Optimize, Augment, or Switch: Best Practices for Prescribing ADHD Medication

Author(s):

Key Takeaways

Timely adjustments in ADHD and psychiatric treatments are crucial when patients show inadequate response to current medications.
Providers should consider optimizing dosage, augmenting treatment, or switching medications to avoid ineffective polypharmacy.
Hesitancy to change treatments despite suboptimal outcomes is a significant issue in psychiatry, requiring decisive action from providers.
Michael Asbach's insights are informed by his role as associate director of interventional psychiatry at DENT Neurologic Institute.

When prescribing ADHD medications, when is the best time to switch treatments?

CONFERENCE REPORTER
Michael Asbach, DMSc, PA-C, Psych-CAQ, shares his thoughts on the best time to switch attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications and psychiatric treatments in general at Real Psychiatry in Scottsdale, AZ.

"If a patient is not demonstrating adequate response to a medication, it is our duty as a provider to be the adult in the room and say 'We need to move on,' even if it is scary or uncomfortable," said Asbach.

With a lack of response, it may be time to (1) optimize the dose, (2) augment treatment, or (3) switch altogether.

"I think there's such a problem with polypharmacy in ADHD and also more broadly in psychiatry," shared Asbach. "A big part of that is people just being hesitant to move away from something even if the response is less than ideal."

Mr Asbach is a psychiatric physician associate and serves as associate director of interventional psychiatry at DENT Neurologic Institute in New York.