GPs should do more ADHD care amid overdiagnosis concerns - review

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By Ella Pickover and Áine Fox, Press Association, and Lily Canter

GPs should take a greater role in the long-term management of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder under proposals for a major overhaul of services in England, a review has recommended.

The government-commissioned review called for a shift away from ‘episodic specialist care’ towards support in primary care, alongside shared care agreements to prevent patients being left without treatment after diagnosis.

It also warned of a growing risk of ADHD and autism being misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed, particularly amid concerns about the quality and consistency of assessments carried out by private providers.

The 607-page review into ADHD, autism and mental health conditions, chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy, concluded that the current system was failing to meet patients' needs and required “radical reform”.

Although the authors said they could not conclude that overdiagnosis was occurring at scale, they warned that the balance of risks between underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis might be changing.