Select GPs in NSW will soon be able to diagnose and treat ADHD

The NSW government announced reforms that will allow GPs to diagnose and treat children and adults with ADHD.

Transcript

00:00Andrew Armstrong was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but as a young adult found it so hard

00:08to find a regular psychiatrist who could renew his prescription that he had to ration his

00:13medication.

00:14Because it's only a six month script, you don't have much time with extensive waiting

00:19lists to be able to access an appointment to refill the script.

00:23It can become quite costly. I know a lot of people are paying upwards of $500, if not

00:32more, just to get their script renewed.

00:34The state government wants to make it easier and cheaper for people like Andrew to access

00:38help. GPs will be trained to diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribe

00:44medication for both children and adults.

00:47We know accessing specialist appointment is a challenge, particularly in relation to

00:53ADHD given the large numbers of people involved.

00:56Family doctors say allowing them to manage more straightforward cases will free up psychiatrists

01:01appointments for those who really need them.

01:04This will mean that ADHD is one more thing that we manage as part of normal care. It's

01:11no longer a diagnosis that will have a stigma attached to it.

01:16In recent years, ADHD diagnoses have skyrocketed as awareness of the disorder increases and

01:21more people are diagnosed later in life. But some psychiatrists are concerned about potential

01:26over-diagnosis.

01:27There's such incredible consumer demand for this diagnosis as a result of a large amount

01:33of self-diagnosis that's going on that I'm worried that the quality of the assessments

01:38will be an issue. And there'll be an even greater expansion. We've already seen a 400% increase

01:45in stimulant prescription in recent years. I'm worried that this will just escalate even

01:50further.

01:51A fine balance that GPs will soon have to navigate.

01:55there's such a lot of reasons.

01:57I'm worried about that.

02:02I'm worried about that.

02:04I'll be concerned about that.

02:04I don't know if it can be concerned about the same amount of people that are