Major change to ADHD treatment in Australia: What you need to know
Local doctors will be able to provide ongoing care for hundreds of thousands of Australians with ADHD, relieving specialist costs and months-long wait lists.
Treating and managing ADHD will soon be as simple as visiting your GP.
Medication prescription changes will result in many Australians living with the chronic condition no longer having to see specialists for ongoing care of their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The changes set to be rolled out in NSW are also under proposal in Western Australia and are already in effect in Queensland.
Expensive specialist appointments with months-long wait lists have been the norm for most Australians living with ADHD.
A diagnosis can be life-changing but comes at a crippling price tag on top of the cost of ongoing treatment with a psychiatrist to the tune of $500 every few months.
GPs across NSW will soon be able to provide ongoing prescriptions for those already diagnosed and on stable doses of medication.
A smaller number of GPs will be able to diagnose and initiate medication.
In both instances, doctors will be required to undertake training with the first cohort of about 1000 to begin in the coming months, funded by NSW Health.
Royal Australian College of GPs NSW chair Rebekah Hoffman said the changes would have life-changing impacts for thousands of families in accessing timely and affordable care.
'Around the world GPs have been safely prescribing in this space,' Dr Hoffman told AAP, noting the success in countries such as Canada and the UK.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the reforms would remove red tape and break the cycle of what can be a years-long wait for a life-altering diagnosis.
'Not getting diagnosed can have a particularly big impact on a child getting the most out of their life, whether that's academically or socially,' he said.
Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said the changes would benefit many families, particularly in regional areas where people can languish on wait lists for years or travel hours to see a pediatrician.
'For kids and families dealing with ADHD, the difference between getting help now and waiting years can be life-changing,' she said.
ADHD is a developmental disorder that begins in early childhood.
It can impact a person's ability to balance responsibilities, time management skills and can cause tendencies to hyper-focus on specific tasks or areas of interest.
More than one million Australians are living with the condition, amounting to about one in every 20 people.
'Our colleagues in Queensland have been safely prescribing ADHD medications since 2017.'
And it's not just the financial burden, where some families can pay upwards of $5000 on assessments and diagnosis.
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