FAST (Functional Assessment Staging Tool, dementia)

FAST (Functional Assessment Staging Tool) for dementia.

Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.

Example

Highest FAST stage reached
Stage 7a — speech ≤ a half-dozen words/day

Result: FAST stage 7a — speech limited to a half-dozen words/day; hospice-eligibility context applies at 7a or beyond.

The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.

What the result means

1–2
Normal aging: no deficit, or subjective forgetfulness only.
3–4
Early to mild dementia: decreased job functioning, then loss of complex-task ability.
5
Moderate dementia: needs help choosing proper clothing.
6a–6e
Moderately severe: dressing, bathing, toileting, then urinary then fecal incontinence.
7a–7f
Severe: speech loss, then loss of ambulation, sitting, smiling, and head control. FAST 7a+ with a complication is a Medicare dementia hospice-eligibility component.

What you enter

  • Highest FAST stage reached
How this is calculated

Reisberg B, Ferris SH, Franssen E. An ordinal functional assessment tool for Alzheimer's-type dementia. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1985;36(6):593-595. (FAST; Reisberg B. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1988;24(4):653-659.) Read the source ↗

A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.

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Built by Clay Good. Source on GitHub.