Providing Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNS™) Machine Readable Records Related to Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) intends to negotiate on a sole source with ECRI, 5200 Butler Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462, USA under the authority of 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This acquisition is to enable the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to enhance its biomedical and health services research related databases and information services by: (1) adding bibliographic records to NLM databases for HSR (Health Services Research) and HTA (Health Technology Assessment) grey literature reports and publications that are not widely disseminated through commercial distribution channels, and (2) adding updated medical device vocabulary to NLM's (UMLS ).

This announcement constitutes the only synopsis for this requirement; and is issued for notification purposes only. Any interested party should contact the Contract Specialist below for more information regarding this posting. All correspondence shall be received no later than September 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM EST.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 519190: All Other Information Services and Product Service Codes (PSCs) R702: Support Management: Data Collection. The small business size standard is $30.0 million.

The purpose of this project is to provide (1) machine-readable records relating to health services research and healthcare technology assessment reports and literature collected, abstracted, and indexed by the Contractor and (2) delivery of the updated Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNS) vocabulary according to NLM's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) updating schedule. Providers will a) select, process and create records for the National Library of Medicine cataloging database according to NLM selection criteria and b) provide NLM with an annual update of the Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNS), according to the NLM UMLS schedule or as instructed by NLM. This annual update includes all concepts and related attributes such as definitions and relationships among concepts.

There are no other known sources available other than the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, to provide this service, as the UMDNS is proprietary. For nearly 50 years, ECRI has been dedicated to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are most effective. In this capacity, ECRI Institute produces a number of information products and databases that address both the current and evolving HSR and HTA literature, particularly from grey literature sources (e.g. the ECRI's publications, Medical Device Safety Reports, which incorporate and synthesize findings for its clients). For more than two decades, NLM has relied on this expertise to select, collect and catalog timely and authoritative documents for the NLM Collection, significantly augmenting the ongoing collection activities of the Library from a wide variety of publications including grey literature publications.

In addition, NLM has an ongoing project, the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS ), which provides an important and free tool for health research and care by establishing synonymy among the major medical source vocabularies and classification systems, including ECRI Institute's Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNSTM). In order for this tool to be useful for both care and research, it is critical that ECRI's UMDNS vocabulary be updated in the UMLS on an annual basis. ECRI has specialized, unique experience and expertise with this vocabulary.

ECRI also has unique and specialized experience and expertise in assessing and evaluating health care and health services research and analysis in support of clinical decision support systems, based upon their long-standing support for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's National Guidelines Clearinghouse and National Quality Measures Clearinghouse. This expertise is needed for NLM's own information products and services.

The purpose of this contract is to fund the Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNSTM) Machine Readable Records project for an additional five years. This requirement is set to begin in FY 2022.

ECRI has unique knowledge and capabilities regarding the development and ongoing maintenance and distribution of UMDNS. ECRI also holds the copyright for the UMDNS. Therefore, ECRI is the only organization capable of maintaining and extending UMDNS in order to meet HHS and other federal agency requirements. There are no other acquisition sources or in-house alternatives. Any other solution would result in substantial duplication costs and unacceptable delays.