MDS 3.0: Brief Interview for Mental Status

Abstract Objectives To test the feasibility and validity of the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) as a performance-based cognitive screener that could be easily completed by nursing home staff. The current study examines the performance of the BIMS as part of the national testing of the Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS 3.0) for Nursing Homes. Methods The BIMS was tested as part of the national MDS 3.0 evaluation study among 3822 residents scheduled for MDS 2.0 assessments. Residents were from 71 community nursing homes (NHs) in eight states. Residents were randomly included in a feasibility sample (n = 3258) and a validation sample (n = 418). Cognition was assessed with three instruments: the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS), the MDS 2.0 Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS), and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS). Trained research nurses administered the 3MS and BIMS to all subjects in the validation study. The CPS score was determined based on the MDS 2.0 completed by nursing home staff who had undergone additional training on cognitive testing. Standard cutoff scores on the 100-point 3MS were used as the gold standard for any cognitive impairment (