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 as a result of cooperation between the healthcare industry and state government. The system was initially created to collect information on inpatient discharges; however, it has expanded over the years. SPARCS currently collects patient-level details on patient characteristics, diagnoses and treatments, services, and charges for inpatient and outpatient services (ambulatory surgery, emergency department, and outpatient services).
SPARCS data is used by a range of stakeholders for a variety of purposes including: hospital financial rate setting; developing and evaluating policy; research; health planning/resource allocation; quality of care assessment; surveillance; and utilization review.