OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Solicitation #: 1000195072A Closing Date: March 9, 2018 Time: 2:00 EST

This solicitation is a refresh of solicitation 1000195072 for Occupational Health Professional Services.

Refreshes will be for new suppliers who did not submit a proposal under the original solicitation and wish to submit one and for suppliers who have previously been successful in submitting a proposal and wish to add resources.

Existing suppliers who do not wish to add additional resources to their profile do not need to submit a proposal for a 'refresh'.

This requirement is for the department of Health Canada.

Title: Occupational Health Professional Services

Summary

The objective of this RFSO is to establish Standing Offer Agreements (SOA's) with qualified Physicians and/or Health Professionals in each of the medical specialty categories below under the following three (3) Streams:

STREAM 1 - OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL PHYSICIANS

• Occupational Health (General Practitioner)
• Neuropsychology (Neuropsychologist)
• Psychiatry (Psychiatrist)
• Psychology (Psychologist)

STREAM 2 - HEARING CLINICS AND MEDICAL CLINICS WITH HEARING ECHNICIANS

• Hearing Clinic (Hearing Technician)

STREAM 3 - LABORATORY CLINICS AND MEDICAL CLINICS WITH LABORATORY TECHNICIANS AND TECHNOLOGISTS

• Laboratory (Laboratory Technician and Laboratory Technologist)

Introduction:

Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Health Canada is committed to improving the lives of all of Canada’s people and to making this country's population among the healthiest in the world as measured by longevity, lifestyle and effective use of the public health care system.

The Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) has a continuing requirement for external Contractors to supplement the work of the Occupational Health Medical Officers (OHMO) in the provision of health evaluations to federal government public servants. The PSOHP is a National Program with regional offices for service delivery. Health Canada (HC) is seeking the service of a supplier in each of the following health categories below:

• Laboratory (Laboratory Technician and Technologists)
• Hearing Clinic (Hearing Technician)
• Occupational Health (General Practitioner)
• Neuropsychology (Neuropsychologist)
• Psychiatry (Psychiatrist)
• Psychology (Psychologist)

Health Canada (HC) requires the service of the supplier in each the medical specialty categories above to provide the following services, but not limited to:

• Occupational Health Examinations
• Fitness to work Examinations
• Laboratory tests
• Hearing tests

Background and Specific Scope of the Requirement

Tasked by Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the principle mandate of the Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) is to ensure the health and safety of federal public servants. PSOHP’s primary service line is the undertaking of health evaluations and conduct medical tests for all federal public servants employed in positions with physical and mental health requirements. Those physical and mental health evaluations include occupational health examination, fitness to work and the related occupational medical tests such as hearing and laboratory tests. PSOHP uses the Occupational Health Assessment Guide (OHAG) http://publiservice.gc.ca/services/rapb-dgrp/psohp-pstfp/assets/pdf/ohag-gest/ohag-gest_e.pdf, the reference that outlines the medical requirements by occupation for the Government of Canada. The OHAG, developed and maintained by the PSOHP with input from the Treasury Board Secretariat and client departments is meant to guide medical professionals to perform occupational health examinations on federal public servants in occupations with specific health and safety risks. The aim is to eliminate, mitigate, and prevent harm as a priority for the Government of Canada.

The need for on-going Occupational Health Professional is critical for the PSOHP to effectively support TBS and the OHAG. Health Canada requires qualified Occupational Health Professional with a specialty in Occupational Health Examination and Medical Testing to undergo the various physical and mental health examinations and medical testing demands.

It is the right of federal public servants to go to the health care professionals of their choice. In doing so, federal public servants who go to health care professional that do not have the knowledge of the Occupational Health Assessment Guide and that do not have experience in occupational health would not be in a position to complete adequately an occupational health examination or conduct the appropriate medical tests. Such inadequate examinations or medical tests could jeopardize the physical and/or mental health and safety of the federal public servants and/or put at risk the health and safety of other employees. PSOHP must put in place accessible and reliable occupational health care services for federal public servants in their area of work.

The PSOHP requires the services of Occupational Health Professional with experience in providing Occupational Health Examination and/or conducting medical tests as stated in the OHAG. This resource must have a specialty in occupational health, and have knowledge and experience in the applicability of the Occupational Health Assessment Guide for safety sensitive positions within the Government of Canada. The Occupational Health Professional must be able to provide evidence based guidance with regard to identifying examinations and/or medical testing that will assist in determining the federal public servants’ assessments.

Objectives of the Requirement

PSOHP conducts health evaluations and assessments for federal employees to help assess the employee’s ability or fitness to perform their work. In order to collect the information required to conduct the health evaluation, the employee/dependent is examined by either their treating physician, a PSOHP designated physician or an OHMO. A PSOHP OHMO always does the final assessment. With the employee’s/dependent’s consent an OHMO may contact the employee’s/dependent’s treating physician or specialist for information, and/or the OHMO may refer the employee/dependent to an Occupational Health Professional to conduct the health evaluation and/or conducting medical tests.

The decision as to which Occupational Health Professional is selected is made by the OHMO on a case by case basis and is related to:

• the type of evaluation that is required;
• the presenting medical condition;
• the complexity of the case;
• the medical expertise required;
• the language requirements of the recipient;
• the location of the work;
• the urgency of the requirement and the requirement for medical tests.

Requests for the Occupational Health Professional to perform a health evaluation or to conduct medical may come from PSOHP or directly from a client department. Requests for the Occupational Health Professional to perform a Fitness to work evaluation may come from PSOHP but NOT directly from a client department.

Multiple Occupational Health Professionals are required as health evaluations are conducted across Canada and often need to be completed within relatively short time frames. The Occupational Health Professional will provide occupational health services, which include examining the employee and/or conducting appropriate medical tests, and will submit as a deliverable to PSOHP a report. The PSOHP OHMO will then review the contractor’s report and medical test result(s) and provide their recommendations to the employing department.

There are four (4) types of health evaluations conducted by OHMOs for which a referral to a Physician for an evaluation may be required:

1. Pre-placement Evaluation: A pre-placement health evaluation is conducted when an individual is to be employed in a specific job that has an inherent element of risk to health and safety and/or for which certain occupational health and physical requirements need to be met.

1. Periodic Evaluation: Periodic health evaluations are follow-up evaluations that are conducted on a schedule of every one to five years. The schedule is determined by a risk assessment and is based on factors such as a hazard exposure and the employee’s age. The purpose is to determine if employees: continue to meet the occupational health requirements of their position; are being negatively affected by their work; and/or can continue working under the same work conditions without detriment to their health and safety or to that of others.

1. Fitness to Work Evaluation (FTWE): Fitness to work evaluations are provided at the request of the employer to determine if an employee is medically fit to safely and effectively perform the tasks of a specific job. The evaluations are carried out with the employee's consent and with input from the treating health professional, if applicable. The evaluations are to assess the employee's health capability to carry out, or continue to carry out, the duties of the position and, where applicable, to identify the employee’s medical limitations/restrictions.

1. Posting-related Evaluation Assignment: Posting related health evaluations are conducted for employees and their dependents assigned to, between and from foreign posts. The purpose of these health evaluations is to optimally prepare employees and their dependents for a healthy assignment by providing advice on the level of medical services at post and on conditions at post which could affect their health, as well as advising on individual health issues which should be resolved prior to departure. This includes temporary duty and posting-related Afghanistan evaluations.

Requirements

Tasks, Activities, Deliverables and Milestones

Tasks

On an as and when requested basis, Health Canada may request occupational health professional services from a Standing Offer Holder when a health assessment or medical test needs to be conducted on a federal employee/dependent and an OHMO determines that a Contractor should perform the health evaluation or medical test.

Work will be issued to a Standing Offer Holder by Health Canada on an as and when requested basis. Health Canada will request services if required according to the following process:

1. The Project Authority will prepare a request(referral package) which will describe and detail the type of health evaluation and other Work required by the PSOHP to be performed by the Contractor including personal information about the federal employee/dependent;
2. The PSOHP will provide the Standing Offer Holder with a referral package that contains the relevant information about the case, including personal information about the federal employee/dependent;
3. The provider must use the Form 3312, Occupational Health Assessment Report, when completing the examination, the form 3312. The form 3312 which will be sent as part of the package. The form 3312 can be found at the following link: http://publiservice.gc.ca/services/rapb-dgrp/psohp-pstfp/form/ohar-rest_e.html,
4. The service must be rendered in accordance with the Occupational Health Assessment Guidelines, which are posted at the following link: http://publiservice.gc.ca/services/rapb-dgrp/psohp-pstfp/assets/pdf/ohag-gest/ohag-gest_e.pdf
5. Within five (5) working days of the receipt of the request, or the number of days as agreed to by the Project Authority, the Standing Offer Holder will assess the PSOHP request and confirm the date that the health evaluation and other Work will be provided.
6. For the laboratory and hearing tests, the work request and timing to complete the tests will be included in the Call-up.

The request shall contain the necessary information for service provision and payment.

STREAM 1 - Occupational Health (General Practitioner), Neuropsychology (Neuropsychologist), Psychiatry (Psychiatrist), Psychology (Psychologist),

The Standing Offer Holder will provide the following Occupational Health Professional services but not limited to:

1. Pre-placement evaluation including examination, consultation, record review, recommendations as

applicable, report and transcription fee;

1. Periodic evaluation including examination, consultation, record review, recommendations as applicable , report and transcription fee;

1. Fitness to work evaluation including examination, consultation, record review, recommendations as applicable , report and transcription fee;

1. Posting-related evaluations including examination, consultation, record review, recommendations as applicable , report and transcription fee (this includes the employee’s dependents);

STREAM 2 - Hearing Clinic (Hearing Technician), Medical Clinics with Hearing Technicians

The Standing Offer Holder will provide the following Occupational Health Professional hearing testing services but not limited to;

1. Conducting a pure tone audiogram at the following frequency in hertz: 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 6000 Hz and 8000 Hz.

1. Pure tone audiogram

1. Aided audio

1. Full audio test

1. An audiogram report.

1. PSOHP does not require a full audiological assessment. No interpretation of the results is required by PSOHP. Aided audio will be provided on request from PSOHP.

 STREAM 3 - Laboratory (Laboratory Technician and Technologists), Medical Clinics with Laboratory Technicians and Technologists

The Standing Offer Holder will provide the following Occupational Health Professional laboratory testing services but not limited to;

1. Hematology Profile

1. Cholesterol

1. HDL Cholesterol

1. Triglyceride

1. Chemistry Profile Tests:

1. Alanine Aminotransferase ( ALT)

1. Aspartate Aminotransferase(AST)

1. Creatinine

1. Glucose Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT)

1. Urea

1. Urine Microscopic

• Urine Chemistry

1. Hepatitis A Antibody

• Hepatitis B Surface Antibody

• Hepatitis C Virus

1. ECG ( includes tracing and interpretation)

1. Hemoglobin A1C

1. Varicella Zoster Serology

1. Other tests as required for the occupational health evaluation

Estimated Value:

The total cost to Canada resulting from all call ups against each of the Standing Offers should not exceed the sum of up to $500,000.00 in the Standing Offer Period (Applicable Taxes excluded unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Standing Offer Authority) and $500,000.00 in each of the four (4) one (1) year Options Periods. The Offeror must not perform any work or services or supply any articles in response to call ups which would cause the total cost to Canada to exceed the said sum, unless an increase is so authorized.

Security Requirement:

This RFSO does not contain a Security Requirement.

Enquiries regarding this Request for Proposal are to be submitted in writing to:

Donna Pettit

Senior Contracting and Procurement Officer

Ottawa, Ontario

E-mail: Donna.pettit@canada.ca