A program to improve the assessment of a child for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Due to the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased risk of these children having comorbidities and/or an adverse childhood experience and insufficient documentation of the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria for an ADHD diagnosis, an ADHD evaluation program was developed for a child presenting for an initial ADHD evaluation.

A quantitative design method evaluated provider's documentation by the percentage of DSM-5 criteria met before and after the implementation of the ADHD program. Descriptive statistics evaluated the system change by the percentage of providers who utilized the ADHD template and the use of the unspecified ADHD International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10) code, F90.9 by the percentage of code use before and after implementation of the ADHD program.

The two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test was significantly based on p < 0.001. Providers met 100% of the DSM-5 criteria after implementation of the ADHD program in the electronic health record, compared to 50% before implementation.

The ADHD program increased the provider's documentation and consistency to the DSM-5 criteria, decreasing the use of the unspecified ADHD ICD-10 code, allowing the provider to develop a more successful plan of care for children between the ages of 5 and 18.