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Your Attention Please: A Call to Improve Access to Care for ADHD Patients
It was arguably the greatest story from the 2008 Olympic Games. American swimmer Michael Phelps took home a record-breaking eight gold medals, setting multiple world records in the process. Although the feat itself would have earned the attention of the entire world, it was even more remarkable given his background, for mentioned in nearly every news story about his successes was the fact that Michael suffered from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Phelps’ success in overcoming ADHD to swim to Olympic victory will certainly bring additional attention to the disorder. There has been skepticism around ADHD – despite being perhaps the most well researched childhood psychiatric disorder and supported by evidence of its neurological basis. This may have led policymakers to place greater emphasis on other mental illnesses.
As resources and attention are devoted elsewhere, ADHD patients experience two main difficulties in accessing care for their condition:
- Too few cases of ADHD are recognized. The prevalence of ADHD is estimated at 2‑9% of the population. Using a conservative prevalence of 3.3% and a child and youth (4-17) population estimate of 936,500 from 2002, BC’s youth ADHD population was estimated to be 30,900. In a 2007 study of US children, less than half of children meeting DSM-IV criteria report receiving either a diagnosis of ADHD or regular medication treatment.
- Too few ADHD patients can be treated appropriately. In Canada, it takes more than 18 months for a patient with ADHD to be treated after first contact with a physician. Once diagnosed, only half of children and as few as 11% of adults receive treatment . As the waitlist for the BC Children’s Hospital ADHD Clinic shows, demand for such services greatly exceeds supply.
This policy paper on ADHD proposes ways to improve access to care for patients with ADHD.
For the full policy paper, please see “Your Attention Please: A Call to Improve Access to Care for ADHD Patients”.