VA Issues RFI for Tech, Support to Advance Clinical Care Delivery

The Department of Veterans Affairs is conducting market research on the availability of emerging technologies designed to transform clinical care delivery and service.

In a request for information posted on SAM .gov, the VA said that emerging technology in clinical care delivery, such as three-dimensional printing and virtual reality, would improve services.

The Veterans Health Administration is looking for companies that can provide scientific and clinical subject matter expertise across different disciplines. Tasks under the research innovation and simulation support effort will include initial discovery work and solution ideation, evaluation and testing, assessment of a proposed solution in a real-world environment and large-scale integration in the clinical and operational workflow, the VA said.

Under the area of advanced manufacturing, the department is seeking contractors who can support the VHA in advancing the adoption and application of technologies such as 3D printing and 3D bioprinting to the delivery of clinical care services.

The VA is also interested in the area of robotic process automation. The VA plans to use RPA to automate the collection process of patient data during clinical visits, patient scheduling and administrative functions to enhance the clinical workflow. Under this discipline, the VA requires a contractor that has a deep knowledge of clinical informatics, software design and workflow optimization, among others.

Other areas of interest for the VA include artificial intelligence, application program interfaces, edge computing and 5G technology. Such technologies could help the VA optimize its communication networks and systems to better coordinate workers’ tasks, especially when providing remote care services.

Aside from emerging technologies, the department also wants to know the availability of companies that can provide advanced clinical decision support and data-driven decision making in health care, as well as contractors that can provide clinical simulation training on the adoption of emerging technologies. 

Interested companies may submit responses to the VA’s sources sought notice until May 13.