The healthcare systems of industrialized countries are extremely complex. Anyone who wants to understand, control or improve them absolutely needs functional health services research. Anyone who wants to evaluate innovations in the context of everyday situations cannot ignore efficient health services research. There is no dissent about this in Germany. Funding programs of the BMBF for the development of research structures and for the consolidation of data as well as the anchoring of the innovation fund in the social code also testify to the willingness to invest in the development of health services research in Germany. Alone, there is a lack of the necessary legal basis on the basis of which financial investments in health services research can mature into the development of a sustainable and efficient research infrastructure. Without data there is no research, and without a suitable legal basis, German health services research lacks the necessary access to data. The formal reason to tackle this "hot potato" is given: the forthcoming implementation of the European data protection regulation in German law. The time frame for this is limited, namely until the end of 2018. The (old and new) federal government should not wait too long for other reasons. Other parliaments, for example in the United Kingdom, have long recognized the international competitive pressure and have already taken action. In the next few years it will be decided whether Germany will be the leader in 'Big Data' in health services research or whether it will lead an international niche existence in health services research in the long term. This question will also decide whether Germany will continue to be an export country for health technology or become an import country. Anyone who wants to keep Germany as a research location at the top of the world in the field of health services research must now oblige the departments of research, health, economy and internal affairs to set up a joint action program for health services research, which should be approved by the Bundestag as soon as possible.

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