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Release Notes 3.6 (Goal: 2025-11)

Release Notes 3.6 (Goal: 2025-11)

[ 1 🔦 Key Points ] [ 2 ⚠️ Breaking Changes ] [ 3 👷 Contributors ] [ 4 🔦 Highlights for Implementers ] [ 5 📸 Example Visual Changes ] [ 6 🔍 Detailed Changelog ]

🔦 Key Points

📆 Tentative Release Candidate Cut Date: 2025-November-20
📆 Release Date: 2026-Mar-11
Release Manager: @Dennis Kigen

Key Features

  • Workspace v2 improvements: O3 now handles related side panels more consistently, with better context-sharing, support for child workspaces, and stronger protection against losing unsaved work.

  • Billing module stabilization: Billing workflows are more complete and more dependable, with better support for billable services, payment modes, and cash point operations.

  • Printing support: Printing capabilities have been expanded to better support labels, patient summaries, and clinical documents.

  • Laboratory workflow improvements: Lab ordering and results handling are more reliable, with more accurate use of the right result ranges during review, editing, and printing.

  • Dispensing improvements: Pharmacists can now launch an order basket and enter paper prescriptions directly into the EMR.

  • Appointment management: Users can now bulk update appointment statuses directly from the appointments table.

  • Task list backend support: Foundational backend support for task-based workflows is now available.

  • Upgrade readiness: Java 21 support is complete, and work toward newer platform compatibility has continued.

  • Allergy warnings in prescribing: Allergy information is now shown directly in the drug ordering workflow to support safer prescribing.

  • Audit logging improvements: The first iteration of improved audit logging is now in place, including related warning and error interface support.

Deferred to Next Release

⚠️ Breaking Changes

This release includes upgrade-impacting changes across shared frontend components and application workflows. Confirmed frontend breaking changes include the move to newer translation libraries across several O3 modules, the migration of Patient Chart workflows to the newer Workspace v2 model, and changes to how visit context is stored and accessed in Patient Chart. Implementations with custom frontend extensions, workspace integrations, translation overrides, or other local customizations should test those areas carefully before rollout. Implementations should also validate any custom backend modules and integrations as part of overall upgrade testing.

Where to find it: Demo at o3.openmrs.org (admin/Admin123) or download here: openmrs.org/download/

👷 Contributors

Thank you so much to the following contributors - you make releases like this possible! Alphabetically by Organization affiliation:

  • SolDevelo: @Oliver Lewandowski

  • ICRC: @José Francisco@Oliver Lewandowski

  • Intellisoft: @samstar10

  • Madiro: @Joshua Nsereko @Vineet Sharma @Pius Rubangakene

  • Mekom: @Brandon Istenes

  • METS: @JONATHAN AJAL ODORA @Jeremy Jabar

  • OpenMRS Support: @Wikum Weerakutti @Dennis Kigen, @Jayasanka Weerasinghe, @nethmi, @Wikum Weerakutti @Daniel Kayiwa @Veronica Muthee @Rafal Korytkowski

  • Palladium-Kenya: @Donald Kibet @Kennedy Makombe @itskios09 @omosh

  • PIH: @Chi Bong Ho @Mark Goodrich @Mike Seaton

  • UCSF: @Cynthia Kamau @Jamie Arodi

  • UW ITECH DIGI: @Moses Mutesasira @Ian Bacher

  • Independent Contributors: @ujjawalprabhat @Daphine Nalule @rajprakash34245 @praneeth622 @abhee @amrita21p @sourav @chinmay @sankalpasarkar @princegupta @shravanthi @theodorv @drita @ISABIRYE ELIJAH @Namanya Abert @shettybharath @katoelvis @Juliet Wamalwa @harpalll @Hadijah Kyampeire @faraz @siddharthbaleja @chintu @Nathan Ruhanga @Angshuman Sarkar @herman muhereza @CLIFF GITA @barmonger @felixMaiko @sohamdhande @Anushka Jha @ElizabethKukkiriza @JayadityaGit @ssebayigga-sharif @himanshumoral

Thank you Translation Contributors!

  • [Language] updated by [contributor-name]

Contributor Metrics

image-20250123-061754.png
Breakdown of contributors by Organizations, based on # of PRs committed in this release. (Source)

# PRs included: ___

# of Orgs involved: __

% from OpenMRS Inc. Global Support: __%

🔦 Highlights for Implementers

Improved workspace behavior across O3
The O3 workspace model is now more capable and more consistent across the platform. It supports clearer grouping of related workspaces, better sharing of context between related panels, child workspaces, and safer handling of unsaved changes. For implementers, this should reduce user confusion in multi-step workflows such as registration, ordering, dispensing, and editing records, especially in sites where staff frequently move between related side panels during a patient encounter.

Stronger support for modern Java and platform upgrades
Java 21 support has been completed, and work has continued toward newer platform compatibility. This is mainly important for implementations planning infrastructure upgrades or trying to stay aligned with newer OpenMRS platform versions. In practice, it reduces upgrade risk and helps keep the stack moving toward a more supportable long-term baseline.

Billing is more ready for day-to-day use
Billing workflows have been strengthened through continued frontend and backend alignment. This includes better support for billable services, payment modes, and cash point workflows, making billing operations more complete and more dependable. Implementers using billing should see fewer gaps between setup, bill entry, payment collection, and invoice handling, which is important for facilities that depend on O3 for routine financial operations.

Printing support is now much more complete
Printing capabilities have been expanded across both backend and frontend layers to support important operational use cases, including labels, patient summaries, and clinical documents. This is especially valuable for implementations that still rely on printed outputs in clinical care, specimen handling, patient flow, or administrative processes. It also reduces the need for local workarounds in settings where printing remains part of daily operations.

Task list backend support is now available
Backend support for task list capabilities has been completed and released, providing the foundation needed for task-based workflows. While this may not yet change every end-user workflow immediately, it is an important enabling step for implementations that want to manage work through structured task queues rather than informal handoffs. Over time, this should make it easier to support more accountable and trackable operational processes.

Laboratory workflows are more accurate and more streamlined
Laboratory improvements in this release strengthen both ordering and results handling. Reference ranges are now handled more accurately during review, editing, and printing, while other workflow fixes make it easier to move between lab requests, result entry, and result display. For implementations with heavy laboratory use, these changes should reduce friction for staff and improve confidence that the clinical information shown to users matches the actual encounter context.

Dispensing workflows better support real-world pharmacy use
Dispensing now supports workflows that allow pharmacists to launch an order basket and enter paper prescriptions directly into the EMR. This is especially useful in mixed environments where prescribing may still begin on paper or where pharmacy staff need to complete orders after the initial clinical encounter. It helps bridge paper and digital workflows more cleanly and reduces duplicate or disconnected work.

Appointment management is more efficient
Users can now update appointment statuses in bulk directly from the appointments table. For implementations managing large appointment volumes, this should reduce repetitive work and make scheduling operations faster and easier to manage. It is most useful in busy outpatient or program settings where staff need to process many appointment changes in a short time.

Initial audit logging improvements are now in place
The first iteration of improved audit logging has been completed, including the supporting user interface and error or warning components. This lays the groundwork for stronger visibility into important user actions and system events. For implementers, this is a meaningful step toward better oversight, troubleshooting, and accountability, especially in environments with stronger operational or compliance requirements.

Safer prescribing with allergy visibility at the point of care
Patient allergy information is now surfaced directly within the drug ordering workflow. This gives clinicians clearer safety information while prescribing and helps reduce the risk of ordering medications that may be inappropriate for the patient. For implementations, this is a practical clinical safety improvement because it brings the warning into the workflow where the decision is being made.

📸 Example Visual Changes

image-20260310-060605.png
drug orders in dispensing
image-20260310-061314.png
bulk editing appointments

 

image-20260310-061654.png
BILLING PAYMENTS

 

image-20260310-062508.png
results table improvements

 

🔍 Detailed Changelog

Code:

Distro RefApp

Frontend Modules

  • Patient Chart: v12.0.0 (major), v12.0.1 (patch), v12.0.2 (patch) - Improved labs, medications, visits, and forms, with later patches strengthening encounter editing and visit reliability.

  • Core: v9.0.0 (major), v9.0.1 (patch), v9.0.2 (patch) - Improved shared O3 behaviour across workspaces, accessibility, printing, navigation, and date handling.

  • Patient Management: v10.0.0 (major), v10.0.1 (patch), v10.0.2 (patch) - Improved queues, appointments, wards, patient lists, and registration, with later patches focused on stability and workflow correctness.

  • Form Builder: v3.4.0 (minor), v3.4.1 (patch) - Improved form design reliability, preview behavior, and support for test-order forms.

  • Billing: v1.1.0 (minor), v1.1.1 (patch) - Stabilized billing workflows, including payment handling, invoices, validation, and line-item management.

  • React Form Engine: v4.0.0 (major), v4.1.0 (minor) - Improved form logic, workspace launching, post-submission actions, and reliability of filtered answer handling.

  • Angular Form Engine: v19.0.0 (major), v19.0.1 (patch) - Improved stability and compatibility for Angular-based forms, including workspace launching and form behavior fixes.

  • Dispensing: v1.10.0 (minor) - Expanded dispensing workflows with search, fill-prescription support, order basket integration, and better support for real-world pharmacy operations.

  • Laboratory: v1.3.0 (minor), v1.3.1 (patch) - Improved laboratory review and results workflows, with the patch restoring lab-order entry from lab results.

  • Fast Data Entry: v1.4.1 (patch) - Improved date handling and fixed a form workspace scrolling issue that could block data entry.

  • Cohort Builder: v4.0.5 (patch) - Improved reporting-related compatibility and overall reliability in cohort workflows.

  • Admin Tools: v4.3.0 (minor) - Improved report administration with better parameter handling and configurable preview behavior.

  • Stock Management: v3.2.0 (minor) - Improved stock workflow clarity, stock status labelling, and handling of packaging and location details.

Backend Modules

  • OpenMRS Platform: 2.7.6 → 2.8.4 (minor) - Upgraded the core backend platform that underpins the Reference Application.

  • Initializer: 2.9.0 → 2.11.0 (minor) - Improved support for loading implementation-specific configuration and metadata.

  • FHIR2: 2.7.0 → 3.0.0 (major) - Updated the interoperability layer used to exchange standards-based clinical data.

  • Webservices REST: 2.50.0 → 3.2.0 (major) - Updated the main backend API layer used by O3 and other integrations.

  • Patient Documents: new in 3.6.0 - Added backend support for patient documents and printing-related workflows.

  • Queue: 2.9.0 → 3.0.0 (major) - Updated backend support for patient queue workflows.

  • Reporting: 1.28.0 → 2.1.0 (major) - Updated the reporting engine used for operational and clinical reporting.

  • Reporting REST: 1.15.0 → 2.0.0 (major) - Updated the API layer used to run and manage reports from the frontend.

  • Order Templates: 1.0.2 → 2.2.0 (major) - Improved backend support for reusable order sets and ordering workflows.

  • EMR API: 2.3.0 → 3.2.1 (major) - Updated shared backend services used across many clinical workflows.

  • Event: 3.0.0 → 4.0.0 (major) - Updated event infrastructure used to support asynchronous and integration-driven workflows.

  • Bed Management: 6.2.0 → 7.2.0 (major) - Strengthened backend support for ward, bed, transfer, and admission workflows.

  • Stock Management: 2.0.3 → 3.0.0 (major) - Updated backend support for inventory, stock movement, and stock control workflows.

  • Billing: 1.3.2 → 2.2.0 (major) - Strengthened backend support for billing workflows, billing data, and payment handling.

  • Reference Demo Content: 1.6.0 → 1.7.0 (minor) - Refreshed the demo content package shipped with the Reference Application.

  • Other supporting backend updates: Authentication, ID Generation, Open Concept Lab, Attachments, Patient Flags, and related supporting libraries and content packages were also updated as part of this release.

Tickets:

Platform Tickets: https://openmrs.atlassian.net/projects/O3?selectedItem=com.atlassian.jira.jira-projects-plugin%3Arelease-page