Short-acting versus Long-acting Medications for the Treatment of ADHD
Elisa Cascade1, Amir H Kalali, Richard H Weisler
1Ms. Cascade is Vice President, Quintiles Inc./iGuard, Falls Church, Virginia.
Abstract:
Primary care physicians, pediatricians, and psychiatrists account for approximately 80 percent of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatments prescribed in the United States. Selection of short-acting versus long-acting ADHD treatment varies by specialty with long-acting agents representing 56 percent of primary care prescriptions, 64 percent of psychiatrist prescriptions, and 79 percent of pediatric prescriptions. There appears to be a correlation between short-acting versus long-acting treatment selection and age, with long-acting agents accounting for 78 percent of prescriptions for pediatric patients (age 0-17) but only 49 percent of prescriptions for adults (patients aged 18+). A discussion of data is included.
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