Interpreting your Patients Results
Understanding the DriveABLE Cognitive Assessment Tool (DCAT) Report
The DCAT measures the complex interaction of many cognitive skills to accurately predict on-road driving ability as measured by the participant’s DCAT Result.
The DCAT OVERALL SUMMARY should be the primary result relied upon to make decisions on the individual’s overall cognitive competence to drive. The higher the score, the higher the risk, the lower the score, the lower the risk.
Additional information provided in the PERFORMANCE SUMMARY is to be used as a guide in helping to identify specific areas that the participant may have done poorly in and should not be used as an overall measure of cognitive competence for driving.
The PERFORMANCE SUMMARY consists of the following data points:
• Task Completion Status
• On-Road Risk Factors
• Cognitive Functions Assessed
Task Completion Status
This is a record of tasks performed by the participant.
You can follow this link to watch videos to understand how the DCAT works:
A status for each task will be assigned as either Completed, Partially Completed, or Not Completed.
On-Road Risk Factors
The On-Road Risk Factors are derived from comparing the results of the participant’s performance on the DCAT to an analysis of the on-road errors and collisions made by participants with similar DCAT performance. This data was derived from a comparison between the participant’s performance on the DCAT as compared to a database of over 5,000 participants who have taken both the in- office and on- road evaluations. These kinds of hazardous errors represent an extreme danger to the driver, other road users, and road evaluators and in most cases would lead to a crash without intervention. As predicted probability of failing a DORE increases, so does the risk a participant would pose in creating a hazardous situation on a behind the wheel evaluation that would affect other road users and may cause a collision.
Cognitive Functions Assessed
Within the algorithm used to determine the DCAT Overall Summary Report result, there are a number of other weighted measures which can provide an indication of areas of cognition that may be below average as compared to the performance on these measures by the healthy, age-matched, control group in the research. The cognitive functions listed in the performance summary are useful only as a guide in helping to determine specific areas that may require improvement through appropriate treatment programs in cases where treatment is a recommended course of action and should not be used as an overall measure of cognitive competence for driving. Below average performance on one or more of the skills listed does NOT indicate that a participant’s overall driving ability has been compromised to an unsafe level.
Understanding the DriveABLE On-Road Evaluation (DORE) Report
The DriveABLE On-Road Evaluation (DORE) measures the errors that cognitively impaired drivers make that are different, either in terms of the type of error or the frequency and severity, from those of healthy normal drivers.
A trained evaluator guided the client through the assessment. In a DORE evaluation, explicit directions for each driving maneuver are given. A dual-brake car is used whenever possible for insurance/safety reasons. The driving performance is compared against normal, healthy drivers who also drove a dual-brake car. Minor handling errors typical of drivers in an unfamiliar vehicle are not a part of the scoring. Only competence defining errors identified by the research are scored.
When compared to the DCAT report, the outcome of the DORE functional assessment should be the primary result relied upon to inform medical fitness to drive opinions.
DORE results will be reported as either Pass, Borderline Pass, or Failure with a brief summary interpretation.
Sample summary interpretation comments:
Additional information provided by the DORE report is provider for greater context. Supplementary information includes:
• DORE Error Report
• Driving Error Summary
DORE Error Report
Identifies the types of errors that occurred during the DORE.
Errors are classified as follows:
DORE Error Summary
A list of driving errors identified through the DORE. These errors are included only as a guide in helping to determine specific areas that may have deficits. Please note that the frequency of these errors are not provided.
Sample error summary:
Next Steps
Consideration of all pertinent information including family report, driving history, visual and physical deficits, episodic medical conditions and compliance with medication regimes should be reviewed in addition to the DCAT and DORE reports when making decisions regarding overall driving competence.
Please review the results of the driver fitness evaluation with your patient.
For questions or concerns regarding the contents of the DCAT or DORE reports, please contact us via one of the following methods:
- Submitting a ticket by using the "Add Ticket" button at the top of the page.
- Using the chat feature at the bottom right corner of this page.
- Sending us an email at [email protected]
- Giving us a call at 1-855-365-3748
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DORE FAQ's
Can a client use his or her own vehicle for the evaluation? No. For insurance and safety reasons the road evaluation uses a car with an automatic transmission and dual brake. How long does the evaluation take? The DriveABLE On-Road Evaluation (DORE ) ...DCAT Offline Testing
The DCAT Online system is intended for use with an active network connection. In the case where an active or consistent network connection is unavailable, DriveABLE has included a limited Offline Testing mode, which will allow you to assess clients. ...