Indian Health Service Wants IT Strategic Planning Help from Industry

The Indian Health Service, responsible for providing federal health services to 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, is looking for short-term help from industry to improve its strategic planning.

IHS, a sub-agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, released a solicitation April 2 seeking quotes for professional support in a project to “research, create and publish” the IHS IT Strategic Plan, which was last updated five years ago. The contractor will “assist with the draft of the IHS ITSP,” with a stated goal of finalizing the document in fiscal 2021.

Timing is critical, according to the solicitation, with bids due April 12.

“The IHS wishes to develop a strategic plan to guide its Information Technology program and efforts over the next three to five years with the understanding that decisions and efforts resulting from the plan will have long-term implications on the organization,” the solicitation’s performance work statement said.

The strategic planning update comes as the agency is in the midst of a major IT infrastructure modernization. The single largest portion of that modernization will be the update of its patient administrative information system, components of which date back to 1969. President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill, which went into law in March, allocated $140 million in additional funding to IHS for the purposes of improving telehealth infrastructure and electronic health record upgrades.