Brief Scales Can Measure Dementia, Mental Illness : Each battery should measure patient's memory, executive function, and activities of daily living.

Another scale that rates frequency and severity of behaviors is the Neuropsychiatric Inventory for Nursing Homes. The NPI is a little more difficult to complete but becomes easier with experience, Dr. Siegal said.

It has good concurrent reliability with both the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Behave-AD, he said, measuring behaviors in 12 domains. If the symptom has been present within the past month, the rater answers yes and then rates the frequency and severity on a 4-point scale and caregiver distress on a 0–5 scale. These scales are often used to establish baselines for medication-based intervention, but pharmaceuticals are not always necessary, Dr. Siegal said.

Sometimes, it's as simple as giving the patient a little attention, asking them how they are doing, and acquiescing to some requests, no matter how delusional they might seem. This approach can head off escalation and the need for a pharmacologic intervention, he said.