Catching cognitive decline early gives families more time to plan, and more options for care
A short in-office screen can be the difference between a crisis and a plan. Here's what to look for, which tools to reach for, and what our care team needs to pick up where the referral leaves off.
Hands to Help, Hearts to Care®Why a timely assessment matters
Cognitive decline is often noticed by family members long before it's raised with a physician. A brief, validated screening tool at the point of first concern gives the whole care team — and the family — a real head start.
Time to plan, not just react
An early, documented finding gives patients and families room to make decisions about legal, financial, and care preferences while the patient can still take part in them.
Earlier access to support services
Home health and hospice benefits, caregiver respite, and community resources are often easiest to arrange before a crisis forces a rushed decision.
A clearer referral picture
A completed screen gives specialists and home health teams a documented starting point, rather than a first visit spent re-establishing baseline.
Screening tools you can reach for in-office
These are among the most widely used cognitive screens in primary care. None replaces a full diagnostic workup — they're a fast way to decide whether one is warranted.
Mini-Cog 2–4 min ▶
Combines a three-word recall task with a clock-drawing exercise. It's quick enough for a routine visit and has held up well across different languages and literacy levels, which makes it a common first pass in primary care.
Get the Mini-Cog instrument →GPCOG ~5 min ▶
The General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition pairs a short patient interview with a separate informant questionnaire, so a change reported by a spouse or adult child carries as much weight as the patient's own performance.
View the GPCOG tool →MoCA ~10 min ▶
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a one-page, 30-point exam covering memory, visuospatial skills, executive function, language, and orientation. It's available in dozens of languages and tends to pick up milder impairment than shorter screens.
View the MoCA tool →SLUMS ~7 min ▶
The Saint Louis University Mental Status exam is an 11-item, 30-point scale that touches attention, calculation, recall, naming, and clock drawing. Cut-off scores are adjusted for the patient's education level.
View the SLUMS tool →AD-8 < 3 min ▶
An eight-item informant (or self-report) questionnaire built to catch change over time rather than test performance at a single point — useful when you want a fast read on whether further screening is worth pursuing.
View the AD-8 tool →These tools are listed for reference only. Choice of instrument is at the clinician's discretion, and a positive screen should prompt further evaluation rather than stand alone as a diagnosis.
Referring a patient to us? Here's what helps most
The more of this we have up front, the faster we can build a care plan that actually fits the patient.
Clinical background
- Relevant family history
- Recent imaging, if available
- Blood panel or prior lab results
- Cognitive screening results and any other relevant testing
Care & support context
- Current living situation and available caregiver support
- Medications and any known comorbidities
- Patient and family goals of care
- Preferred point of contact for coordination
Have a patient who could use our support?
Our team can talk through home health and hospice options, timing, and eligibility — before or after a formal diagnosis.
Contact Our Team →
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