Table 1 Instruments used in assessment of patient prior to medication review

 MMSE

The patient is asked 30 questions, scored correct (1) or wrong (0). Lower scores indicates lower cognitive function [47]. Normal cognition was defined as: 26–30, mild dementia: 21–25, moderate dementia 11–20, severe dementia < 11 [48].

 FAST^a

Staging cognitive function, normal to severe dementia [49]. Normal cognition was scored as 1–2, 3–4 mild dementia, 5: moderate dementia, and 6–7 severe dementia.

 NPI-NH^a

12 individual items: delusions, hallucination, agitation, depression, anxiety, euphoria, apathy, disinhibition, irritability, aberrant motor behaviour, night-time behaviour, and eating disturbances. Each item is scored by frequency (“absent” to “daily”; 0–4), and intensity for the patient (“mild” to “severe”; 1–3) these scores are multiplied to a sum score of 0–12 for each item and summed to give a total score [33, 50].

 CMAI^a

29 items with agitated behaviors (scored by frequency: “never” to “multiple times an hour”; 1–7) [51]. Agitation was defined as ≥39.

 CSDD^a

19 items on depressive behaviour (“absent” to “severe”; 0–2) [32]. Depression was defined as ≥8.

 MOBID-2^a

Pain intensity during five standardized, guided movements, and five domains related to internal organs, head and skin during the last week, each item is scored 0 to 10 (“no pain” to “worst imaginable pain”). A total pain score is based on the worst pain experienced. A score of ≥3 signifies a need for pain treatment [52, 53]

 PSMS^a

6 items of toileting, feeding, dressing, grooming, physical ambulation, and showering are scored whether the patient are able to do the activity or unable (0–5), higher scores indicate more dependency [54].

 QUALID^a

11 items on patient behaviour rated on severeness; 1 to 5. Lower score indicates higher quality of life [55].