Phoenix Rising BBS/phoenixrising.zip/phoenixrising/pac_bell/health.txt

Text File | 1995-03-20 | 26KB | 630 lines

              CalREN
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL:  Health Care


Briefing Sessions:

San Francisco Bay Area

  December 7, 1993
  10:00 AM - NOON
  San Francisco Airport Hilton
  Terrace Ballroom
  San Francisco International Airport

Greater Los Angeles Area

  December 8, 1993
  10:00 AM - NOON
  Los Angeles Hilton & Towers
  Sierra Ballroom
  930 Wilshire Blvd.
  Los Angeles


Date to Submit Applications:

  February 28, 1994
         by
      5:00 PM


Where to Submit Applications:

  The CalREN Program
  Attn:  Health Care Proposal Registrar
  c/o Pacific Bell
  2600 Camino Ramon, Room 3S306
  San Ramon, CA 94583





Request for CalREN Proposal

      Health Care



Table of Contents


I.  INTRODUCTION


I.A   CalREN Overview

I.B.  Request for Proposal (RFP) Categories

I.C.  Restrictions


II.  PROJECT GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA


II.A  Project Description

II.B  Project Management


III.  PROPOSAL PROCESS


III.A  Proposal Submission

III.B  Proposal Format

III.C  Proposal Review




Appendix:   Product Descriptions
I.  INTRODUCTION

I.A  CalREN Overview

CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, is Pacific Bell's
program to stimulate the development and dissemination of high-speed data
communication applications.  CalREN's goal is to promote the development of
applications that:

-     Improve education and health care delivery
-     Improve business and governmental processes
-     Facilitate new business development and job creation
-     Improve the economic competitiveness of California

CalREN, an established trust of Pacific Bell, will promote applications
development by sponsoring demonstration projects which are dedicated
towards these goals.  CalREN will fund the high-speed data communications
component of approved collaborative projects.  CalREN will sponsor approved
projects for six to eighteen months from project implementation.

CalREN funding is targeted for the San Francisco Bay and Greater Los
Angeles Areas.  For CalREN purposes, the San Francisco Bay Area consists of
the majority of area codes 415, 510, and 408 (as far south as Watsonville).
 The Greater Los Angeles area consists of the majority of area codes 213,
310 and 818.  In both the Northern and Southern California CalREN
geographies, those areas served by GTE are excluded unless special
arrangements have been made with GTE.

Additional CalREN overview information can be found in CalREN Briefing
Package No. 1 (6/30/93), Briefing Package No. 2 (9/7/93) and Briefing
Package No. 3 (10/6/93).  In any instance of conflict, the information in
this RFP takes precedence over information provided in previous briefing
packages.  For copies of these documents, please fax your request to CalREN
at [phone].

I.B  Request for Proposal (RFP) Categories

CalREN issued RFPs for applications involving Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM) in the San Francisco Bay and Greater Los Angeles Areas in September
and October.  This Request for Proposal (RFP) is for the solicitation of
CalREN projects focused on specific health care applications. The CalREN
Health Care RFP is being issued simultaneously with RFPs for applications
to improve (1) Education and (2) Community, Government and Commercial
Services.  Schedule specifics for these two RFPs are provided in CalREN
Briefing Package No.3 (10/6/93).

Applications submitted under the Education, Health Care or Community,
Government and Commercial Services RFPs must include one or more of  the
following Pacific Bell data communication services:

-     Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS)
-     Frame Relay
-     Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
-     Switched Digital Services 56 (SDS-56)

Additional information on these services is provided in Appendix A.
Project submissions which require ATM service must be submitted to the ATM
RFPs.  (Note:  traditional residential or commercial phone service is not
included in CalREN funding.)

CalREN recognizes that a proposed application may fall into more than one
CalREN RFP category.  In these situations the decision regarding which RFP
to respond to should be based on the nature of the project, the primary
project beneficiaries and the project leader's area of
expertise/mission/work activities.  For example, a proposed application
might involve the establishment of a wide-area network of community service
and educational organizations to provide training for health care
professionals.  In this situation the application should be submitted under
the Health Care RFP because health care professionals are the primary
beneficiaries.

CalREN reserves the right to re-categorize RFP project submissions as
deemed necessary to be in the submitter's best interest.  CalREN will only
re-categorize a project if the project's objectives are more closely
aligned with the criteria of another RFP.  If you have questions regarding
which RFP to respond to, contact the CalREN staff.

I.C  Restrictions

CalREN will fund Pacific Bell switched, data communication services for up
to 18 months from project implementation.  If projects extend beyond 18
months, the project participants will be responsible for ongoing tariffed
charges.  CalREN may allow some flexibility in the 18 month limitation for
the implementation of larger projects.  Requests will be considered on a
project by project basis.  Projects will not be assessed installation
charges for services already in place upon completion of CalREN funding.

CalREN's support of a project cannot directly cause the disconnection or
deferment of commercial telecommunications services from any
telecommunications carrier.

Project results must be openly available to the public.  At a minimum, this
refers to a project's final report or findings.

CalREN and Pacific Bell assume no liability for disclosure of proprietary
information.  Do not include any proprietary information in your proposals
such as trade secrets, proprietary commercial or financial information, or
confidential personal information.

Information contained in unsuccessful proposals will remain the property of
the proposer.  CalREN and Pacific Bell will, however, retain copies of all
proposals.

Pacific Bell assumes no liability for the costs associated with the
preparation or submission of proposals.

There is no commitment by CalREN to make any awards on any application or
to make a specific number of awards.



CalREN Health Care RFP Summary:

This is one of five RFPs to be issued for solicitation of CalREN projects.

Geography:            SF Bay & Greater Los Angeles Areas
                      Briefing sessions will be held in both
                      geographies

Target Services:      SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, SDS-56

Issue Date:           November 1, 1993

Submission Date:      February 28, 1994

Approval Date:        March 25, 1994

Implementation:       Staggered after April, 1994



II.  PROJECT GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria.

II.A Project Description

CalREN seeks collaborative projects which focus on the development of a
specific health care application.  Generally approved projects will be
pilot or demonstration in nature.  These health care applications must
involve the use of high-speed data communications, benefit a broad
community of users, address one or more of the health care priorities
highlighted below, and be implemented as a collaborative effort with
multiple participants.

II.A.1  Health Care Application

Medical technology has advanced greatly in the past century.  However,
better use of communications technology linked with the development of
health care applications are viewed as a critical component of CalREN.
Proposed applications should support CalREN goals stated in Section I.A and
be in concert with federal government initiatives for health care reform.

CalREN proposals should address applications in one or more of the
following health care communities of interest:

-  Short Term Care:  Hospitals and clinics that provide
                     health care services.

-  Ambulatory Care:  Physician and dental offices.

-  Long Term Care:  Nursing homes and other facilities that
                    provide services for more than 30 days.
                    Includes Skilled Nursing Facilities,
                    Intermediate Care Facilities and
                    Domiciliary Care.

-  Allied Services:  Blood Banks, pharmacies, professional
                     associations.

-  Outpatient Care:  Care usually completed in one day.

-  Medical Laboratories:  Medical and dental laboratory
                          services.

II.A.2  Use of Data Communications

Proposals must describe how high-speed data communications will be used to
achieve project objectives.  Applications must involve wide area, switched
data communications within Pacific Bell service areas.  The targeted CalREN
services are outlined in Appendix A.  Examples of potential uses of data
communications include:

-  TELEMEDICINE:  Applications allowing doctors and other care givers to
consult with specialists miles away; continually upgrade their education
and skills; share medical records, and/or share images, such as X-rays.

-  ELECTRONIC ELIGIBILITY AND CLAIMS PROCESSING:  Applications that can
reduce the administrative cost and/or improve the ease and speed of
verifying eligibility, processing referrals obtaining authorizations for
services, submitting claims, and issuing payment for those claims.

-  PATIENT RECORD HANDLING:  Applications that provide for the electronic
storage of patient records and the ability to share those records in a
timely manner among a broad community of interest.

-  MANAGEMENT SERVICES:  Applications that can reduce the costs of
providing support services such as escort services, food services,
security, housekeeping or fiscal/management services (accounting, business
office, purchasing, personnel and public relations, etc.).

-  OTHER:  The above list is NOT all inclusive.  Creative applications that
aid in the development, documentation, and/or administration of drugs,
provide remote access to health care, foster early intervention and/or home
based self-care or education, improve the management and transport of
patient information, or that reduce the overall cost of providing health
care services (e.g. reduce malpractice costs, decrease clerical time) will
be considered.

II.A.3  Expected Benefits

Proposed health care applications are expected to use communications
technology to increase the availability and impact of health care resources
and/or reduce the cost of access to and/or quality and reliability of these
resources.   Projects should also closely integrate the entire
community-of-interest that provides services to those who receive services.
 For example, a project may include the patient, a clinic or community
services organization, the physicians' office or medical group, the
pharmacy, a medical or dental lab involved, and the insurance carrier
providing coverage.

(a)  Target population

Projects should target a clearly defined population of beneficiaries.  The
beneficiary population might include one or more of the following groups:
patients, care givers, support services, and/or insurance providers.
Project benefits and/or potential benefits should extend to the widest
possible segment of the California population.  Proposals must include a
description of the target population, its size, needs, and demographic
characteristics.  Projects which extend the availability of an existing
application to a new or expanded set of users are encouraged.

(b)  Special Consideration

Special consideration will be given to applications which:

-  Extend health care benefits to high cost or under-served communities.
Examples include cost effectively extending the use of sophisticated
medical technology to remote areas or among multiple users or improving the
delivery of services to those most in need (e.g. those served by a free
clinic).

-  Include small business, minority or woman-owned businesses, and/or
utilize free clinics, non-profit organizations, or community service
organizations in their proposal.

(c)  Dissemination plan

Proposed projects must clearly identify and document the expected and
potential benefits and accomplishments that will be delivered at the
conclusion of the project.  Proposals need to include how benefits will be
measured, documented, and distributed and the feasibility and ease of
extending the application across the health care and other markets.  The
project's findings or final report will be available to the public.

II.B  Project Management

CalREN seeks projects which demonstrate significant collaboration, strong
project leadership and effective project management.

II.B.1  Collaboration

CalREN strongly encourages collaboration and cooperation in project
formation.  Generally, multiple organization participation is expected.
CalREN seeks project participants from all segments of the health care
community such as Doctors/Medical Groups, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies,
professional organizations, etc.  Projects that extend to the broadest
community-of-interest  will be favored.  Partnerships between public and
private organizations are encouraged under CalREN.

CalREN seeks project teams with a wide spectrum of experience and specific
expertise related to the project priorities.  CalREN encourages the
participation of small businesses, and minority or woman-owned businesses
along with the under-served communities as described in Section II.A.3.

Participants must contribute to the project in one or more ways.  Each
participant's contribution should be specified.  Examples of contributions
include funds, in-kind services, equipment, applications, application
development, personnel, or other (non-Pacific Bell) communication services.

In cases where projects do not lend themselves to significant contributions
from all participants, a project might consider supporting a disadvantaged
user group's access to the application.  For example, an HMO might adopt a
battered women's group and provide the means for that group's
participation.

II.B.2  Project Leader

Each project must have a designated project leader.  Pacific Bell and
CalREN will not formulate or lead projects. The project leader will be the
primary liaison with CalREN and is expected to demonstrate strong project
management skills and relevant technological expertise.  The project leader
and participants should provide information on their experience in using
technology-based health care resources and in health care project delivery
and/or design.  Success in other collaborative projects is a positive
factor in proposal review.

II.B.3  Management Plan

Projects must have well-defined objectives, measurable milestones and time
frames.  CalREN seeks projects of six to eighteen months duration, measured
from the installation date.  The duration of the project should be long
enough to develop, implement and measure the benefits of any particular
application.  Projects must justify the duration of requested services.

The project management plan should follow the format included in Section
III:  Proposal Process.

III. PROPOSAL PROCESS

III.A  Proposal Submission

Project proposals for CalREN funding must be received by 5:00 PM on
February 28,1994.  Receipt of proposal submissions will be acknowledged in
writing.  Proposals must be limited to 15 pages in length, including the
executive summary.  A maximum of 10 additional pages may be included in
attachments as specified in Section III.B:  Proposal Format.   Please send
five copies of the proposal to:

  The CalREN Program
  c/o Pacific Bell
  Attn:  Health Care Proposal Registrar
  2600 Camino Ramon, Room 3S306
  San Ramon, CA 94583

Briefing sessions are planned for December 7, 1993 in San Francisco and
December 8, 1993 in Los Angeles to answer any questions about CalREN and/or
this Request for Proposal.  The San Francisco briefing session will be held
at the San Francisco Airport Hilton, Terrace Ballroom, San Francisco
International Airport, from 10:00 AM to NOON.  The Los Angeles briefing
session will be held at the Los Angeles Hilton, 930 Wilshire Blvd., Sierra
Ballroom, from 10:00 AM to NOON.

Information presented at the Los Angeles and Bay Area briefing sessions
will be identical; two locations are planned for the convenience of
attendees only.  Attendance at these meetings is not required and is not
necessary to develop a promising proposal.  A summary of these meetings
will be distributed to all those on the CalREN mailing list.

If you have any questions contact CalREN staff at:

           E-mail:  [e-mail]
           Phone:  1-800-CALREN7
           FAX:  [phone]

III.B  Proposal Format

All proposals must be submitted according to the following outline,
including the use of section and subsection numbering.

Section 1:  Executive Summary (1- 2 pages)

This executive summary will be evaluated based on its merit before the
remainder of the proposal and will be influential in the identification of
high interest offerings.  CalREN plans to make public the executive
summaries of approved projects.

1.a  Project Title

1.b  Project Geography

Identify whether the project is planned for the San Francisco Bay Area
and/or Greater Los Angeles Area geography.  Note that projects which
require transport between the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Areas will
need to receive support from an inter-exchange (long distance) carrier.

1.c  Project Description

Enumerate the project's specific objectives and summarize the anticipated
benefits and targeted beneficiaries of the proposed project.

1.d  Project Use of Data Communication Services

Describe which Pacific Bell data communication services will be used to
achieve project objectives.  Specify the number and location of
connections, and the requested service duration. The number and duration of
data communication services requested must be justified in the body of the
proposal.

1.e  Project Leader and Participants

Clearly identify the project leader including their name, address,
telephone number and organizational affiliation.  Identify the key
personnel who will be collaborating in the project.

1.f  Project Plan

Provide a brief summary of the work to be completed.  The summary should
indicate what is planned, how and where the work will be carried out, a
schedule of major milestones, and when the final product (such as a final
report) is to be delivered.

Section 2:  Project  Description

2.a  Project Title

2.b  Project Application

Fully describe the project and the target health care application.  Specify
the project's purpose and objectives.  Justify the scope, duration and use
of the requested data communication services.

2.c    Network Configuration

2.c.i  Pacific Bell Data Communication Services

State the physical locations, by street address, where the data
communication service access is required.  Specify the requested service
duration and estimated monthly usage requirements where appropriate.

2.c.ii  Project Participant Components

List all major non-Pacific Bell components of the project (customer
premises equipment, computer equipment, software and personnel).  Specify
the source of acquisition of each project component.

2.d  Expected Benefits

2.d.i  Expected Benefits Summary

State the expected benefits that will be delivered at the conclusion of the
project.  Describe the project's impact on reducing the costs of access to
and/or quality and reliability of health care.  Outline any other health
care goals of the project.

2.d.ii  Project Beneficiaries

Clearly define the target beneficiaries, their size, needs and demographic
characteristics.  Provide documentation supporting the projected
beneficiary population as appropriate.

2.d.iii  Under-served Communities

Identify those project beneficiaries which represent under-served
communities.  Describe the benefiting communities including their size,
needs and demographic characteristics.  If these communities require
additional support, describe how  the project plans to provide this
additional support to under-served groups.

2.d.iv  Dissemination Plan

Include a plan for broadly disseminating the results of the proposed
activity.  Describe the measurement, documentation and distribution
procedures to be used.  Also describe the feasibility and ease of using the
application in other health care organizations and/or other industries.

2.d.v  Final Report

State how the project's findings or final report will be made available to
the public.  Identify who will be the authors of the final report.

Section 3:  Project Leadership and Management Plan

3.a  Qualifications of Project Leader

Identify the governing or managing entity with clear responsibility for
performance of the project activity.  Provide information on the project
manager's leadership experience.  Include a resume or other relevant
information on the quality and depth of experience of the project leader in
Attachment A.

3.b  Qualifications of Project Participants

Describe qualifications of project participants and key staff members
(supporting documentation can be included in Attachment A).  Provide
evidence of effectiveness of the participants in the development and
implementation of other projects involving health care technology.  Include
any letters of support from other project participants or supporters in
Attachment B.

3.c   Small, minority and women-owned businesses

Identify if any of the project participants represent small businesses and
minority and women-owned businesses.  For purposes of this RFP a small
business is defined as an independently owned, operated and organized for
profit; not dominant in the field of operation in which it is proposing;
and has less than 500 employees.

3.d  Project Management Plan

Indicate what is planned, how and where the work will be completed and the
final product to be delivered.  Provide a timetable for project
implementation including start and completion dates and a schedule of
project milestones.  The methods planned to achieve each objective or task
should be discussed explicitly and in detail, including the process for
project monitoring and review.  The anticipated results of the application
if the project is successful should be stated.

Section 4:  Project Budget

4.a  Total project budget
4.b  Data communication costs
4.c  Participant contributions

Section 5:  Attachments to Proposal

5.a  Qualifications of project participants and key staff members
5.b  Letters of support from project participants/supporters
5.c  Other supporting materials as appropriate

III.C  Proposal Review

Upon receipt, CalREN staff will initially review the proposals to verify
compliance with proposal requirements, and to ensure that the proposed
project is within the scope of CalREN.  CalREN staff will also complete a
review to ensure technical fit.

After CalREN staff review, the applications will be evaluated by the CalREN
Health Care Council.  Council members will be selected based on their
expertise in the delivery of health care services and heath care funding,
and communications and health care related technology.  The council will
include a cross-section of representatives from the health care community.

The selection criteria will focus on the quality and cost effectiveness of
proposals and responsiveness to the project guidelines outlined in Section
II.  Where project evaluations are essentially equal in merit, several
factors will be given additional consideration in the proposal evaluation
process.  In cases where the evaluation of proposals is substantially
equal, preference for award will be given to those proposals which include
(1) benefits to under-served communities, (2) minority or woman-owned
business participants, and/or (3) small business participants over those
which do not include such benefits or organizations.

Also, projects of greater scope will be favored over projects of limited
scope.  For example, a project which integrates multiple organizations
within the health care community of interest and/or  across a broad
geographic region (within the same Pacific Bell service area) will be
favored over a project limited to a single hospital, medical group, or
HMO/PPO.

CalREN plans to award at least 15 projects  under this RFP.  CalREN seeks
to balance the distribution of these projects between the North and South
geographies. Proposed projects are not subject to a monetary limit and are
expected to range in size and scope.  For example, one project might
involve 30 to 40 ISDN lines to connect a medical center with several
clinics and groups of physicians.  Another might require only 4 to 5 SMDS
or Frame Relay connections between medical institutions to provide distance
learning.  CalREN plans to notify award recipients by April 25,1994.

CalREN expects to receive many more worthwhile proposals than it can fund.
Because of this budget limit, we may have to decline meritorious projects.
This does not in any way reflect on the value of the idea or organization
involved, but rather is a result of limited resources.