Om Lala, MD, MBA, MPhil

Chief Innovation Officer

As Chief Innovation Officer, Om Lala, MD, MBA, MPhil, is leading OpenNotes’ strategic efforts to expand its real-world impact and articulate a new vision for the future of transparency in healthcare. He is passionate about empowering underserved populations through two main avenues— improved digital user experience (UX) and evidence-based coaching. Prior to joining OpenNotes in Boston, Dr. Lala led a highly successful effort to bring open notes to New York City Health + Hospitals, the largest safety net hospital system in the U.S. serving 1.4 million patients. His method of measuring a successful implementation of open notes, and deploying principles from behavioral economics to increase patient engagement, was featured in NEJM Catalyst as a model for other health systems.  

Throughout his career, Dr. Lala’s focus has been on harnessing technology to improve healthcare and catalyze positive behavior change. At McKinsey & Company, he co-designed a digital pay-for-performance dashboard that was widely used by Medicaid. He went on to co-found a venture-backed pediatric tech startup, where he worked with the designers of the Apple Store to reimagine patients’ digital user experience in the exam room. His academic work in behavior change led him to serve as Senior Researcher at Harvard Business School, where he conducted research on “nudges”, coaching effectiveness, and transparency. He subsequently became Executive Director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean, Harvard Medical School, where he led continuing education initiatives for 20,000+ coaches, physicians and psychologists globally. His coaching clients have ranged from C-level executives and physician leaders, to low-income patients seeking to achieve their health goals.

A graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Business School, Dr. Lala also earned a Master of Philosophy in Public Health from the University of Cambridge, UK. His work at OpenNotes is funded in part by The John F. Keane & Family Scholar Program.