ADHD care with your GP
If you are stable on ADHD medication started by a psychiatrist, your scripts can come from your GP instead.
Being stable on ADHD medication should be the easy part. For a lot of people it is not.
You are well. The dose works. And you are still booking specialist appointments, still paying specialist fees, and still watching the repeats run down while you wait for one.
Dr Morris is an authorised ADHD continuation prescriber for adults and teenagers aged 16 and over. If your treatment is settled, your ADHD care can sit with the same GP who looks after everything else.
Can Dr Morris prescribe for you?
Four questions. If you answer yes to all four, you are almost certainly eligible.
- You are 16 or over.
- A psychiatrist started you on stimulant medication and you are on a stable dose.
- Your most recent script is dated within the last 12 months.
- You are happy for Dr Morris to be your regular GP for all your general healthcare.
Not sure? Call us before you book and it will be checked for you.
What can change, and what cannot
Can be done here
- Continuing your existing medication at a stable dose
- Minor dose adjustments of the same medication
- Switching between short acting and long acting methylphenidate
Needs your specialist
- Switching between dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate
- Starting stimulant medication for the first time
- Diagnosis
Moving your ADHD care here
Ask your specialist to email a transfer of care letter to specialisedmedical@bondimed.com.au.
If your specialist is outside NSW, the letter must be dated within the last 12 months and you will also need a copy of your most recent script from the last 12 months. Within NSW, the script usually shows up on SafeScript automatically, which makes this simpler.
As NSW Health requires, a referral back to your original specialist is offered for ongoing specialist management.
When to book, and when not to
This is the single most common reason an ADHD appointment gets cancelled, so it is worth two minutes now.
Book when your repeats are gone
You need to have used all your repeats, or your previous script needs to have expired. If you book earlier than that, the PBS authority line will reject the new script, so the appointment will be cancelled and you will need to rebook when you are eligible. Scripts cannot be issued early.
If you want to get organised in advance
Two things you can do without wasting an appointment. Book a new patient appointment, which will not include an ADHD script but will get everything in place so the script can be issued the moment you are due. Or book a telehealth appointment, usually available the same day, to talk it through. No ADHD scripts are issued by telehealth.
Booking, step by step
- Book an ADHD Initial Script appointment on HotDoc when your next script is due.
- Straight away, complete the ADHD consent form. If you are new, complete the new patient registration form as well. If these are not done within one hour, the booking request expires automatically.
- Watch for an SMS. You may be contacted about your booking, and the request will expire if there is no reply.
The one hour window catches people out constantly. Do the forms while you still have the confirmation email open.
If your booking was cancelled
Check your email first, as the reason will be there. It is almost always one of these.
- No stimulant script from the last 12 months found on SafeScript.
- No specialist letter, where SafeScript had nothing to find.
- You still have unused repeats on a script that has not expired.
- You have not started ADHD medication yet, in which case book a new patient appointment instead and Dr Morris will arrange a psychiatrist referral for assessment.
- GP continuation prescribing is not suitable for your situation, in which case your specialist should continue to manage your treatment.
Reply to the email, or book a new patient appointment, and it will get sorted.
Before you book
NSW Health rules require continuation prescribing to be provided to regular, ongoing patients. In practice that means Dr Morris needs to be your GP for your general healthcare, not only for your ADHD scripts. Care elsewhere ends continuation eligibility.
There are sensible exceptions. Women's health with another GP if you prefer, skin checks and surgical procedures Dr Morris does not offer, and any other service outside his scope. Those do not affect your eligibility.
Dr Morris is currently accepting new patients.
GP continuation prescribing is not offered alongside recreational drug use, or alongside any medication containing THC. This is a safety decision about interaction risk, and in those situations specialist management is the safer arrangement.
Please allow five business days for a reply. Emails are reviewed after appointments, results and reports are done, which is the only way to keep same-day appointments open. If something is urgent, book a telehealth appointment by 8am for the same day. Normal fees apply, and no ADHD scripts are issued by telehealth.
