Using Cognitive Testing to Assess Brain Injuries
- Posted on: Mar 3 2020
Dealing with a brain injury can be incredibly stressful and scary. You want to make certain that the doctor you’re working with diagnoses everything correctly and treats your brain injury in the right way. Cognitive testing is a great tool that can be used to diagnose mild traumatic brain injuries that occur from car accidents, construction site accidents, and other injuries. Unfortunately, this type of injury can easily be misdiagnosed, which means it’s then mistreated.
How Does Cognitive Testing Work?
Cognitive testing looks at how capable a person is by performing tasks related to solving problems, processing information, reasoning, and memory. When a person may potentially have a mild traumatic brain injury, they’re given a specialized test that helps doctors evaluate how their cognitive functions are operating. For example, they may be shown a grid of different images which are then hidden, then asked to identify the image that contained a particular color or animal. They may also be given computerized tests that ask the patient to quickly click on certain numbers or images in order to test their response times.
Some Tests Require Personal Information About the Patient
Even if you haven’t experienced any sort of head trauma, you may be called in to assist with diagnosing someone close to you. That’s because brain injuries can affect who a person is. The doctor may need to know about a person’s habits, lifestyle, school/work performance, and other information in order to see if the individual’s personality has shifted due to the injury. If you’re asked to participate, don’t hesitate to provide as much information as you can. There are no “wrong” answers here—it’s important that you’re open and honest so that the doctor can fully evaluate the patient.
Insurance Covers the Cost
If you’ve been injured in a worker’s comp accident or a car accident, the cost of cognitive testing is covered. There’s no reason not to go through with a cognitive test if you or your doctor believes you may have suffered some type of mild brain trauma.
If you do want to have a cognitive test done to make you aren’t suffering from a brain injury, contact the office of Dr. Jeff Mollins today to make an appointment.
Posted in: Auto Accident Doctor, Blog, Construction Accidents, Diagnostic Testing, Injury Treatment, Neck Pain Treatment, Orthopedics, Physical Examinations, Slip and Fall Accidents, Uncategorized, Work Injuries, Workers Compensation
