"Designing for Techquity: Ensuring Open Notes Serve All Patients"

Cait DesRoches, DrPH and Liz Salmi reflect on the evolution of open notes and issue a clear call to action for oncology. Drawing on over fifteen years of research, they underscore that while open notes consistently strengthen trust, understanding, and patient engagement, access is not equitable. They argue that transparency without equity is incomplete. Read more. (open access 🔓)

DesRoches CM, Salmi L. Designing for Techquity: Ensuring Open Notes Serve All Patients. JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics. 2025;(9). doi:https://doi.org/10.1200/cci-25-00290

"Intimate Partner Violence and Open Notes: Challenges and Opportunities"

This review article offers practical guidelines for documenting IPV in trauma-informed, patient-centered ways, while also navigating transparency requirements under the 21st Century Cures Act. While acknowledging proxy access features and risks, this paper focuses on how open notes can be used safely to empower survivors and build trust. Read more. (open access 🔓)

Brown C, Lovejoy R, Chin S, Frier K, McLean M, Savage-Borne J, Katz J, O'Connor AL, Carrick NC. Intimate Partner Violence and Open Notes: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of the Academy of Forensic Nursing. 2025;3(3):87-103. doi:https://doi.org/10.29173/jafn938

Open Notes in Brain Injury Rehabilitation

This two-part series in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation uncovers the disconnect between patient enthusiasm for open notes and provider burden in brain injury rehabilitation, while examining whether AI offers a viable path to bridge the gap.

Part 1: "Contrasting Perspectives of Patients and Providers"

This research revealed a gap between the enthusiasm patients with brain injuries feel for open notes and the persistent concerns providers hold regarding documentation burden and misunderstandings. Read more. (paywalled 🔐 )

Covington NV, Friedman SE, Becker N, Klukas C, Vruwink O, O’Brien KH. Open Notes in Brain Injury Rehabilitation Part 1: Contrasting Perspectives of Patients and Providers. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published online November 1, 2025. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2025.11.015

Part 2: "Provider and Patient Preferences for Artificial Intelligence Solutions"

While rehabilitation providers were ready to adopt AI tools to ease documentation workloads, patients remained skeptical about the privacy and accuracy of AI in their medical records. Read more. (paywalled 🔐 )

Covington NV, Friedman SE, Becker N, Klukas C, Vruwink O, O’Brien KH. Open Notes in Brain Injury Rehabilitation Part 2: Provider and Patient Preferences for Artificial Intelligence Solutions. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published online November 1, 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2025.11.016

Remembering OpenNotes Advisory Board Member and Patient Advocate Adam Hayden

After Adam Hayden's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer in 2016, he took to social media to tell his story. Adam served on the OpenNotes advisory board for our partnership with UCHealth to co-design patient-friendly summaries for diagnostic scans and mitigate "scanxiety." He died of glioblastoma at the end of December. Read more about Adam in STAT News.