NOVAD-Hospital — Neurological Orientation and Verbal Assessment of Delirium-Hospital

What this tool is and how to interpret its evidence

NOVAD-Hospital is an electronic clinical-decision-support tool designed to identify possible delirium from neurological, orientation and verbal assessments already recorded in the hospital record. It aims to use routine nursing data without requiring staff to administer a second paper questionnaire. The output is an automated flag for clinical review, not a self-sufficient diagnosis.

Hendrie and colleagues reported the tool in 2025 using a multicentre observational design. The publication provides initial evidence that a structured combination of routine fields can improve recognition, but performance depends on how consistently those inputs are collected, coded and transmitted. Missing observations, sedation, intubation, aphasia, language, local documentation culture and changes in electronic systems may all affect transportability. Prospective implementation evidence and evaluation outside the development health systems remain important.

NOVAD is a genuine named delirium technology and should be visible in an electronic-record and decision-support collection. It does not fit a strict bedside-form core and should not contribute to that count. The page can describe the input domains, automated nature, intended workflow, study design and limitations without disclosing proprietary logic or presenting a substitute algorithm. It should link to the primary paper and official university technology page. Any flag requires clinical assessment, and lack of a flag cannot safely exclude delirium when source documentation is incomplete.