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Award for Million-Dollar Monitoring Platform Among List of Contracts

Several large awards were made in Texas during the yearly spending.

DNA sequence
As Texas agencies saw peak procurement activity during July and August, some awarded dozens of contracts such as high-dollar IT spends including equipment, subscriptions, software and services. Some vendors hold contracts in the millions while others are worth tens of thousands.

The Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) Procurement and Contracting Services Division works on behalf of the state Health and Human Services (HHS) department and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Contracts range in scope from health-care services and staffing to technology that support the vision to “make a positive difference.”

The PharmaWatch monitoring system is used to maintain state hospital refrigerators and freezers via hardware and software and includes a web portal. It is a real-time system, and parent company AmericanPharma, based in Idaho, will provide the system and services. HHSC awarded the vendor a multiyear $1.17 million contract in August, and it falls under monitoring services, critical equipment and site, wireless and web-based attachments.

Clear Labs, based in California, will install a Clear Dx platform and train staff; the platform “is to amplify and sequence genetic samples, process them and produce output sequencing files … to identify strains and variants that affect public health,” according to the original invitation for bid (IFB). The contract is worth $300,000 and falls under hardware maintenance, lab equipment/microscopes, managed services and training/professional development.

The Atlantic Management Center in Virginia was contracted to maintain, support and host Syntropy Software for a one-year period with potential additional years. The contract involves business intelligence, data analytics, database management, software maintenance and managed services. It is worth $265,105 and commenced on Sept. 1.

Additional recent contracts include:
  • $227,288 for an Internet subscription to Battelle Developmental Inventory 3rd Edition (BDI-3) and electronic record forms, awarded to Riverside Assessments in Illinois.
  • $197,359 for software maintenance and support of Merlon Auto Reload System (MARS) XYGATE Xypro, awarded to XYPRO Technology in California.
  • $152,932 for 12 months of software maintenance and support for ActiveBatch, awarded to vPrime Tech in Houston.
  • $150,000 for software maintenance and support of Orchard Platinum Software to Orchards Software in Indiana.

HHSC has the largest total budget in the state, more than double the second largest, at $39.31 billion. They serve more than 7 million Texans with hundreds of programs and services, according to the website. In 2021 the commission spent some $181.38 million on IT, according to Industry Navigator.*

*Industry Navigator is a product of e.Republic, Industry Insider — Texas’ parent company.
Rae D. DeShong is a Dallas-based staff writer and has written for The Dallas Morning News and worked as a community college administrator.