When a patient brings a Linus Health Brain Health Report to an appointment, it can be a useful starting point for a conversation about their brain health, priorities, and concerns.
The Linus Health Brain Health Report is a consumer brain health resource, not a diagnosis or complete clinical evaluation. It is a wellness tool, not reviewed by a clinician, and should not replace your clinical judgment or an appropriate medical evaluation.
What is the Brain Health Report?
The Brain Health Report is a free guided online experience, taking approximately 20 minutes, from Linus Health designed to help individuals better understand their brain health.
It brings together three perspectives:
Memory and thinking
A series of brief activities that looks at abilities such as memory, attention, and thinking.
- Philadelphia Verbal Learning Test (PVLT)
A list of six words is given to the user and they are asked to repeat the word list over two trials. - Semantic Fluency
The user is asked to name as many items from a category as they can in one minute. - Backward Digit Span
The user is given a series of numbers and asked to repeat them in reverse order across three trials. - Delayed PVLT
The user is asked to recall the target words from earlier, then asked to identify them from a list that includes other non-target words.
Lifestyle and health
A brief survey that captures information related to potentially modifiable risk factors and protective factors for cognitive decline and dementia, based on the Lifestyle for brain health (LIBRA) index, McCance Brain Score, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score.
Personal priorities
Individuals share what they want their brain to help them do in the years ahead.
Together, these inputs provide the individual with personalized information, practical guidance, and resources to help them take a more active role in their brain health. For healthcare professionals, they can also provide useful context about an individual's concerns, health and lifestyle factors, and priorities for discussion.
What does the report mean clinically?
The Linus Health Brain Health Report is intended to inform and support a conversation, not provide a clinical conclusion.
A patient may bring it to you because they are interested in healthy aging, have questions about their memory or thinking, or simply want to be more proactive about their brain health.
The report can give you additional context about what prompted the conversation, what the patient has noticed, and what matters to them. The information in the report should be considered as one source of context alongside the broader clinical picture.
How can I use it during an appointment?
You don’t need to interpret the Brain Health Report as a diagnostic test. Instead, consider using it as a starting point for discussion and to help guide questions about any concerns it may have prompted.
You might ask:
- What prompted you to complete the experience?
- Have you noticed any changes in your memory or thinking?
- Are these changes affecting everyday activities?
- Are there health or lifestyle factors you’d like to discuss?
- Is there anything in the report that raised a question or concern for you?
From there, you can determine whether reassurance, lifestyle counseling, monitoring, or additional clinical evaluation is appropriate based on the patient’s individual circumstances.
What if I have concerns about my patient?
If the conversation or your clinical assessment raises concerns about cognitive health, follow your usual clinical pathway for evaluation and follow-up.
The Brain Health Report should be considered alongside the patient’s history, symptoms, functional status, medications, medical conditions, and other clinically appropriate information.
The bigger opportunity: making brain health easier to discuss
Many people are interested in maintaining their brain health, but may not know how to start a conversation with their healthcare provider.
The Brain Health Report is designed to help make that first conversation easier by giving individuals a structured way to reflect on their brain health, and bring their questions and priorities into the appointment. This can create a clear starting point for understanding why someone has come to the conversation, and deciding what, if anything, may warrant further discussion or clinical assessment.