Mini Mental State Examinations

Download this free Mini Mental State Examination to assess your patient’s cognitive deterioration and monitor their cognitive development.

By Nate Lacson on Mar 06, 2024.

Fact Checked by Nate Lacson.

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What Is A Mini Mental State Examination?

Marshal Folstein et al. developed the Mini Mental State Examination, or MMSE, in 1975. It is a brief test that assesses cognitive impairment, such as trouble understanding, thinking, concentrating, or remembering, that can affect an individual’s daily life. Healthcare professionals use the Mini Mental State Examination.

An MMSE contains 11 questions that tackle the following areas:

  • Memorizing and recalling a list of items
  • Composing short sentences with proper grammar
  • Replicating a specific drawing from the examination
  • Recognizing the current day, date, month, year, and season accurately
  • Identifying current location

Mini Mental State Examinations are widely used in the healthcare industry, but the clinical diagnosis shouldn’t be solely based on MMSE. Instead, this can be a guide if an individual needs further evaluation or monitoring of cognitive deterioration.

Printable Mini Mental State Examination

Download this Mini Mental State Examination in order to assess your client’s cognitive function.

How To Use This Mini Mental State Examination

This Mini Mental State Examination can look overwhelming, so we made it easy to understand by providing a Mini Mental State Examination example. Before that, here’s a step-by-step guide on using this printable examination.

Step one: Download the PDF

Download the Mini Mental State Examination PDF to your device to get started.

Step two: Brief your clients

Explain the purpose of the examination to your clients and the instructions, so they know what to expect.

Step three: Conduct the examination

You can fill out the assessment online or during an in-person session. Whatever your setup is, this is a printable Mini Mental State Examination which is also customizable so you can store your clients’ records digitally.

Step four: Analyze the results

MMSE has a maximum score of 30. If the score is 26 or higher, it’s considered normal, or no cognitive impairment. If the score is between 25 to 20, it can be interpreted as mild cognitive impairment. If the score is between 19 to 10, it can be moderate. But if the score is between 9-0, it indicates possible severe cognitive impairment.

Mini Mental State Examination Example (Sample)

This is a Mini Mental State Examination sample to help you complete the assessment. As you will notice, it’s easy to fill out. Just enter the patient's name, date, and the start of the examination.

Download this Mini Mental State Examination Example (Sample) here:

Mini Mental State Examination Example (Sample)

When Would You Typically Use A Mini Mental State Examination?

You can conduct Mini Mental State Examinations as a screening tool for patients or clients experiencing cognitive impairment or dementia. This tool can help evaluate cognitive function, especially in high-risk individuals, or if you suspect an individual might suffer from cognitive deterioration.

You can also perform an MMSE if an individual was involved in an accident and received injuries that might affect their cognitive function. This will help you plan treatment, monitor their cognitive decline, and track their improvements.

Who Can Use these Printable Mini Mental State Examinations?

MMSE is widely used in the healthcare industry, making it a valuable tool for:

  • Psychologists
  • Physicians
  • Psychiatrists
  • Therapists
  • Nurses
  • Licensed clinicians
  • General practitioners 

If your specific healthcare specialization isn't included on the above list, this doesn't mean that you can't use the Mini Mental State Examination. Provided you are qualified and trained to administer and interpret the results of an MMSE, you will beable to conduct the examination. 

Benefits Of Free Mini Mental State Examination

Quick screening tool

MMSE is designed to be a quick screening tool for cognitive impairment. This is why it’s a widely used resource for healthcare professionals because its simplicity makes it easy to screen patients.

Standardization

MMSE provides a standardized set of questions, scoring methods, and interpretation for healthcare professionals. 

Early diagnosis

Mini Mental State Examinations can give you a glimpse of a patient's cognitive function. If the score is low, that can be used as a starting point for further evaluation and early intervention.

Effective treatment planning

Depending on the patient's score, you can plan an effective treatment based on their cognitive needs, such as therapy, medications, lifestyle improvements, etc. You can provide treatments tailored to their specific needs if the cognitive impairment is severe.

Facilitates communication

MMSE is also a tool used to facilitate communication between healthcare providers. You can refer the patient to a specialist if the scores indicate they need further treatment or evaluation.

Why Use Carepatron For Mini Mental State Examination Software?

Using Carepatron allows you to store the Mini Mental State Examination however you want. You can print it and keep a physical copy, or store it using Carepatron’s online EHR platform. if you choose the latter of these options, you won’t have to worry about the security of your patient’s data and assessment results.

Carepatron is HIPAA-compliant, ensuring the safety of your patient’s information and results. Aside from that, Carepatron is also a user-friendly software management platform for healthcare professionals that offers a vast range of different practice management solutions. 

You don’t have to worry about spending hours doing the unexciting parts in your practice because you’ll spend less time doing them with Carepatron. Instead, you can focus on delivering quality healthcare solutions to patients in need.

Therapy software benefit

References

Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). Mini-mental state : A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3), 189-198.

How to score Mini Mental State Examination?
How to score Mini Mental State Examination?

Commonly asked questions

How to score Mini Mental State Examination?

Each question has different scores. For simple ones, you can give a score of 1 for each. But for more complex questions, the scores can range from 3-5.

What is the Mini Mental State Examination used for?

MMSE is used for the early detection of cognitive impairments, such as difficulty in thinking, communication, remembering, etc. It’s also used for treatment planning and monitoring the progress of an individual’s cognitive function.

What is the maximum score given to a patient in the mini-mental state examination (MMSE)?

The maximum score for Mini Mental State Examinations is 30, which means normal or no cognitive impairment. The minimum is 0, which means severe cognitive impairment is possible.

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