Data Access - Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS)
SPARCS Q&A Hour
Do you have questions about how to apply for SPARCS data? Do you have questions about an existing application? The governance staff will hold an open question and answer (Q&A) hour every other Wednesday from 2 pm to 3 pm. The Q&A Hour will provide applicants with direct access to SPARCS governance staff that can answer your questions. For more details and the complete 2023 schedule, click here.
SPARCS Data Access
SPARCS offers three levels of data access: public, limited, and identifiable. Public use data is openly available. Limited or identifiable data requires the submission of an application.
NYS Department of Health employees who wish to receive data access have a separate process. NYS DOH employees should visit the internal SPARCS SharePoint page for more details.
Public Use Data
Public use data contains de-identified data consisting of basic record-level detail. This data does not contain protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA.
Public use data can be obtained through the Health Data NY website, which provides access to de-identified data consisting of basic record-level detail.
Limited and Identifiable Data
Limited data contains indirect identifiers that are deemed identifiable according to HIPAA standards. Limited data requests are reviewed by SPARCS Operations staff.
Identifiable data pertains to a particular individual's facility stay which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, as stipulated in Department regulations, Title 10, NYCRR 400.18. Identifiable requests are reviewed by the data review group.
To apply for limited and identifiable data, download and complete the SPARCS Limited and Identifiable Data Request Form (DOH-5132) from the forms page. Form DOH-5132 replaces previous forms DOH-4385 and DOH-4395.
Data Governance Committee
The Data Governance Committee (DGC) is responsible for reviewing identifiable data requests. For further information:
Data File Transfer System
The SPARCS program uses IBM's Aspera to transmit approved SPARCS extract. For more information on how to download the Aspera plugin:
Data Use Resources
Data Release Notes
- SPARCS Data Release Notes (Updated August 2023)
Output Data Dictionaries
- SPARCS Data Dictionary - In use; use for all data extracts received October 1, 2017 and forward.
SAS Read-in Programs
The following are SAS read-in programs for each of the 14 SPARCS tables in the new data layout. The following are SAS read-in programs for inpatient and outpatient files.
