ADHD and Associated Eating Disorders in Primary Care Practice: Diagnosis and Management

Welcome to the conference! A road map for the day.

This session aims to provide understanding of how the physiological basis of ADHD provides an insight into the modes of treatment and why, left undiagnosed and untreated, ADHD can manifest in other ways including treatment resistant depression.

It can be challenging to screen patients for ADHD and then to ensure they are provided with access to the appropriate specialist for assessment and management. This session aims to provide GPs with a straightforward toolkit to check for possible ADHD in patients and to ensure they receive timely specialist input. Screening for co-morbid eating disorders will also be covered.

The process of ADHD assessment is complex and requires significant pre-work on behalf of the patient. This session will provide GPs with an insight into the process of ADHD assessment, what to look for in key elements of the assessment letter they will receive to ensure comprehensive implementation of the specialist’s plan, and the key steps in initial management. A short case will be discussed in smaller groups.

Paediatric and adolescent patients with ADHD present to the assessing clinician with a further layer of complexity. This session will provide GPs with an insight into the process of ADHD diagnosis and management of younger patients and provide insights into when patients may be appropriate for co-management with their GP.

ADHD is often co-morbid with eating disorders, in particular binge eating disorder. This session will provide practical insight into how to manage patients with this diagnosis in primary care. You will also learn which tests to arrange prior to psychiatric assessment to ensure prompt treatment can be initiated, what essential information must be on the referral to a psychiatrist, and how to efficiently arrange an Eating Disorder Plan to ensure comprehensive management.

Medical initiation can be a challenge for GPs with limited experience in the field from both a clinical and regulatory standpoint. This presentation will provide a framework for medication initiation and monitoring, covering medication holidays, S8 psychostimulant up-titration and switching, and non-stimulant options with key review periods and clinical check-ins described. The initial case discussion will be extended to give concrete examples from current specialised general practice.

Patients rarely present with a single issue and in an environment of increasing adult ADHD diagnoses patients often have more than one medical issue to manage. This session will provide guidance on managing more complex patients including those with hypertension and more significant mental health pathologies.

This session will enable participants to implement their learnings of the day and work together to generate a real-world management plan for a patient with a new diagnosis of ADHD.

Prescribing the required medication to patients with ADHD can be complex: each state has different review and authority requirements. This session seeks to highlight the key legal and regulatory aspects of prescribing S8 psychostimulant medications in different jurisdictions to ensure safe practice for your patients.

The case in the previous session will be discussed and the possible future direction of the rapidly evolving ADHD management and diagnosis environment outlined.