OpenNotes.org explains how patients can read and use the notes that healthcare providers make in an electronic health record.
Open Notes, an academic lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, publishes the website and prepares its content. It lists a leadership team made up of four medical professionals.
The website’s information for patients, How To Use Open Notes, includes FAQs for Patients; information about getting the most out of mental health notes, children’s notes and notes for teenagers notes, and examples of questions patients can ask themselves when reading notes.
The website’s information for professionals includes The Basics; sections on mental health notes and adolescents’ notes; and Research (linking to journal reports and descriptions of current research).
Tips for use:
– In the patient section, click Espanol for a Spanish version.
Reviewed October 2025