Policy on monitoring ADHD and ADD medications
Many of the medications indicated for hyperactivity or attention difficulties (ADHD, ADD) are controlled substances under state and federal regulations. The law prohibits calling in prescriptions or generally dispensing of more than a 30 day supply. Ninety (90) day supplies are available through Express Scripts.
Stimulant medications may be associated with weight loss, high blood pressure, abdominal pain and other side effects. In addition mood, behavior, and emotional disturbances can occur in conjunction with ADHD medications and therefore require regular monitoring.
For these reasons, Pediatric Practices requires regular visits for all patients on stimulant medications. The most frequently recommended interval is every 3-6 months, unless a problem occurs making it necessary to monitor a child more frequently. Please telephone our office 2-3 weeks prior to your required ADHD rechecks. This allows the necessary flexibility in our schedule to handle unexpected emergencies or to make other arrangements if your child’s doctor is planning to be out of town for a time. For these reasons we cannot accommodate ADHD rechecks on an urgent basis. It is the policy of our office NOT to refill medications if recheck appointment are not kept current. Your understanding and cooperation with this policy allows us to fit acutely ill children in to our schedule who need to be seen the same day and cannot wait a few days to be seen.
Please monitor your child’s medication supply and call approximately 1 week before their medication runs out. This will insure that your physician is available and has enough time to review your child’s chart and write a new prescription. It is the parent or guardian’s responsibility to contact our office for recheck appointments and for medication refills.