The Tattered Promise of ADHD Telehealth

In 2020, telehealth services like Cerebral and Done promised to revolutionize mental health care for patients unable to pursue diagnoses and treatment in person due to lockdowns, distance, and long waiting lists. Today, allegations of medical and legal violations are dominating headlines. Can telehealth still be used to help patients with ADHD? Should it?

Doc4ADHDdp

June 2, 2022 at 5:09 pm

I have used telehealth appointments in my ADHD practice for the past 7 years, well before the pandemic. I wanted to provide a more convenient way for established patients to have their routine visits, required every 3 months in order to meet requirements set by DEA that a clinician cannot prescribe more medication than would last 90 days from the most recent appointment. With traffic patterns around the Seattle area it could take 4 hours out of someone’s day to get here, have their appointment, and get home. The pandemic changed the number of days I do telehealth visits from my office but not my basic rules:
– New patients seen only in person.
– Telehealth visits only for stable established patients; in-person visits required for severe depression (new or recurring), multiple co-occurring disorders, behavioral problems in children.
– In-office visit required once a year, up to 3 telehealth visits OK.
The pandemic resulted in acceptance and comfort level with meetings held online; this contributed to the ease of transition to telehealth visits. Most of my patients prefer them, I like offering a service that makes their lives easier, overall it has been a positive experience.