We are often asked by parents at the suggestion of their child’s school or teacher to evaluate a patient for attention issues.  This is best addressed directly with your child’s primary care physician at Bethesda Pediatrics who will plan a course of action with you, which may include a referral for neuro- or psychoeducational testing.  The providers at Bethesda Pediatrics are not able to make an official diagnosis of ADHD for your child but are often involved in the medical management of it once documentation of a diagnosis is provided for your physician to review. 

 

Medication consultation appointments regarding ADD and ADHD are most frequently scheduled at 11:30 am and 4:30 pm timeslots once approved by your primary care provider.  We can both initiate prescription medication for these diagnoses as well as take over prescribing from another health care professional (such as a psychiatrist) with proper documentation and prior consent from your physician.  Families are required to sign a medication contract for prescription of stimulant medications.

 

We do require that patients receiving prescription medications for ADD/ADHD be seen in the office a minimum of every 6 months.  One visit is combined with the annual physical exam (and billed accordingly for addition services) and the other is a medication management visit in 6 months.  During the first year of prescription there are also several additional follow up appointments necessary to address side effects and/or medication changes as recommended by your physician.  Failure to follow up as advised may result in delays in obtaining medication refills.  Prescriptions for controlled substances such as stimulants need to be refilled monthly.  We require 48 hours notice for all refills.  Parents are notified via the method of their choice (text, email, and/or voicemail) when refill requests have been completed.