To translate scientific discovery into improved health, we must study health care itself; i.e., how people access health care, costs or other barriers to the provision of good care, and what happens to patients as a result of this care. Health services research (HSR) is the interdisciplinary field that studies health care and its effects. This paper reviews different types of HSR and highlights some dermatologic examples that have resulted in improved health-care systems or have helped us understand access to existing systems. The paper also addresses some of the political and systematic challenges for health services research overall, and for individual investigators and program leaders.