the selection procedures, including deadlines for accepting responses, the specifications or requirements for any materials, equipment or services to be provided under this RFP, or the requirements for contents or format of the proposals; 5. Procure any materials, equipment or services specified in this RFP by any other means; or 6. Determine that no project will be pursued. M. No Waiver No waiver by the City of any provision of this RFP shall be implied from any failure by the City to recognize or take action on account of any failure by a proposer to observe any provision of this RFP. N. Local Business Enterprise Goals and Outreach The requirements of the Local Business Enterprise and Non-Discrimination in Contracting Ordinance set forth in Chapter 14B of the San Francisco Administrative Code as it now exists or as it may be amended in the future (collectively the LBE Ordinance ) shall apply to this RFP. 1. LBE Subconsultant Participation Goals The LBE subcontracting goal has been waived for this RFP. Skip to # Certified LBE Bid Discount /Rating Bonus P-590 (11-07) 16 of 20 September 25, 2014

19 a) Micro LBE and Small LBE Rating Bonus The City strongly encourages proposals from qualified, certified Micro and Small LBEs. Pursuant to Chapter 14B, a rating bonus will be in effect for the award of this project for any proposers who are certified by CMD as a Micro or Small LBE, or joint ventures where the joint venture partners are in the same discipline and have the specific levels of participation as identified below. For joints ventures, the certified Micro and /or Small LBE must be an active partner in the joint venture and perform work, manage the job and take financial risks in proportion to the required level of participation stated in the proposal, and must be responsible for a clearly defined portion of the work to be performed and share in the ownership, control, management responsibilities, risks, and profits of the joint venture. The portion of the certified Micro and/or Small LBE joint venture s work shall be set forth in detail separately from the work to be performed by the non-lbe joint venture partner. The certified Micro and/or Small LBE joint venture s portion of the contract must be assigned a commercially useful function. Certification applications may be obtained by calling CMD at (415) The rating bonus applies at each phase of the selection process. The application of the rating bonus is as follows: i) 10% to a certified Micro or Small LBE; or a joint venture between or among certified Micro or Small LBEs; ii) 5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose participation is equal to or exceeds 35%, but is under 40% or iii) 7.5% to a joint venture with certified Micro and/or Small LBE participation, whose participation equals or exceeds 40%; or iv) 10% to a certified non-profit entity. The rating bonus will be applied by adding 5%, 7.5%, or 10% (as applicable) to the score of each firm eligible for a bonus for the purposes of determining the highest ranked firm. b) Small Business Administration (SBA) LBE Rating Bonus Pursuant to Chapter 14B.7(E), a 2% rating bonus will be in effect for proposers who are certified by CMD as a SBA LBE; however, the 2% rating bonus shall not be applied at any stage if it would adversely affect a Micro or Small LBE proposer or a J/V with LBE participation. 3. CMD Forms to be submitted with Proposal a) All proposals submitted must include the following CMD Forms contained in the CMD Attachment 2: i) Form 2A, CMD Contract Participation Form, ii) Form 3, CMD Non-Discrimination Affidavit, iii) Form 4, CMD Joint Venture Form (if applicable), and iv) Form 5, CMD Employment Form. If these forms are not returned with the proposal, the proposal may be determined to be nonresponsive and may be rejected. b) Please submit only one (1) copy of the above forms with your proposal. The forms should be placed in a separate, sealed envelope labeled CMD Forms. If you have any questions concerning the CMD Forms, you may call Contract Monitoring Division (415) or visit P-590 (11-07) 17 of 20 September 25, 2014

20 VII. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS A. Standard Contract Provisions The successful proposer will be required to enter into a contract in the form of the Agreement for Professional Services, attached hereto as Appendix G. Failure to timely execute the contract, or to furnish any and all insurance certificates and policy endorsement, surety bonds or other materials required in the contract, shall be deemed an abandonment of a contract offer. The City, in its sole discretion, may select another firm and may proceed against the original selectee for damages. Proposers are urged to pay special attention to the requirements of Administrative Code Chapters 12B and 12C, Nondiscrimination in Contracts and Benefits, (Chapter 12B.2 Nondiscrimination; Penalties in the Agreement); the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (Chapter 12P.5 Requiring Minimum Compensation for Covered Employee in the Agreement); the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (Chapter 12Q.2.9 Requiring Health Benefits for Covered Employees in the Agreement); the First Source Hiring Program (Chapter 83 First Source Hiring Program in the Agreement); and applicable conflict of interest laws, as set forth in paragraphs B, C, D, E and F below. B. Nondiscrimination in Contracts and Benefits The successful proposer will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of Chapters 12B and 12C of the San Francisco Administrative Code. Generally, Chapter 12B prohibits the City and County of San Francisco from entering into contracts or leases with any entity that discriminates in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between the domestic partners and spouses of employees. The Chapter 12C requires nondiscrimination in contracts in public accommodation. Additional information on Chapters 12B and 12C is available on the CMD s website at: C. Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO) The successful proposer will be required to agree to comply fully with and be bound by the provisions of the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO), as set forth in S.F. Administrative Code Chapter 12P. Generally, this Ordinance requires contractors to provide employees covered by the Ordinance who do work funded under the contract with hourly gross compensation and paid and unpaid time off that meet certain minimum requirements. For the contractual requirements of the MCO, see Sec.12P.5 of Requiring Minimum Compensation for Covered Employee in the Agreement. For the amount of hourly gross compensation currently required under the MCO, see Note that this hourly rate may increase on January 1 of each year and that contractors will be required to pay any such increases to covered employees during the term of the contract. Additional information regarding the MCO is available on the web at Note that this hourly rate may increase on January 1 of each year and that contractors will be required to pay any such increases to covered employees during the term of the contract. D. Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO) P-590 (11-07) 18 of 20 September 25, 2014