- Prescriptions for stimulants used primarily to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased by more than 10 percent during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic as access to the drugs expanded via telehealth opportunities, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The finding comes as one common ADHD treatment, Adderall, has been in shortage for months, in part because of high demand. The CDC report notes that pandemic-era policies expanded patients’ access to prescription stimulants via telehealth. The uptick in prescription stimulant fills now “raise questions about current adult ADHD care” and may merit more development on clinical recommendations for ADHD diagnoses and management in adults, as well as more evaluation of the benefits and harms of policies enacted during the pandemic, the research asserts. (Articles here, here, and here)
March 31, 2023
Public Health/Prevention | Tea Leaves