The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking to modernize physician training with a new virtual reality technology that can be brought to scale and utilized as a “one size fits all” solution through a request for information (RFI).
Through the RFI, VA is looking for information from interested contractors to provide and implement a Simulation Platform for Learning and Education (SIMPLE) solution for VA that offers safe healthcare training for physicians.
“Th Simulation Learning, Evaluation, Assessment, and Research Network (SimLEARN) National Simulation Center (NSC) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) supports the nation’s largest simulation enclave within the Veterans Administration,” the RFI states. “However, there is no current platform that enables collaboration across the whole of simulation across the enterprise; most of the simulation equipment is neither permitted connectivity to VAs Public Wi-Fi nor VA Enterprise Network behind the VA firewall.”
VA wants to modernize and unify the whole of its simulation community under one umbrella, and a system-of-systems, through standing up SIMPLE for real-time collaboration, creation, and dissemination of simulation content, scenarios, and simulation best practices.
According to VA, an eventual contractor could design, develop, test, and integrate SIMPLE to modernize healthcare simulation, education, and medical training in VHA. That system would:
- “Be comprised of a Wi-Fi or cellular network or both for connecting simulation equipment;
- An immersive simulation virtual solution for content creation, dissemination, and storage; and
- A virtual, remote-meeting simulation for hosting simulation scenarios and events without geographical limits.”
Responses to the RFI are due April 1, 2022.
