Neurology is characterized by diagnostic complexity, with many neurological conditions sharing overlapping symptom profiles that require careful clinical reasoning to differentiate. According to the American Academy of Neurology, neurological conditions affect approximately 1 in 6 people worldwide, and a 2019 Lancet Neurology study reported that neurological disorders collectively represent the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years globally. The differential diagnosis for common neurological presentations such as headache, dizziness, and weakness can span dozens of conditions ranging from benign to life-threatening, making AI-powered differential diagnosis generation particularly valuable in this specialty.
Time-sensitive stroke management is one of the most critical CDS applications in neurology. The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association guidelines emphasize that tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) must be administered within 4.5 hours of symptom onset for eligible patients, and mechanical thrombectomy has a treatment window of up to 24 hours in selected patients with large vessel occlusion. CDS tools that guide clinicians through stroke assessment scales (NIHSS), eligibility criteria for thrombolysis, and indications for advanced neuroimaging can reduce door-to-treatment times. Beyond stroke, neurologists rely on clinical decision support for seizure classification and antiepileptic drug selection (where drug-drug interactions are a major concern), management of multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapies, and interpretation of complex neurodiagnostic studies including EEG and EMG. A 2015 study in Neurology: Clinical Practice found that neurological diagnoses are among the most frequently delayed or missed in medicine, further underscoring the value of CDS tools in this field.