About us

Our team includes social scientists, clinicians, and patient advocates.

Open Notes Labs works to identify and disseminate best practices for sharing medical information with patients, families, and care partners.

Claudia Weitman, MS, Sigall K. Bell, MD, and Catherine (Cait) M. DesRoches, DrPH

Illustration of a healthcare worker shaking hands with a patient, both wearing scrubs and face masks.

Our mission

The mission of Open Notes Labs is to make healthcare more open and transparent by helping patients, families, care partners, and clinicians share access to the medical record.

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Our vision

The vision of Open Notes Labs is a world in which open, transparent communication is the standard of practice throughout all healthcare settings.

Leadership

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Black and white headshot of a smiling middle-aged woman with short gray hair, wearing a textured top, against a pink circular background.

  • Director & Principal Investigator

    Catherine (Cait) M. DesRoches, DrPH, MSc, is the John F. Keane & Family Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

    As a health policy and data nerd with expertise in emerging trends in health care delivery, Cait noticed early in her career that the concerns of patients and their families are often not the same as those of clinicians and policymakers. Bringing this patient and family voice into the world of health services research led directly to her current role.

    Cait is the Program Director for the Keane OpenNotes Fellowship in Patient Engagement and Transparency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

    Cait earned her bachelor’s degree from Emmanuel College in 1991, and her Master of Science, in public health, from the University of Massachusetts. In 2000, Cait completed her doctorate in public health at Columbia University. Prior to joining the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Division of General Medicine, she held faculty and research positions at Harvard Medical School, Simmons College, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Cait came to Open Notes Labs from Mathematica Policy Research, where she was a Senior Survey Researcher and Senior Fellow.

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A woman with shoulder-length hair, glasses, and a necklace smiling in front of a pink and black background.

  • Chief Safety Officer & Principal Investigator

    Sigall K. Bell, MD, is a physician-researcher and healthcare innovator. As Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, her work concentrates on partnering with patients and families for diagnostic safety, equity, and patient-informed AI implementation and assessment. . 

    As Chief Safety Officer at Open Notes Labs at BIDMC, and Director of the Transparency CoLab, Sigall's work concentrates on improving patient safety and healthcare communication through patient engagement and responsible AI integration.

    Her research on open notes is recognized as a “transforming concept” in patient safety and has been cited by the National Academies of Medicine, the National Quality Forum telemedicine diagnostic measures development, and the IHI National Action Plan.

    Through several AHRQ grants, Sigall’s research led to the first patient-centered framework for diagnostic breakdowns and demonstrates that health information transparency and the unique knowledge of patients and families can help prevent ambulatory diagnostic safety blindspots.

    A recipient of the Arnold P. Gold professorship for humanism in medicine and a contributor to AHRQ medical liability reform grants, Sigall has trained over 1,000 clinician-leaders in medical error disclosure, contributed to national guidelines on transparent communication after harmful events, and co-developed speaking up climate and disclosure climate measures. Having completed a Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education, she designed unique safety curricula in collaboration with patients and families, and continues to teach at Harvard Medical School.

    Sigall’s research aims to develop the evidence base, systems, and culture to make patient and family partnership in safety and AI integration an expected, supported, and celebrated norm in medicine. She strives to bring a culture of engagement to pediatric and adult patients, empowering kids and communities for healthier futures. Prior to her work in patient safety, Sigall was an infectious diseases specialist, a 4x NCAA academic All-American, and an inductee to the CoSIDA National Athletic Hall of Fame.

Core team

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Black and white portrait of an Asian man with short hair, wearing a patterned shirt, against a purple background.

  • Biostatistician & Statistical Programmer

    Joe Dong, MS, came to Open Notes Labs from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Department of Nursing, where he was a statistical programmer working with longitudinal cohort data related to the connection between chronic pain characteristics and functional outcomes, including falls in an aging population.

    Before relocating to Boston, Joe was a statistician and GIS specialist in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee. There, his data analysis focused on health economics, health outcomes and health care costs, as well as the racial and ethnic disparities in health expenditures among children with cancer. At Open Notes Labs, his research interests include statistical methodology on survey data, logistic regression analysis, missing data and mediation analysis.

    Joe received a Bachelor and a Master of Economics in Investment degree at Shandong University of Finance and Economics in Ji’nan, China and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in Shanghai. He went on to earn a second master’s degree in Science in Applied Statistics from the University of Memphis in Tennessee.

Black and white portrait of a smiling woman with long hair, set against a purple background.
Black and white portrait of a smiling woman with long hair, set against a purple background.

  • Deputy Director

    Amanda Norris, MDiv, MTS, plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of patient-clinician communication in an era of unprecedented health information transparency. Drawing from her background in organizational communications and strategic planning, her understanding of the needs of both patients and healthcare professionals makes her a trusted advisor in navigating the complexities of modern healthcare.

    Amanda’s passion for empowering individuals to become active partners in their own healthcare journey is evident in her work solving challenges where patients, notes, and artificial intelligence (AI) meet. Amanda co-leads learning collaboratives in pediatrics and adolescents, and she is a vital member of Open Results, Shared Access, and dissemination and implementation science working groups.

    Prior to joining Open Notes Labs, Amanda honed her skills in project and grant management, marketing, and strategic planning within the higher education, workforce development, and healthcare non-profit sectors in Massachusetts. She earned her BA in Ethics from Union University in Tennessee and two master’s degrees from Boston University School of Theology.

A woman with glasses and earrings smiling, with a black and white photo against a purple background.
A woman with glasses and earrings smiling, with a black and white photo against a purple background.

  • Health Communications and Design Lead

    Sarah Stern, MA, MS, is a designer and patient advocate dedicated to humanizing healthcare. Her clients have included Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors, and other health information technology companies. Sarah is passionate about making patient stories more visible, leading human-centered design collaborations, and improving the presentation of health information.

    During her graduate studies, Sarah led social media marketing efforts and contributed to the publishing team of the Amazon bestselling book Artists Remaking Medicine (Procedure Press). In 2022, she authored a patient testimony that helped pass the Copay Accumulators Bill B24-0557 in Washington D.C., which is legislation that protects affordable healthcare access for patients requiring biologic treatments.

    Sarah holds master’s degrees in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD, and in Health Communication Design from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She is Principal Designer at With Care Creative and creates artwork about her lived experience as a patient.

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Black and white headshot of a woman with curly hair smiling, set against a purple background.

  • Senior Project Manager

    As a Senior Project Manager, Deborah Wachenheim, MPP, helps to oversee and advance multiple projects at Open Notes Labs, including a number of projects focused on care partners. In her first few years at Open Notes Labs, Deb worked with others to spread the implementation of open notes at healthcare organizations across the country and to foster  knowledge of open notes among patients, care partners, clinicians, staff and others.

    Deb has a background in consumer engagement in health care. Prior to joining Open Notes Labs, she worked at Health Care For All, a statewide consumer health advocacy organization, engaging consumers in speaking up about the need to improve the quality of health care. She also oversaw the successful consumer campaign to mandate that all Massachusetts hospitals establish Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) and then she developed a statewide network to provide technical assistance and resources to PFACs in Massachusetts.

    Deb previously worked at Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston, where she developed and ran a food stamp outreach and education program. Before that she coordinated a campus social justice program through the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston. Deb also worked at RESOLVE, the national infertility organization, as the Director of Government Relations. She has a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University.

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A young woman with long dark hair smiling at the camera, against a purple background.

  • Program Coordinator

    Claudia Weitman, MS, is a program coordinator for Open Notes Labs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In her role, she supports ongoing research and implementation initiatives aimed at fostering transparency in healthcare. Claudia is also involved in the administrative operations that help Open Notes Labs drive its mission forward, including project management and research dissemination.

    Claudia earned both her BS and MS in environmental and natural resource economics from the University of Rhode Island, where she developed quantitative research skills and a passion for examining the human dimensions of complex systems. Her academic background gives her a unique perspective on how economic and behavioral factors influence decision-making—an insight she now applies to exploring the dynamics of health transparency.

Co-founders of OpenNotes

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A black and white portrait of an older man with glasses, a beard, and short curly hair, wearing a dark blazer, set against a purple background.

  • Co-Founder

    Tom Delbanco, MD, was the inaugural John F. Keane & Family Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Tom and his colleague, Jan Walker, RN, MBA, co-founded OpenNotes (now Open Notes Labs).

    Educated at Harvard College and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Tom trained in internal medicine at Bellevue, Harlem, and Presbyterian Hospitals in New York. Following military service, he came to Boston where, until 2002, he was Chief of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Hospital (now Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). In the program he founded and led for more than 30 years, Tom created one of the first primary care practice and teaching programs at an academic health center, and in 1979, he developed and led the Harvard Medical School Faculty Development and Fellowship Program that has now prepared more than 300 general internists for academic careers.

    In 1998, Tom was named a Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP), and in 2000 he became the initial incumbent of the Koplow-Tullis Chair in General Medicine and Primary Care at Harvard Medical School, its first chair in primary care. A founder and past-president of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), in 2003 he received the Robert J. Glaser Award, SGIM’s highest honor. In 2006, Harvard Medical School selected him for the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award. In 2017, Harvard Medical School appointed Tom as the John F. Keane & Family Professor of Medicine, a new chair created to promote patient engagement, safety, and healthcare value through fully transparent communication among patients, families, and clinicians. In 2019, the ACP chose Tom as the recipient of its highest annual honor, the John Phillips Memorial Award, established in 1929.

Close-up of an older woman with shoulder-length gray hair and a slight smile, set against a purple background.
Close-up of an older woman with shoulder-length gray hair and a slight smile, set against a purple background.

  • Co-Founder

    Jan Walker, RN, MBA, was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and was a member of the research faculty in the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston until her retirement in 2026. Jan and her colleague, Tom Delbanco, MD, co-founded OpenNotes (now Open Notes Labs).

    Jan formerly served as Vice President for Client Services and Research at the Picker Institute, an organization devoted to measuring patient experiences and incorporating the patient perspective into care, and was the founding Executive Director of the Center for Information Technology Leadership at Partners HealthCare. Educated at the University of Kansas (BSN) and Boston University (MBA), Jan has a clinical background in nursing. Her work focused on patient perspectives on their care, the use of new electronic technologies to improve their experience, and the critical importance of transparency in the patient-provider relationship.

Advisory board

With domain expertise ranging from patient advocacy to health information technology, entrepreneurship to health policy and equity, advisors help inform and shape our strategic initiatives.

Colin Hung
Editor in Chief, Swaay.Health Marketing Community

Tobi Olatunji, MD
Founder, Intron Health

Chethan Sarabu, MD, FAAP, FAMIA
Clinical Assistant Professor, Weill Cornell Pediatrics
Director of Clinical Innovation, Health Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

Alya Sulaiman, JD
Product Counseling, Regulatory Affairs, Privacy & Compliance, Datavant

Karl Eric Swanson, DO, MS
Clinical instructor, University of California
Co-Founder & Head of Data Science, Quench

Our values

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Evidence-based practice 

Open Notes Labs is grounded in peer-reviewed research and continuous learning. Many of its studies have informed national and international policy changes, including the U.S. 21st Century Cures Act requirement for open notes.

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Transparency 

Open Notes Labs believes patients should have ready access to the information in their medical records, including visit notes and test results.

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Partnership 

Open Notes Labs values collaborative relationships among researchers, clinicians, patients, and care partners, recognizing that sharing notes can improve communication and trust.

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Patient empowerment 

Reading notes helps patients better understand their care, remember treatment plans, spot errors, and feel more in control.

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Equity and inclusion 

Open Notes Labs research shows that individuals from traditionally underserved populations—such as older adults, non-English speakers, and people with lower educational attainment—may benefit the most from open notes.