Boston, MA — August 26, 2025 — OpenNotes at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has received a $400,627 award from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to create patient-centered AI tools that improve access to and understanding of medical information. The study, led by Sigall Bell, MD, Director of Patient Safety and Discovery at OpenNotes and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will design and test HealthCoach, a large language model (LLM)-driven chatbot available in English and Spanish.
“Research shows that when patients read their medical notes, they better understand their care, identify safety issues, and take a more active role in managing their health,” said Dr. Bell. “But too many patients remain excluded due to language and literacy barriers. By centering design on patients, AI can help close these gaps.”
About HealthCoach
HealthCoach will help patients of all literacy levels:
- Learn from their open medical notes
- Prepare for primary care visits
- Co-create a “pre-note” that reflects their values, priorities, and questions
By embedding patient perspectives directly into the medical record, HealthCoach aims to strengthen patient safety, engagement, and shared decision-making. Adam Rodman, MD, MPH, Director of AI Programs at Harvard Medical School, will serve as co-investigator.
Study Highlights
- Co-designing HealthCoach with diverse patient partners in two states
- Using de-identified patient notes and visit priorities to iteratively refine the chatbot
- Testing chatbot-generated notes for accuracy, clarity, and usefulness with both patients and clinicians
- Conducting a live trial with English- and Spanish-preferring patients preparing for upcoming primary care visits
The project will produce freely available resources, including the HealthCoach chatbot and educational materials, to promote broad, equitable access to AI-enabled healthcare tools. More about this study can found on the NIH RePORTER website.
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About OpenNotes
Based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, OpenNotes is an academic lab studying, spreading, and teaching transparent communication between patients, care partners, and clinicians. Evidence shows that when patients and care partners have access to clinical notes—known as “open notes”—the quality and safety of care improve. Learn more at opennotes.org.
About the National Library of Medicine
The National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the world’s largest biomedical library. Since 1836, NLM has advanced biomedical discovery, health care, and public health by providing trusted health information resources and supporting innovation in medical research and practice.
Except where otherwise noted, the content by OpenNotes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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