Physicians are significantly more likely to accurately document patient health problems when they are using an EHR system that provides them with alerts to potential risk factors, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

The researchers said that accurate documentation of patients' health problems are critical to the efficient delivery of care, particularly when a doctor is treating a patient with whom they are unfamiliar.

For the study, the researchers developed a program that worked with existing EHR systems. It analyzed billing codes for previous diagnoses, vital signs, lab results and medications currently being taken. If risk factors for certain health problems were spotted in this data, the system prompted the physician to document it.

The results showed that this led to a dramatic increase in documentation of previously undiagnosed medical conditions.

"Overall, study problems were approximately three times more likely to be documented when alerts were shown. This increase is clinically important, since many of these problems are used or quality improvement and clinical decision support," the researchers wrote in their report.