The Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) is a comprehensive all-payer data collection system established under Section 2816 of the Public Health Law (PHL) in 1979, which defines the parameters in which SPARCS is run and the regulations that the system is subject to. This section of the public health law clearly defines which facilities and services are to be reporting data to SPARCS.
Data Submission requirements and compliance expectations are described in the PHL New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations, Section 400.18 – Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS), which outlines the reporting, contents, maintenance, and protections that SPARCS is regulated by. This section goes into detail about the responsibilities of SPARCS and how the system is to be run internally.
Any violation of the above provisions and data use agreements may be liable according to the provisions of the Public Health Law, including but not limited to PHL Section 12.