Laboratory Information System (LIS) for Selected Public Health Laboratories in Swaziland
The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) is managing this project through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Global AIDS Program (GAP) in support of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
A complete description of PEPFAR can be found at http://www.pepfar.gov/about/.
This RFP solicits offers from qualified information technology software providers to implement a laboratory information management system (LIMS) at six Phase I sites in Swaziland. We expect that the initial contract funding will enable implementation at less than 6 sites and the provider would complete the Phase I sites with an amended contract award. The successful proposal will provide a cost-effective LIMS that can be maintained reliably in a timely manner and will offer an affordable solution that can be sustained in a resource and infrastructure-limited setting. Proposals should clearly state the plan and means for providing operational support on an on-going basis directly by the provider or through an identified local company with the knowledge and capacity to provide support. Take note that although remote support via Internet may be a component of the support plan, the provider must include a local support component. Providers should be able to offer operational and technical resources available in Swaziland and nearby countries directly or through formal contract with a qualified party. The Phase I project award may be made with an option for the selected provider to continue to rollout the LIMS to additional sites potentially including all Regional/District Hospitals in the Swaziland National Public Health Laboratory System (NPHLS) if the proposal describes favorable licensing fees and innovative options for controlling maintenance costs. APHL, working with the Swaziland MOH and CDC/GAP/Swaziland (CDC-Swaziland), assessed eighteen (18) laboratories designated by the Ministry of Health to observe specimen and data flow, automated laboratory instrumentation used, current computer resources and computer skills and to observe current physical infrastructure as it relates to implementation of LIMS. Those laboratories represented three (3) reference laboratories, six (6) regional laboratories, eight (8) health center laboratories and one (1) private clinic laboratory. Out of these eighteen laboratories, six (6) were selected by MOH to be part of the initial, or Phase I implementation: Matsanjeni Health Center Laboratory, Siphofaneni Clinic Laboratory, Mbabane Government Laboratory (which includes the general laboratory, the National TB Reference Laboratory, the National HIV Reference Laboratory and the National Histology/Cytology Reference Laboratory), the National TB Hospital Laboratory, Dvokolwako Laboratory and Mankayane Laboratory. Respondents to the RFP shall provide the costs for implementation of the six Phase I laboratories individually as well as the total cost for all 6 laboratories. APHL may award an initial contract for fewer than 6 laboratories. Phase I will provide objective information to MOH for development of a national plan for LIMS implementation that addresses the technical, human resource, support and financial issues for a LIMS. APHL expects to award a contract for this project to implement a laboratory information system in several of these laboratories not later than 24 June 2011. The target date for initiation of the implementation of the LIMS in the selected Phase I laboratories is not later than August 2011.
The evaluation of proposals looks for objective information that explains how the provider can provide a cost-effective solution that can be maintained at low-cost. Marketing claims that are not substantiated by clear information and supporting data are not compelling.
APHL assisted the Swaziland MOH in the performance of a comprehensive evaluation of the laboratory system needs for an LIMS and the development of an implementation plan for the Phase I laboratories. Assessment team activities included the following:
- Assessment of operations at the Phase I laboratories and meetings with stakeholders, in order to describe standard laboratory services and current LIMS capacity in the public health sector of Swaziland;
- Visits to other governmental laboratories to compare sample flow procedures and understand how samples are processed;
- Discussions on LIMS requirements with Swaziland government and health officials, as well as CDC-Swaziland staff;
- Assistance with development of an action plan for the implementation of LIMS in Swaziland; and
- Collection of the specific information and requirements for the development of an RFP for the purchase of a LIMS application.
Designated Contact for this RFP
NAME: Lucy Maryogo-Robinson
TITLE: Director, Global Health Program
Email: lucy.robinson@aphl.org
Note: Any solicitation or contact concerning this RFP must be made to the designated Contact. Communications regarding the content of this RFP are prohibited to any other employee of APHL, the Swaziland MOH or CDC employees involved in the LIMS Phase I Project or any staff at the Phase I laboratories except as authorized by the designated Contact, during the period from date of release of the RFP until the notice of intent to contract is released. Unauthorized contact concerning this RFP may disqualify the respondent from participating in the RFP process (may not be considered in the review of respondents).
PREPARING AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
Contractor information required to be included with response.
- Full legal name and if LIMS provider has a “doing business name” the d/b/a as well.
- Authorized representative of the Contractor for the proposal.
- Telephone, fax and e-mail address of the single point of contact for communication between APHL and the LIMS provider. Contact information for other persons whom the LIMS provider may request informational copies sent in addition to the single point of contact.
- Business mailing address.
Responses must be sent to APHL by e-mail attachment in MSWord or PDF format (electronic signatures accepted) to lucy.robinson@aphl.org; OR by fax to 240-485-2712 attention of Lucy Maryogo-Robinson, Director, Global Health Program, APHL; OR by courier/delivery service that has a tracking system OR by U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Priority or Express Mail to Lucy Maryogo-Robinson, APHL, 8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 700, Silver Spring, MD, USA 20910. E-mail attachment is the preferred means of receipt. E-mail and fax responses must be received at the APHL office by 5:00 PM EDT (9:00 PM UTC) on 18 May 2011. Courier and USPS responses must be postmarked or entered into a tracking system by 5:00 PM EDT (9:00 PM UTC) on 18 May 2011. Submitters will receive a confirmation of receipt of their proposal by APHL. APHL may terminate or modify the RFP process at any time during the response period.
Responses that are not received by the stated deadline shall be determined to be non-responsive and at APHL’s discretion may not be considered in the review of respondents. There are three parts of the review for the award of this contract by APHL.
Part One:
· APHL reviews all responses received by the response deadline, assesses the responses compared to the requirements stated in the RFP and provides Swaziland MOH and CDC-Swaziland a detailed report of evaluation of the proposals. Responses are assessed on these criteria:
o LIMS Phase I Project requirements
o Strength of the provider’s project plan to successfully implement a LIMS at the Phase I laboratories including the user and super user training plan and user manuals
o Strength of the provider’s project plan to sustain operation of LIMS at the Phase I laboratories including the plan to provide local support for the LIMS software and retraining of users and super users. If the provider does not have an office in Swaziland staffed by IT support staff, the support plan cannot rely solely on remote support via Internet and on-site visits to Swaziland.
o Projected estimated costs for provider on-site support including travel, lodging and meals
o Value of the offer relative to cost, performance and maintenance
· In discussion with Swaziland MOH and CDC-Swaziland, one or more providers are selected for Part Two of the RFP review process. Applications that meet the minimum technical requirements of the RFP may not be included for consideration in Part Two. Applications with advantages and strengths in the noted criteria compared to other applications and which offer the best overall value are included in Part Two. Finding affordable, reliable LIMS is a major goal and respondents are encouraged to provide innovative approaches to controlling costs. The Ministries of developing countries cannot expect to sustain LIMS at the costs that are generally offered in the current IT market, especially with regard to software licenses. Respondents to the RFP are reminded to address all noted criteria and include all costs associated with the provider’s proposed implementation.
Part Two:
· APHL may require respondents selected for Part Two of the review process to travel to Mbabane, Swaziland, to present a demonstration of their proposed application to the Swaziland LIMS Technical Working Group (Swaziland TWG) made up of representatives of Swaziland MOH and the Phase I laboratory managers (or their representatives) and answer questions related to their software, project plan and costs. The presentations are organized and facilitated by APHL, in coordination with CDC-Swaziland. If a respondent is required to travel to Swaziland, APHL may provide a stipend, the amount determined by APHL, to partially offset the cost of travel to Swaziland for up to 2 representatives of a selected respondent.
· The review of proposals in Part Two may be done without requiring presentations by providers in Swaziland. In this case, APHL will organize and facilitate remote conferencing and demonstration of the provider’s software. APHL staff will be in Swaziland with the Swaziland TWG for these presentations.
Part Three:
· After consideration of the information provided in the RFP response and a detailed review of proposals selected for consideration in Part Two, Swaziland TWG shall recommend to MOH the preferred respondent in consultation with APHL and CDC-Swaziland. APHL will request a final offer from the preferred respondent prior to awarding a contract.
o The final offer will permit inclusion of changes that may arise in deliverables or conditions of the implementation during the negotiation of a contract.
o The purchasing contract negotiated between APHL and the selected provider will identify costs and payments to be associated with:
§ initial system licenses
§ purchase price
§ implementation costs including related estimated travel expenses, if any.
§ training costs
§ maintenance and update costs
§ other associated costs and services for the first and subsequent years post-implementation
Detailed contract and terms will be finalized as part of contract negotiations. The contract starting and ending effective dates shall be indicated on the purchase order or contract.
Ralph Timperi
Senior Director
Laboratory Practice & Management
Association of Public Health Laboratories
18 April 2011
GENERAL Information, Assumptions, REQUIREMENTS and Preferences
The notes here on general issues, assumptions and preferences, while not requirements, provide an overview of the non-functional requirements and preferences that are important issues for consideration by respondents since they describe key aspects of the LIMS that would be most appropriate.
1. This LIMS application should be a laboratory-oriented, sample-centric application as opposed to a patient-centric, patient management application. While there are many patient-centric applications that have laboratory components, the primary purpose of this application is to collect and manage laboratory test data, quality control data, inventory control data, standard operating procedures and training information within the laboratory. Sample-centric laboratory systems that link individual patient data through some universal identifier for epidemiological purposes are preferred.
2. For the purpose of this RFP, installations in laboratories should be considered as separate, individual installations. However, applications must have the capability to enable central data management .APHL expects providers to offer a single group licensing fee for the Phase I project. In general, single site and single workstation licensing fees are too burdensome for government agencies in developing countries. APHL encourages providers to offer innovative proposals for licensing fees that will enable wider implementation of LIMS and sustainability with limited resources. s.
3. Respondents should keep in mind that this RFP is designed for the purchase and installation of application software in the Swaziland Phase I laboratories only. The goal for LIMS implementation for laboratories in the Swaziland MOH is to provide LIMS at all MOH laboratory locations, currently 18 sites. . Respondents may supply cost estimates for these additional sites, beyond the Phase I sites, in the cost break-down sheet in Section 8. This is optional and not required, but affordability of a wide area LIMS network linking all MOH sites is a considered factor in the review.
4. The laboratory requirements found in section 6 are meant to be a guide for respondents in responding to this RFP and to ensure that respondents understand the type of data that needs to be collected and communicated within the Swaziland laboratories. Consequently, they are general in nature and represent the minimum of data points to be collected.
5. The ability for the LIMS to remotely order tests and report results is preferable and although not a requirement for Phase I of this project, the system should either have or be extensible enough to accommodate this feature.
6. Applications that have the ability to create and transmit data files in internationally recognized standards such as HL7 and utilize standard vocabulary code sets such as LOINC and SNOMED are preferred.
7. Respondents can assume that:
a. A local LAN will be in place and functional at the Swaziland Phase I laboratories prior to installation of the application. Respondents can assume that required networking, switches, hubs, firewalls, virus software, etc., will be provided.
b. The laboratory will have access to the Internet either through broadband or dial-up connection and that the access will be available through the local LAN installed in the laboratory.
c. Sufficient PC’s will be available to run the application software at the Swaziland Phase I laboratories prior to the installation of the application software.
d. Bar code printers and scanners (if necessary) along with a sufficient number of networked system printers required by the selected application will be available prior to the installation of application software.
8. The hardware (PC’s, database software, servers, switches, racks, printers, scanners, standard serial or crossover cables, USB to serial converters, etc.) and system software (PC operating system software, server operating system software database software, virus software, etc.) along with consumables required for a successful implementation will be supplied according to the results and recommendations of the GAP analysis. Respondents should bid a LIMS application package that includes the following for the Swaziland Phase I installations:
a. Estimated costs for the post-award assessment of laboratory workflow and functional requirements and customization of the provider’s software
b. All software required to make the LIMS viable at each Phase I site
c. Hardware not already available in the laboratory, including any required specialized cabling for instrument interfaces
d. Interfacing of laboratory instruments listed in the RFP
e. Super user, network administrator and end user training (initial minimum one week end user training at the laboratory facility on the software as provided, two weeks post-live supportive supervision)
f. Installation of the software for use at each of the Swaziland Phase I laboratories. including
g. One (1) year minimum of software maintenance (updates, patches, etc.)
h. One (1) year minimum of software support (for user questions, help desk, etc.).
i. Plans and prices for the continuation of software maintenance and support
j. Costs associated with additional instrument interfaces beyond those included in this RFP
k. Costs associated with technical support (not included with software maintenance and support)
l. Costs associated with training and software customization following initial installation.
Questions regarding technical and business (laboratory) requirements described in this RFP must be directed in writing, via email to lucy.robinson@aphl.org with a read receipt request. Acknowledgement of questions received will be made within 48 hours. If acknowledgement is not received, the provider should resubmit the request or contact Ms. Maryogo-Robinson at 240-485-2770 to assure receipt. Responses to questions may be shared with all respondents, at APHL’s discretion, without attribution to the source of the question.
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Due to the text limitation of this board, if you are interested in responding to this RFP, you must email Lucy Maryogo-Robinson at APHL (lucy.robinson@aphl.org) to obtain the official RFP response documentation. This documentation will contain all necessary information and tools to enable you to respond accordingly.
E-mail and fax responses must be received at the APHL office by 5:00 PM EDT (9:00 PM UTC) on May18, 2011. Courier and USPS responses must be postmarked or entered into a tracking system by 5:00 PM EDT (9:00 PM UTC) on May 18, 2011.
