In Australia it is recommended that all older people undergoing rehabilitation have a cognitive screen. We performed a longitudinal study comparing the correlation of two cognitive screening tools – the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) with discharge outcomes in a geriatric inpatient setting. The RUDAS cut‐off (<23/30) was associated with discharge to a nursing home (sensitivity 52%, specificity 70%). This was also noted with a MoCA cut‐off <18/30 (sensitivity 57%, specificity 69%). Furthermore the association between the RUDAS and discharge destination was independent of its association with the Functional Independence Measure (r = 0.116; P = 0.275) and had a shorter administration time. Both RUDAS and MoCA scores could be used as predictors of discharge destination in a multicultural population.

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