Relationship between the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination, the Functional Independence Measure, and the Patient Treatment Form in the health and care of traumatic brain injury patients

The Patient Treatment Form (PTF), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (Cognistat) are integrated, multidisciplinary, mental status examinations used by professionals to evaluate traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. These measures evaluate components deemed important in TBI rehabilitation including cognitive ability, diagnostics, and treatment. Prior research indicated that the more commonly used FIM and Cognistat are not designed to chart patient progress during rehabilitation. Research shows that the PTF, however, is an efficient, informative measure of the cognitive domains of comprehension, expression, social and behavioral emotional function, problem solving and reasoning, memory, orientation, and attention. A gap in the literature concerns absence of validity testing for the PTF. The study purpose was to examine PTF validity for assessing TBI patients by comparing the cognitive domains of the PTF to those in the FIM and Cognistat. The sample included 96 adult TBI patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation and referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Spearman's rho was used to test correlations between the PTF and corresponding subscales of the other instruments. Results showed high correlation between the PTF, FIM, and Cognistat which demonstrates the effectiveness of the PTF as a measure of ongoing progress during TBI rehabilitation. These findings could lead to a paradigm shift from customary diagnostic traditions (use of FIM and Cognistat) toward a more succinct, accurate, ongoing assessment of patient health. The PTF compliments diagnosis for a dynamic, comprehensive assessment that integrates input from rehabilitative disciplines, leading to social change by better guiding the processes of patient evaluation and information dissemination for more appropriate health care.