Identification and construction of national standardized terminology for critical social risk domains as approved by Gravity project

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE AN ORDER.  This is not a request for competitive proposals/quotes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hereby announces its intent to issue a sole source order to Health Level Seven International at 455 E. Eisenhower PKWY STE 300 #025, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108. Expectations of the request is for HL7 Gravity Project to expand the identification and construction of national standardized terminology for critical social risk domains as approved by the Gravity project. For 2024 the work will be split between prioritized new domains and completing assessment recommendations for LOINC and other standards updates for existing domains.

The NAICS code for this acquisition is 541990- All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, with a size standard of $19.5 million.

DRAFT STATEMENT of WORK:

SECTION 1 – BACKGROUND 

Health Level SevenR (HL7R) and HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability ResourcesR (FHIRR) standards have widespread acceptance as means to enable secure exchange of health information across geographies, platforms, and devices. HL7 FHIR standards are anticipated to be the primary means for health information transmission for health information systems. Standardized high quality data collection and transmission of social determinants of health (SDOH) has been identified as a critical public health necessity by HHS, CDC, the AMA, and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and CDC Foundation (HHS Data Strategy, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-healthforum/ fullarticle/2790811, https://www.cdc.gov/about/advisory-committee-director/healthequity- group.html, H-160.896 Expanding Access to Screening Tools for Social Determ | AMA (amaassn.org), data-equity-principles (cdcfoundation.org).

SECTION 2 – PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE

HL7 created the Gravity Project to address the expected impact of FHIR on health information exchange and the health equity necessity of standards for SDOH. The Gravity Project is a national public collaborative, created to develop consensus-based data standards to improve how health information on SDOH are used use and shared using FHIR. The project’s goal is to advance health and social data standardization to improve health equity. The Gravity Domain Contract will directly support the most critical workstream, the terminology work stream which will identify and construct a national standardized terminology for critical social risk domains. This is a critical step in building standardized SDOH data elements to benefit patients, clinicians, researchers, and public health programs.

SECTION 3 – SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of this contract is for the HL7 Gravity Project to expand the identification and construction of national standardized terminology for critical social risk domains as approved by the Gravity project.  For 2024 the work will be split between prioritized new domains and completing assessment recommendations for LOINC and other standards updates for existing domains.

Prioritized new domains:

Utility Insecurity

Language Barriers

Legal Involvement/Incarceration

Existing domains:

Housing Instability

Education

Employment Status

Food Insecurity

Elder Abuse

Social Connection

Financial Insecurity

Veteran Status

Homelessness

Transportation Insecurity

Stress

Inadequate Housing

Medical Cost Burden

Intimate Partner Violence (IPE)

Material Hardship

Health Insurance Coverage Status

Health Literacy

Digital Literacy

Digital Access

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Twelve (12) months

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A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed action will be based on responses to this notice and is solely in the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

All vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov , prior to an award of a federal contract.

This action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit quotations.

This is not a request for competitive quotations; however, the Government will review any/all product, capabilities, and pricing information submitted prior to the closure of this notice. A determination by the government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Responsible sources that believe they possess the expertise and capabilities identified above are hereby afforded the opportunity to submit to the Contracting Officer by the closing date of this notice, their written capabilities statement and pricing information in the format they choose, not to exceed 10 pages. Please forward, as applicable, any capabilities, product, pricing information (for products, etc.), and/or other pertinent information to Cody T Martin, Contract Specialist, CDC, via email at zeb0@cdc.gov by July 26, 2024 at 4:00 PM. ET Local.