Cognitive impairment (CI) is common among older patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) [1–6]. Up to 40% of older ED patients have some degree of CI at presentation, particularly due to dementia and delirium [5]. Given that older patients with CI often experience an extended hospital length of stay (LOS), are at high risk of functional and cognitive decline, suffer from higher morbidity and mortality, and are more likely to be institutionalized, it is crucial to identify CI at the earliest possible time point [3,7–11].