Skip to content

Short Blessed Test (SBT)

The Short Blessed Test (SBT) (also known as the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test) is a sensitive, 6-item cognitive assessment tool designed to help therapists screen for cognitive impairment and dementia. It guides clinicians through standardized questions evaluating orientation, memory, and concentration, calculates weighted error scores automatically (out of 28), provides real-time clinical interpretations, and tracks cognitive progress over time.

What you can do

  • Administer the Short Blessed Test directly within the platform.
  • Automatically calculate the patient's total weighted error score as you enter errors.
  • View real-time clinical interpretation hints (normal cognition, questionable impairment, impairment consistent with dementia).
  • Save test results against a specific patient for longitudinal tracking.
  • Review past assessments and visualize cognitive trends over time on a progress chart.

Getting Started

To use the tool, navigate to Features > Tools > Short Blessed Test.

Starting an Examination

  1. Select a Patient: Search for and select the patient you want to assess. The Short Blessed Test is always linked to a specific patient to enable history tracking.
  2. Click Begin Examination.

Once started, you will see the Examination Panel.

Examination Panel

The examination panel allows you to record error scores for each Short Blessed Test question, review clinical interpretations, and save the result.

Score Entry

  • Each item is presented as a row with:
    • Max Errors: The maximum number of errors that can be recorded for that question.
    • Weight: The multiplier applied to error counts (e.g., x4, x3, x2).
    • Patient Errors: The number of errors the patient made.
    • Question: The description/prompt for the patient.
  • The Total row updates in real-time as you enter errors, calculating the total weighted error score (out of 28).
  • Click Save to store the test results against the selected patient.

Items and Scoring

  1. What year is it now? (Max errors: 1, Weight: x4)
  2. What month is it now? (Max errors: 1, Weight: x3)
  3. About what time is it? (within 1 hour) (Max errors: 1, Weight: x3)
  4. Count backwards 20 to 1 (Max errors: 2, Weight: x2)
  5. Say the months of the year in reverse order (Max errors: 2, Weight: x2)
  6. Repeat memory phrase (John Brown, 42 Market Street, Chicago) (Max errors: 5, Weight: x2)

Interpretation

The right-hand panel shows clinical interpretation hints based on the weighted score:

  • 0–4: Normal Cognition.
  • 5–9: Questionable Impairment (evaluate for early dementia).
  • 10–28: Impairment Consistent with Dementia.

The relevant interpretation tier for the current score is highlighted automatically.

Patient History

Once a patient has at least one saved test, the tool displays their cognitive history.

Progress Chart

  • A line chart visualizes the patient's total SBT scores over time.
  • Click on any data point in the chart to load that historical test into the panel.

Past Scores

  • A list of all previous tests for the selected patient is shown, ordered from most recent to oldest.
  • Click on any entry to load that examination and review individual question scores.
  • While viewing a historical record, the scores are read-only. Click New Examination to start a fresh assessment for the same patient.

Session Management

  • Patient-linked: Every SBT record is associated with a patient, making it easy to track cognitive changes over time.
  • Edit Patient: Use the (edit) button next to the patient's name to switch to a different patient before saving.
  • History Navigation: Switch freely between past examinations and a new assessment without losing saved data.