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