How SPARCS Volume Targets Work: The 80% and 75% Benchmarks

By Two Pillars & Co Advisory Group · Sources checked October 2026

What is the SPARCS volume metric?

SPARCS compliance has more than one dimension. Beyond whether a facility submitted data on time, the Department wants to know whether it submitted enough. The compliance protocol describes two metrics that work together. The submission metric tracks how many records were successfully entered into SPARCS for each month, using the weekly audit reports. The volume metric tracks a facility’s progress on timely and complete submissions against predetermined targets.^[1]

The reason for the volume metric is that on-time delivery of an incomplete file can look fine on a calendar but still leave a gap in the data. If a vendor interface quietly stopped sending a claim type, for instance, the facility could be submitting every month and yet sending a fraction of its real activity. A volume target is a way to notice that.

How is the target calculated?

For each facility and each claim type, the protocol says the target is based on the average number of records accepted in the previous year. The program averages the monthly records accepted in the previous year, then sets a target of 80 percent of that average for all months except February and December. Those two months have historically low discharge and visit volumes, so a 75 percent target is used.^[1]

An invented example shows the arithmetic. If a facility had an average of 1,000 accepted inpatient records a month last year, its target for most months this year would be 800 records, and for February and December 750. If 640 inpatient records were accepted for a March discharge month, the facility would be 160 records below target, at 80 percent of its target. The numbers are illustrative, but the logic follows the protocol.^[1]

Targets are calculated separately for each claim type: inpatient, emergency department, ambulatory surgery and outpatient. A facility can therefore be on target for inpatient data and below target for ambulatory surgery in the same month.^[1]

What happens to new facilities and to unusual months?

A new facility has no previous-year average. The protocol says that new facilities without any submission history begin with compliance targets for all months set to one record, and that monthly targets adjust as historical volume accumulates.^[1] That prevents a new facility from being flagged for a shortfall against a number that did not exist.

For existing facilities, the target follows last year’s accepted records, which means last year’s unusual months carry into this year. A facility whose volume was unusually low last year because of a service suspension will have a lower target now, and one that had an unusually high year will face a higher one. The protocol makes a related point about exceptions: because future targets are based on each facility’s prior submissions, it is important to verify that all data have been submitted and that exceptions are warranted.^[1]

What should a facility do when it is below target?

The Department’s own guidance suggests looking at rejections first. In its July 2026 submitter forum, the program said that discrepancies in volume are almost always due to rejected records or newly accepted records not yet refreshed to the weekly dashboard, and that records not accepted into the data warehouse are not reflected in the compliance dashboards.^[2] In other words, a shortfall is much more often a processing problem than a real change in activity.

A sensible sequence is therefore: check the portal for rejected files and records; reconcile accepted counts against the facility’s own system by claim type and month; correct and resubmit anything missing; and only then consider whether activity genuinely changed. The weekly audit report shows the monthly compliance targets, so a facility can see its status without waiting for the monthly compliance report.^[3]

If activity did change for a documented reason, such as a service suspension, closure for renovations or staff turnover, the facility can request an exception. The protocol says exceptions apply to a specific reporting period, require confirmation that all data have been submitted, and do not continue indefinitely. It also says vendor issues are not an acceptable reason for an exception.^[1]

How do volume targets connect to compliance reports?

The program publishes weekly audit reports and monthly compliance reports. The audit report counts the discharge and visit claims accepted by month and claim type, with no target. The compliance report compares records loaded with the expected target, which is 80 percent, or 75 percent for February and December, of the prior year’s monthly average.^[1]

Both are refreshed regularly. The Department’s reports page says the dashboards are updated weekly, and the July 2026 forum noted that they refresh every Monday afternoon.^[3][2] The Department also warns that these reports should not be used for public reporting of admission or visit counts. Facilities should use them to manage compliance and use the Department’s release channels for public counts.^[3]

Frequently asked questions

What to do next

1. Find your target for each claim type and month in the Department’s monthly compliance report or the weekly audit report.
2. Compare accepted records with your own system’s counts.
3. Clear rejected records and resubmit them.
4. Document real changes in activity, such as closures, so that exception requests are specific.