Greetings all. I just received an e-mail from the Washington State Department of Social and Heath Services.
I need to know who is interested, regardless of where you reside, in working on an Open Source healthcare project for a state governmental organization. If you're interested, I need to hear from you before July 8, 2003. At this point I just need to know:
your basic skill set, as it applies to the project requirements (see below)
what kinds of healthcare project work you've done in the recent past
how many hours you have to dedicate to help put together the RFP between now and July 10
(if you need more time than that let me know)
what kind of work you want to do on the project (we'll accomodate you as best we can)
if you're currently working for an employeer, how much of a salary/benefits it would take for your to quite your job and come work for us
if you're currently an independent or contractor, your fee for working on the project.
if you currently work for a state healthcare organization, please indicate which state/organization.
Your responses will be kept STRICTLY confidential.
I'm very familiar with the proposals that other companies have submitted for similar projects, and have no doubt that we can deliver a proposal that is equal to or rivals our competitors.
The Request For Proposals is to perform HIPAA remediation services. Specifically, here is a quote from the e-mail:
" The State of Washington, Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), intends to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) from persons and organizations qualified to provide project management, support, and HIPAA compliant systems development, testing, and implementation for the Mental Health Division (MHD). A major upgrade of a legacy SQL based system is required to revise transaction processing, reorganize SQL databases, and upgrade associated data exchanges, statistical reporting and web presentations. This project is estimated to take twelve or less months to complete."
and here are some requirements:
"Rational Unified Process (RUP) system development methodology; Managing HIPAA related projects including establishing project management processes (e.g., time reporting, project monitoring, status reporting, etc.); Expert knowledge of HIPAA Transaction (EDI X12 format) and Security rules; Implementing solutions with BizTalk Server and knowledge of Microsoft HIPAA Accelerator for BizTalk; Experience deploying complex applications on a Microsoft platform; Developing server-based Relational databases ( Microsoft SQL Server, Transact SQL, and Microsoft DTS preferred); Web development using ASP or ASP.NET; Knowledge of Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing; Experience with DSHS/MHD or other state/county government based mental health system preferred."
This is a great opportunity for us to see if we can rise to the occasion and compete with other companies on an equal footing. Obviously we have the technical resources, professional skill and code base but what remains to be seen is if we can operate as a single group to meet the needs of a customer. I think we can! As the very least we'll identify weak spots in performing on such a project and make improvement for the next contract.
I would like to know who is interested in responding to this RFP. Ideally we'd have between 50 and 150 people stepping forward to work as a sigle work force. There are several hurdles to overcome, but I am confident that we can without too much trouble. If you decide to participate the rewards can be staggering for Open Source, and professionally for all those who participate. We may only get a portion of the contract, but it's a step in the right direction.
The key is that we need to respond quickly. Our RFP is due July 22. That means we need to have our RFP done by July 15.
If you decide to accept this challenge your involvement up until the signing of a contract will be voluntary, but with enough people it won't take too much effort from any one person.
Richard Schilling Proprietor National Informatics Company Lake Stevens, WA USA
