About the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS)
The BIMS is a short, structured cognitive screen used in the MDS 3.0 assessment for nursing-home and post-acute residents. It scores three tasks — immediate repetition of three words, temporal orientation, and delayed recall of those same words — and adds them into a single total from 0 to 15. This calculator sums the item scores you select and reports the total with its standard cognitive category.
How the score is built
- Repetition (0-3): the examiner names three words (for example sock, blue, bed) and the resident repeats them; one point per word on the first attempt.
- Temporal orientation (0-6): year (0-3), month (0-2), and day of the week (0-1), scored by how close each answer is.
- Delayed recall (0-6): after the orientation questions, the resident recalls the three words; each word earns 2 with no cue, 1 after a category cue, or 0 if not recalled.
Interpreting the total
The 0-15 total maps to three standard bands: 13-15 suggests cognition is intact, 8-12 suggests moderate impairment, and 0-7 suggests severe impairment. These bands describe a screening result, not a diagnosis, and can be affected by delirium, hearing, language, and mood.
When to consult a professional
The BIMS is a screening tool. A low or borderline score is a prompt for a fuller clinical evaluation, not a diagnosis on its own. Discuss results with a licensed healthcare provider who can weigh medical history, medications, and other factors.