Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS)
Note: This is also part of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) used in the care of nursing home residents.
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1. Repetition of Three Words
Ask the individual: “I am going to say three words for you to remember. Please repeat the words after I
have said all three. The words are: sock, blue and bed. Now tell me the three words.”
<-- Number of words repeated after first attempt
After the individual’s first attempt, repeat the words using cues (“sock, something to wear; blue a color; bed, a piece of furniture”). You may repeat the words up to two more times.

2. Temporal Orientation (orientation to year, month, and day)
Ask the individual: “Please tell me what year it is right now.”
<-- Able to report correct year

Ask the individual: “What month are we in right now?”
<-- Able to report correct month

Ask the individual: “What day of the week is today?
<-- Able to report correct day of the week

3. Recall
Ask individual: “Let’s go back to an earlier question: What were those three words that I asked you to repeat?” If unable to remember a word, give cue (something to wear; a color; a piece of furniture) for that word.
<-- Able to recall SOCK

<-- Able to recall BLUE

<-- Able to recall BED

TOTAL SCORE --> numberscore=(Q1)+(Q2)+(Q3)+(Q4)+(Q5)+(Q6)+(Q7) / 15
INTERPRETATION --> resultscore2=(Q1)+(Q2)+(Q3)+(Q4)+(Q5)+(Q6)+(Q7);score2>12?'Cognitively intact':score2>7?'Moderately impaired':'Severe impairment'
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Result - Copy and paste this output: