Recently retired from a university counseling center. The health center required actual diagnostic testing from psychologist or neuro-psychologist. MD’s can be quite liberal in handing out ADHD diagnoses and medications. This is problematic in a setting where the medication is so frequently abused. Whereas there is no single test for ADHD, there are standards that include history and pattern of impairment, ruling out competing diagnoses, etc.
On the other hand, my kid’s long term physician would not prescribe meds for our kid when we approached him as a way to perhaps simplify the out of state prescription process. As appointments with him were much more available than with the current, prescribing psychiatrist, we thought that would help with the college kid who would be at “home” for limited, and often unpredictable periods of time. Psychiatrist would have shared testing, records etc., but the general care physician said he simply doesn’t do ADHD meds, period. I respect that he didn’t want to get in the middle of the over-prescription circuit, but was still frustrating as we tried to find a workable solution for meds in college.
The health center is the most common place for ADHD meds because of cost and convenience. States have laws on those medicines for a reason. They are one of the most commonly abused prescription drugs you can get, especially with college students looking to cram for a test. If you genuinely have ADHD and are taking medicine for it, it’s best to keep the meds locked up somewhere safe, or keep it in your purse or backpack where it’s always with you. Medicine cabinets are practically an invitation for theft.
Thank you all for your helpful comments!