Time-Sensitive: Statewide Data Validation Project Raises Concerns Among Hospitals

A new data remediation project was discussed at a May 17 DOH forum for all providers that submit data to the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System. SPARCS plans to go back through data submitted for inpatient and emergency department cases since 2016 and validate that the injury, cause and place settings are complete and accurate, as required by the guidelines released at the end of April.

DOH said that in the next two weeks, it will generate a list of claims that need reconciliation. Each hospital will need to go through records from 2016 to the present and update them to meet the new SPARCS requirements. The requirements are contingent for each year, meaning 2016 has its own set of data, 2017 has its own set, etc.

Hospitals eagerly await details, as a remediation project like this could pose many challenges. Some hospitals have changed billing systems and, as a result, may not have access to records that far back. In addition, the medical record notes may not have complete information to identify the place where an injury occurred. With tremendous workforce challenges, hospitals may struggle to staff a project like this while maintaining the regular SPARCS submission requirements.

DataGen is aware of these challenges and awaits the DOH list. Our UDS team has done SPARCS remediation for 30 years, and we are positioned to help. DOH's estimated volume of records requiring remediation is 50,000, with a facility volume range of approximately 200 to 2,000 records. The majority of records are from 2018, 2019 and the first two months of 2020. As we learn more, we will continue to share updates.

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