OpenNotes

Name

OpenNotes

Legal name

OpenNotes

Website

https://opennotes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (611710), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Patient engagement research
• Clinical documentation research
• Health information transparency
• Medical record access
• Healthcare communication research

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookline

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: OpenNotes is funded entirely by non-commercial grants and philanthropy. Major funders include federal agencies (AHRQ, NIA, NLM, PCORI), private foundations (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Keane Family Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, John A. Hartford Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, Cambia Health Foundation), and individual donors. They do not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OpenNotes is an academic research lab that studies, spreads, and teaches transparent healthcare communication through shared clinical notes. The organization conducts peer-reviewed research on patient access to medical records and develops multiple research initiatives including OurNotes (patient-clinician note co-creation), OurDx (diagnostic safety tool), Open Results (test result transparency), OurResearch (patient-involved research), and the OpenNotes Lab (AI in healthcare documentation). All resources, toolkits, and educational materials are provided at no cost to patients, clinicians, health systems, and medical educators.

Product overview

OpenNotes is an academic research lab (not a software product company) based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The organization does not sell a unified software product but rather conducts research, advocacy, and provides educational resources for the open notes movement. Core offerings include: OpenNotes Core Research (studying transparent communication effects), OurNotes (patient co-creation of visit notes), OurDx/OurDiagnosis (patient engagement in diagnostic process), Open Results (research on test result transparency), and OurResearch (patient involvement in research). The OpenNotes Lab serves as an innovation hub focused on AI in healthcare documentation. Supporting resources include HowToUse.OpenNotes.org (patient education portal in English/Spanish), WhereIsMyMedicalRecord.org (record access guidance), and various learning collaboratives (AI Translation, Nursing & AI, Care Partners). The organization is funded entirely by non-commercial grants and philanthropy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OurDx: Patient safety initiative using online tools for patients and families to contribute information before medical visits to help identify potential diagnostic breakdowns.
• Coalition for Care Partners

Products and services

• OurNotes
• OurDx (OurDiagnosis)
• Open Results
• OurResearch
• OpenNotes Lab

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of patients wanted open notes to continue after trying it
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and minor.

• AbridgestrategicTechnology or Integration · 1 November 2024Partnership to research and evaluate AI-generated visit summaries. Abridge provides AI-powered clinical documentation technology and OpenNotes provides research expertise in transparent communication.
• ProvidencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021One of three partner health systems in demonstration project for care partner shared access to electronic health records, focused on elderly patient populations.
• University of Utah HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021One of three partner health systems in demonstration project for care partner shared access to electronic health records.
• University of Rochester Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021One of three partner health systems in demonstration project for care partner shared access to electronic health records.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpenNotes is based at BIDMC, an academic medical center affiliate of Harvard Medical School and part of Beth Israel Lahey Health. BIDMC provides institutional support, research infrastructure, and is the primary site for OpenNotes' work.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor research partner collaborating on care partner shared access projects, shared access learning collaborative, and Coalition for Care Partners initiative. Co-Principal Investigators from Johns Hopkins lead demonstration projects.
• ARCHANGELScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for OurNotes for Care Partners initiative. ARCHANGELS provides the Caregiver Intensity Index questionnaire and resources for identifying and supporting care partners in clinical settings.
• Harvard Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliate institution providing academic oversight and collaboration on medical education initiatives including the Macy/Schmeidler Medical Student OpenNotes Educational Initiative.
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Technology Ventures OfficecoreTechnology or IntegrationBIDMC TVO promotes public use of technologies for societal benefit, fostering alliances with industry through collaboration and licensing agreements.
• Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional home for digital medicine, working to drive broad adoption of digital approaches to advance safe, effective, and equitable healthcare.
• The Light CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit dedicated to advancing rights, interests, and voices of patient communities in health technology through collaboration with patient advocacy organizations.
• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for OurDx including Spanish version (Nuestro Diagnostico) development with Spanish Collaborative. Also partner for OurNotes initiative.
• UC Davis HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Open Results network, contributing Scott MacDonald, MD as CMIO to research on patient perspectives around test results.
• Vanderbilt UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Open Results network, with S. Trent Rosenbloom, MD, MPH leading My Health at Vanderbilt patient portal research.
• Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for OurNotes initiative, with Stephen Liu, MD, MPH as co-investigator.
• UC HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner for OurNotes initiative, with CT Lin, MD as CMIO and co-investigator.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: RWJF was OpenNotes' founding sponsor (2008-2019) and a major healthcare philanthropy. Comparable as a peer funder and research-publisher in health policy and patient engagement, though RWJF operates at vastly greater scale as a grantmaker.
• Digital Medicine Society (DiMe): A professional organization advancing digital health adoption and evidence generation, partnered with OpenNotes as a strategic ally. Comparable as a peer organization operating at the intersection of digital tools, clinical evidence, and patient outcomes.

Direct peers

• Commonwealth Fund: A major healthcare-focused foundation producing influential research on healthcare delivery, patient experience, and policy. Comparable to OpenNotes as a peer nonprofit research/advocacy organization publishing in the same health policy space and targeting health-system decision makers.
• Pew Charitable Trusts: A research-driven nonprofit that funds and conducts studies influencing U.S. policy in health, science, and other areas. Comparable as a mission-driven foundation generating open-access research and toolkits, with similar grant-funded operating model and publication strategy.
• Abridge: An AI clinical documentation company that partnered with OpenNotes in November 2024 to evaluate AI-generated visit summaries. Comparable as a peer in the clinical documentation and patient transparency space, with Abridge operating as a commercial counterpart to OpenNotes' research-focused Lab initiatives.
• Society for Participatory Medicine: A nonprofit advocacy organization promoting patient-clinician partnerships and shared decision-making. Gave OpenNotes team member Liz Salmi its 2018 "Doc" Tom Ferguson Award. Comparable as a peer advocacy nonprofit in the patient engagement and transparency space.
• National Patient Safety Foundation: Awarded OpenNotes the 2014 John Q. Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement. Comparable as a peer nonprofit research and advocacy organization focused on patient safety, with overlapping funder base and publication channels.
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI): An independent nonprofit research organization that funds comparative clinical effectiveness research with patient engagement. Awarded OpenNotes a $2.1M grant in February 2025. Comparable as a peer nonprofit research funder conducting and sponsoring patient-centered outcomes research.

Others

• DirectTrust: A nonprofit industry alliance promoting healthcare interoperability and trusted digital health record exchange. Awarded OpenNotes the 2022 Interoperability Hero Award. Comparable as a peer nonprofit ecosystem organization advancing health information sharing standards.

Peers

• ARCHANGELS: A caregiver-focused organization that partnered with OpenNotes on the OurNotes for Care Partners initiative, providing the Caregiver Intensity Index. Comparable as a peer nonprofit developing tools and resources at the intersection of patient/family engagement and clinical workflows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/myopennotes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opennotes
• Facebookfacebook.com/opennotesmovement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OpenNotes