THE BCAT® APPROACH
The BCAT® Approach is a unique applied concept for assessing and working with people who have memory and other cognitive impairments. It is designed for any clinical and residential setting in which cognitive functioning and cognitive impairment is a central issue. The BCAT® Approach integrates three systems: The BCAT® Test System, the BCAT® Interventions (the BCAT® Digital Working Memory Exercises, the BCAT® Working Memory Exercise Books, the MemPics® Book Series, MemPics® Grab'N Go, and the 3D Behavior Management Program), and the ENRICH® Brain Health Program. All programs are person-centered and used by healthcare professionals, facilities, patients, caregivers, and other stakeholders. All programs are validated by science.
All BCAT® programs have specific training modules to enhance learning and proficiency.
The BCAT® Test System
The BCAT® Test System is used worldwide by a variety of professionals across multiple settings from acute care and throughout post-acute settings. It is used in healthcare by psychologists, nursing professionals, rehab professionals (PT, OT, ST), care managers, and social services, as well as in home-based programs and anywhere older adults are aging in place. The BCAT® is unique in that it provides objective measures to determine cognitive abilities and the impact on function.
The BCAT® Test System is comprised of six unique assessment instruments. The primary and foundational test is the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool (BCAT®), which is multifactorial. It can be administered in 10-15 minutes by professionals and techs, is sensitive to the full spectrum of cognitive functioning (normal, MCI, dementia), produces separate Memory Factor and Executive Functions Factor scores, and can predict basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL, IADL). The BCAT® has also been shown to help predict discharge dispositions, identify those most likely to be readmitted to hospitals shortly after discharge, facilitate level of care determinations, aid in fall prevention programs, and help with non-pharmacological behavior management.
The BCAT®-SF is frequently used within an inter-professional model as a screening tool to identify who should receive broader BCAT® testing and BCAT® Interventions. The Short Form was designed as a shorter version of the full BCAT® and can be administered in three minutes or less. While it is not as robust or comprehensive as the full BCAT®, it can differentiate between persons with and without dementia. The short version has strong reliability, construct validity, and predictive validity.
The Brief Anxiety and Depression Scale (BADS®) is a brief screening tool for mood impairment developed for older adults. It can be administered by a clinician, by proxy (knowledgeable informant), or self-administered for those who are cognitively capable. The BADS® can be administered in less than three minutes and it's online interactive scoring program yields a depression and an anxiety factor score.
The Kitchen Picture Test of Judgment (KPT®) is one of the two judgment instruments in our suite of tools. It is intended to identify those who require supervision of IADLs. The KPT® utilized an illustration of a kitchen scene in which potentially dangerous situations are unfolding. Patients are asked to describe the scene as fully as they can, to identify the problem situations, to rank the order of importance of each situation in terms of dangerousness, and to offer solutions that would resolve the problems. The KPT® has been found to have construct validity (it measures the construct "judgment") and can be used to identify those who require supervision of IADL tasks and can differentiate between those who have dementia and those who do not.
The Verbal Test of Practical Judgment (VPJ®) is our second judgment test. It is designed to detect more nuanced and subtle judgment problems. The VPJ® consists of 10 novel applied situations that require reasonable judgment. The VPJ® not only identifies judgment skills level but identifies specific IADL dependencies associated with levels of impaired judgment.
The Brief Cognitive Impairment Scale (BCIS®) is an 11-item, 14-point scale and was developed to not only track cognitive changes in patients with advanced dementia, but to provide information to better manage behavior problems. We recommend using the BCIS® when severe cognitive impairment has already been established, or when the patient scores under 25 on the BCAT®.
All tests in The BCAT® Test System have an online report feature that provides patient specific information that can be incorporated into the electronic health record.
Included in The BCAT® Professional License is access to The Digital Working Memory Exercise Platform. This online program provides access to a variety of interactive cognitive exercises that target attention, memory, and executive control functions. We refer to this triad as the "cognitive task manager" as these combined skills are often used for everyday functioning. This evidence-based program offers hundreds of combinations of both basic and complex cognitive exercises and can be used as part of a cognitive rehabilitation program designed to return the patient to baseline, to improve cognitive performance, or to promote positive cognitive functioning while buffering against cognitive decline.
The Digital Working Memory Exercise Platform is ideal for rehabilitation therapists and can promote positive rehab outcomes in occupational and speech therapies. It can also be used effectively by adults in their home setting or by activities professionals offering 1:1 or group programming to target the cognitive skills that support independent living and aging in place.
To purchase your BCAT® Professional License, visit the Licenses Page.
BCAT® Partnership Opportunities
Is your organization looking for a standardized cognitive care delivery model rooted in science? Allow our experts to consult with you to identify a customized care model that works for your organization. Email us at info@thebcat.com to speak with our BCAT® Integration team today.