Doctor's order for MMSE?

[nelge16v]

Hi

I was just wondering, i had a patient who has a delayed response to questions and sometimes my patient will have difficulty answering descriptive questions. I would like to start a Mini Mental State Examination. My question is do i still need a doctor's order for that?

Thank you!

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Yes you would, but that is my opinion not fact. The MMSE is a screening test, but it needs to be administered by someone who has been taught the proper way to administer and score it and who knows how to proceed if the score is not perfect.

In research at least we would not allow anyone to perform the MMSE without proper training. It seems very simple, but there are a lot of nuances to how you are supposed to say/ask things and score the answer. Also, do you tell the patient if their score is reduced and what anxiety may that cause.

Also, any illness/depression/medications/stress can cause a reduced score. It does not always indicate memory/dementia issues correctly with some of these issues and more refined testing must be done if any of those might be complicating factors.

I guess my point is that it is not something to be entered into lightly.