[Sustainable Infrastructure for Health Services Research: Development of a Regional SHI Routine Database]

The scientific use of SHI routine data is increasing, especially in the field of health services research. This also raises new questions with regard to the development of databases, which make it possible to store these data for longitudinal analyses over a longer period of time and by combining data from different SHI companies. On the basis of the experience gained in setting up the CoRe-Net database, we want to show that it is possible to install such a research infrastructure and make it usable in the long term.

On the basis of the current regulatory framework (e. g. the added specification of § 75 SGB X) and taking into account strict data protection criteria, it is possible to set up a database covering several health insurance funds: In CoRe-Net, a pseudonymisation centre and a trust centre were implemented for this purpose. At the same time, multiple pseudonymisation was carried out using a one-way hash procedure. Data analysis are only possible after approval by the participating health insurance funds and if valid approval has been obtained from relevant ethics committees.

The amendment of § 75 SGB X in 2018 creates a legal framework for the collection and storage of SHI routine data within the framework of a research project for future questions within a defined research area.