Alzheimer's Cognitive Assessment

These cognitive assessment tools are used to identify individuals who may need additional evaluation. No one tool is recognized as the best brief assessment to determine if a full dementia evaluation is needed. However, the expert workgroup identified several instruments suited for use in primary care based on the following: administration time ≤5 minutes, validation in a primary care or community setting, psychometric equivalence or superiority to the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), easy administration by non-physician staff and relatively free of educational, language and/or cultural bias. For a definitive diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, individuals who fail any of these tests should be evaluated further or referred to a specialist.