Utility of the Neuropsychological Evaluation in an Acute Medical Hospital

Although recent studies have demonstrated the importance of cognitive assessment in medical settings in general, there have been no specific studies addressing the utility of the neuropsychological evaluation in the acute inpatient hospital setting. The current study examined the use of inpatient neuropsychological evaluation by treating physicians in an acute medical hospital for patient care and discharge disposition. Participants were 100 inpatients within an urban medical center who received a neuropsychological evaluation. Results showed 78% of hospital discharge summaries included information regarding the neuropsychological evaluation, 48% referenced specific results, and 68% reported specific recommendations. Further, actual placement outcomes were consistent with the neuropsychological evaluation placement recommendations 80% of the time. The current study supports the utility of neuropsychological evaluations on overall inpatient care, and discusses ways in which the results may be used to communicate the value of neuropsychological services to medical treatment and discharge planning teams, third party payors, and medical center administrators.