ABSTRACT
This chapter is a comprehensive reference manual providing information on the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG), which is a combination of an objective, clinician-administered test and informant rating scale, which was developed to screen for dementia. Development of the GPCOG arose in response to the dearth of cognitive screening tests that were acceptable to general practitioners as being suitable for routine administration. The standardization sample was used to establish psychometric properties of the GPCOG. A special feature of the GPCOG is that it combines objective test results with informant report, which resulted in superior sensitivity and specificity than if either component was used in isolation. A brief history of the instrument's development is provided, along with a description of item content and administration/scoring procedures. Psychometric properties are reviewed and a critical commentary is provided. Key references are cited and in most cases the actual scale is included, giving the reader easy access to the instrument.
