Modified Ashworth Scale
Grades spasticity severity to guide treatment with botulinum toxin, baclofen, or physical therapy
- Highest activation tier
- Recommended
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a stated value is compared only from the structured summary or a supplied value
- Scoring type
- classification
- Care settings
- Inpatient, Outpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The Modified Ashworth Scale can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Spasticity assessment
- Tone evaluation
- Botulinum toxin candidacy
- Post-stroke motor evaluation
Note-type scope: it activates on notes whose subject resolves to rehab, neurology. A note that resolves to another subject does not carry it even when the clinician's specialty matches; a note with no resolvable subject (a generic consultation) falls back to the specialty match.
Inputs the note needs
1 input. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; at this calculator’s tier a missing input is never requested, and a missing required input keeps the score out of the draft.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified Ashworth grade (0, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4) | exam |
Scoring
0=no increase in tone, 1=slight increase (catch and release), 1+=slight increase (catch then minimal resistance), 2=more marked increase, 3=considerable increase (passive movement difficult), 4=rigid.
Interpretation
0: No increase in muscle tone. 1: Slight increase with catch and release. 1+ (1.5): Slight increase with catch and minimal resistance. 2: More marked increase through most ROM. 3: Considerable increase, passive movement difficult. 4: Affected parts rigid.
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: Bohannon 1987.
- Bohannon RW, Smith MB. Interrater reliability of a modified Ashworth scale of muscle spasticityBohannon & Smith (Modified Ashworth) 1987 · 1987 · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the Modified Ashworth Scale (its highest tier is recommended), Scribeable does not ask you for missing inputs. The score is computed in code from whatever inputs resolve from the transcript, the pasted chart context or charted labs; a computed value is written into the draft only when every required input already resolves.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. A stated Modified Ashworth Scale value is compared against the computed one when the draft's structured summary carries it; a disagreement found there is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation, unless Scribeable has supplied the computed value to that pass, in which case the value the draft writes is checked against the supplied one and a detected difference is shown beside the note for you to adjudicate rather than silently rewritten.
Classified as a staging or classification system: activated strictly, because a wrong stage on the wrong patient is a documentation hazard.
See it activate on your own encounter
14 days of full Pro. No sales call.
14-day Pro trial with a card on file. $79/month starts 14 days after your trial begins unless you cancel first. Cancel any time from Settings > Billing.