DA10--Ambient Scribe Enterprise IDIQ (VA-26-00012979)

Amendment / Modification

This amendment (A00001) to solicitation 36C10B26R0006 makes the following changes:

• Provides the Government's response to vendor questions.
• Extends the solicitation due date to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
• Incorporates revisions into Section A.2(iv) as referenced on page 3.
• Revises Section B.1(3)(c) to clarify invoicing occurs after Government acceptance of deliverables under individual Task Orders.
• Incorporates revisions into Section B.3, Paragraph 5.1.6 (Technical Support of the Performance Work Statement) as referenced on page 15.

Sections A.2(iv), B.1(3)(c), and B.3 (Paragraph 5.1.6) of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) are affected.

The proposal submission deadline has been extended to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides responses to questions posed by prospective Offerors regarding the Ambient Scribe Enterprise Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) solicitation (36C10B26R0006).

• Contract Ceiling and Funding: The maximum overall value for the Ambient Scribe IDIQ contracts is $775,720,000.00. Funding will be secured at the task order level, not the IDIQ level.
• Proposal Submission (Phase I): Only Volume I (Clinical Operational Deployment) is required for the initial Phase I submission. Subsequent volumes will be requested upon notification for Phase II.
• FedRAMP Requirement: FedRAMP authorization at the Moderate impact level is mandatory, but not required at the time of proposal submission. The solution must demonstrate the capability to achieve it.
• Proposal Submission Deadline: The due date for Volume I has been extended to April 6, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. EST.
• New Requirement: This is a new requirement; prior efforts were limited to pilot activities and do not represent a previous contract for this specific requirement.
• System Functionality Test (SFT) Evaluation: The Government will not disclose specific algorithms or normalization rules for WER calculation. All Offerors will be evaluated using a standardized Government process.
• User-Months Calculation: The 4,700,000 user-month ceiling is an estimate based on anticipated enterprise-wide demand; the detailed methodology will not be disclosed, and the cap is not expected to increase.
• EHR Integration: Full API-level integration, including automatic patient/context launch and note injection, is expected. Text-based insertion alone is insufficient. Integration into VistA/CPRS is required for Day 1.
• Data Residency: All VA data, including clinical data, transcripts, and logs, must be stored, processed, and transmitted only within the United States, beyond FedRAMP Moderate requirements.
• AI Model Changes: A 30-day advance disclosure is required for any material AI model change, including updates to underlying foundation or third-party models, not just application layer changes. Routine, non-material maintenance updates are excluded.

Several questions led to clarifications on proposal submission requirements, deadlines, and specific technical and contractual terms. Amendment A00001 has been issued to reflect some of these updates. Offerors should carefully review the Q&A and any amendments to ensure full compliance with the solicitation requirements.

Amendment / Modification

This document is Amendment A00001 to Solicitation 36C10B26R0006.

• It includes updates to the original solicitation.

• It also contains the Government's responses to vendor questions.

• The original solicitation document.

• The attached "36C10B26R0006 A00001" file contains the specific updates.

• The attached "36C10B26R0006 - Questions and Answers" file contains the vendor question responses.

Bidders should review the attached amendment and Q&A document for any changes to requirements, deadlines, or submission instructions. Further details are provided within the attached amendment.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a pricing spreadsheet (Excel file) containing instructions and templates for bidders to submit their pricing for the Ambient Scribe Solution License and other CLINs. It guides bidders on how to input their financial proposals.

• Instructions Sheet: Provides guidance on filling out yellow-shaded cells only, specifically for the Offeror's name and Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) unit prices.
• Section B (Price Schedule): Contains line items for:
  • Ambient Scribe Solution License (CLIN0001): Requires FFP per user-month rates for Ordering Years 1 through 5. Maximum allowable rates are indicated, and bidders must input their prices in yellow cells. The total quantity is 4,700,000 Ea.
  • Platform Functional Requirements (CLIN0002)
  • EHR Integration (CLIN0003)
  • Site Configurations (CLIN0004)
  • Additional Capabilities (CLIN0005)
  • Specialty Service Templates (CLIN0006)
  • Contract Management (CLIN0008)
• CLIN0001 Tab: Details the Ambient Scribe Solution License requirements, referencing specific PWS paragraphs. It reiterates the need for FFP per user-month rates for each of the five ordering years and states that these rates must include all enhancements and upgrades.

Bidders must use this spreadsheet to input their proposed unit prices for the Ambient Scribe Solution License and other CLINs. Strict adherence to the instructions regarding yellow cells and decimal place limitations is required. The pricing provided here will form a critical part of the proposal submission.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) required by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Digital Health Office (DHO). Its purpose is to establish the requirements for the protection of Protected Health Information (PHI) by a Business Associate (<Company/Organization>) in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Act, and related HIPAA Rules.

• Scope: Defines that <Company/Organization> will provide software and hardware integration, maintenance, support, and documentation for automated pharmaceutical-dispensing facilities and their national data infrastructure services to VHA DHO.
• Definitions: Clarifies terms such as Breach, Business Associate, Covered Entity (VHA), Incident, PHI, and Subcontractor according to HIPAA Rules and VA Handbooks.
• Obligations of Business Associate: Details requirements for using and disclosing PHI, implementing safeguards, reporting incidents and breaches (within 24 hours for discovery, 10 business days for written report), mitigating harm, managing subcontractors, handling individual requests for PHI access/amendment/accounting, returning or destroying PHI upon termination, and liability for penalties.
• Obligations of Covered Entity (VHA): Outlines VHA's responsibilities, including not requesting impermissible uses/disclosures of PHI and notifying the Business Associate of restrictions or changes affecting the agreement.
• Termination: Specifies conditions for automatic termination, termination for cause, and the survival of certain obligations post-termination.

Bidders responding to opportunities requiring the handling of Protected Health Information (PHI) must understand and agree to the terms of this Business Associate Agreement. It outlines critical compliance, security, and reporting responsibilities related to sensitive health data. Failure to comply with this BAA can result in significant penalties. This document is essential for any vendor whose services involve accessing, creating, maintaining, or transmitting PHI on behalf of the VA.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This document is a solicitation for the Ambient Scribe Enterprise IDIQ (VA-26-00012979). The Department of Veterans Affairs, Technology Acquisition Center, is seeking proposals for this Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract.

Specific requirements and deliverables are detailed within the attached RFP document (36C10B26R0006) and its associated attachments.

• Contracting Office ZIP Code: 07724

• Solicitation Number: 36C10B26R0006

• Product Service Code: DA10

• NAICS Code: 541511

• Contracting Office Address: Department of Veterans Affairs, Technology Acquisition Center, 23 Christopher Way, Eatontown NJ 07724

• Response Date/Time/Zone: April 3, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern Time, New York, USA.

• Archive: 99 days after the response date.

No specific set-aside information is provided in this summary.

• The full RFP document (36C10B26R0006) is attached.
• Attachment 001 - Pricing Spreadsheet is provided.
• Attachment 002 - Business Associate Agreement is provided.
• The Point of Contact is Brandon Caltabilota, Contract Specialist, at Brandon.Caltabilota@va.gov.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation (RFP) for an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for a Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS), cloud-based, ambient scribe solution. The solution will transcribe clinical encounters, generate notes, and provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) advanced functionalities to improve medical care efficiency using a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. It is intended to integrate with VA's Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems to mitigate manual data entry and enable automatic insertion of draft notes into the EHR.

• Ambient Scribe Solution: Transcribe clinical encounters, generate notes, and provide AI-advanced functionalities.

• Platform: Cloud-hosted, COTS, SaaS solution compliant with FedRAMP Moderate Impact Level.

• Integration: Seamless integration with VA's EHR systems.

• Functionality: Automatic extraction of transcripts and key details, pre-charting, medical coding, order processing, care plans, patient summaries, and medical record interrogation.

• Security: Adherence to stringent VA privacy and security standards.

• Training: Remote (virtual) training for VA clinicians.

• Technical Support: Provided during normal duty hours (Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. local time).

• AI Requirements: Compliance with Trustworthy AI principles, unbiased AI, and responsible AI use.

• Contract Type: IDIQ Multiple Award Task Order (MATO) contract with Firm-Fixed-Price Task Orders.

• Ordering Period: 5 years following the date of award.

• Maximum Overall Value: $775,720,000.00

• Minimum Guaranteed Value: $2,500.00

• Questions Due: March 26, 2026, by 3:00 p.m. EST.

• Proposal Submission: Via email to Brandon.Caltabilota@va.gov and Meghan.McCloskey@va.gov.

• Evaluation: Multi-phase evaluation including Clinical Operational Deployment (Go/No-Go), Technical, Past Performance, Price, Veterans Involvement, and Systems Functionality Test (Pass/Fail).

• This acquisition is not set-aside for small business concerns.

• The full text of incorporated provisions and clauses may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov.

• Offerors must be registered in the SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) Program portal to receive credit for SDVOSB/VOSB status.