OpenNotes is now Open Notes Labs

Boston, MA | September 2, 2026

For 16 years, OpenNotes has advanced a simple idea: patients should be able to read the notes written by clinicians about their health care. As open notes became more common, then the law of the land, our work grew. We now study how people receive, understand, and use many facets of their health information.

Our new name, Open Notes Labs, reflects that evolution. Collectively we focus on four domains of research: notes and test results, patient safety, care partners, and how patients and clinicians use artificial intelligence.

I serve as Director of the Labs, but I am also a Principal Investigator on individual projects. My colleague Sigall K. Bell, MD, whose leadership is essential to these Labs, also serves as a Principal Investigator.

Our work rests on the contributions of many others. We thank our current team, past OpenNotes staff, clinicians, patient advocates, and research collaborators. Their work brought us here. You can learn more about today’s team on our About Us page.

We are grateful to the creative partners who helped bring this next chapter to life. Friendly Design Co. developed our new brand, and With Care Creative translated it into our new website. We thank longtime OpenNotes designer Jason Fairchild for helping carry forward the visual history and identity of OpenNotes over the past 15 years. He also helped produce the photo collages of real OpenNotes partners for the headers on this website.

None of this could have happened without the vision and guidance of Liz Salmi. Liz has been with us for nine years—telling her story as a cancer patient, leading our research to new areas of inquiry, and pushing this rebrand forward. Liz is leaving her seat as our Communications and Patient Initiatives Director to return to school.

Our team is changing. Our name is changing. Our purpose is not. Open Notes Labs remains committed to a world in which open, transparent communication is standard throughout health care.

Please explore our new website, follow us on social media, and sign up for our email newsletter to follow what comes next.

Cait DesRoches, DrPH
Director and Principal Investigator, Open Notes Labs
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

P.S. We stand on the shoulders of giants: OpenNotes co-founders Tom Delbanco, MD and Jan Walker, RN, MBA. They helped turn a once-radical idea into an international movement. This next chapter is possible because of their vision.