How Primary Care Docs Can Help Families Manage Kids’ ADHD

Patients who receive regular care from a primary care doctor are more likely to receive an earlier diagnosis of conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than patients without a primary care provider. ADHD is a chronic condition that requires ongoing follow-up, though most patients can be managed by family physicians.

In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Deborah Buccino, MD, from Macony Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and a board member at the REACH Institute, discusses communication with families that are concerned about what a child’s diagnosis of ADHD might mean to them.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

I think there’s a couple important aspects of assessing and then managing ADHD with families. One is to let them know that it’s a process, that it’s not going to be filling out one set of forms and, “Here’s the diagnosis, here’s your medication.” Especially with comorbidities in the picture. Oftentimes it’s a matter of even starting with one medication and then follow-up is critical. We usually have follow-up a month after starting a medication. And we are available for phone calls in the meantime because again, with families being concerned about the psychotropic medications, they’re more apt to be very concerned about side effects that may come up. And so I think if the physician makes themselves available, that’s going to help the family move forward and feel comfortable with things.

Not to mention the issue of stigma around mental health, which again is why I think it’s so important that we work toward addressing this issue in primary care where it can be treated as any other conditions that pediatricians address. I mean, ADHD is really like diabetes, where there’s something wrong with the body and there’s a medication that may be able to fix it.

I think it’s also important, when you’re helping families with the management of ADHD, to present the concept that this is a multifaceted approach to treatment. That medication is important because there is something wrong with the brain, but also there are skills that can be taught to children and parents to optimize things like structure in the child’s and family’s life. Because if you can provide external structure, that helps the brain where their challenges of internal structure is, and then there’s also the aspects of making sure there’s enough sleep and good nutrition, regular nutrition, regular exercise. All of those things are known to benefit everybody, but those with the challenges of ADHD in particular.