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Patient visits and prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from 2017–2021: Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in primary care

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether more patients presented with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related visits and/or sought care from family physicians more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Electronic medical records from the University of Toronto Practice-Based Resear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Butt, Debra A., Stephenson, Ellen, Kalia, Sumeet, Moineddin, Rahim, Tu, Karen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10010552/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36913355
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281307
Descripción
Sumario:OBJECTIVE: To determine whether more patients presented with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related visits and/or sought care from family physicians more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Electronic medical records from the University of Toronto Practice-Based Research Network were used to characterize changes in family physician visits and prescriptions for ADHD medications. Annual patient prevalence and visit rates pre-pandemic (2017–2019) were used to calculate the expected rates in 2020 and 2021. The expected and observed rates were compared to identify any pandemic-related changes. RESULTS: The number of patients presenting for ADHD-related visits during the pandemic was consistent with pre-pandemic trends. However, observed ADHD-related visits in 2021 were 1.32 times higher than expected (95% CI: 1.05–1.75), suggesting that patients visited family physicians more frequently than before the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Demand for primary care services related to ADHD has continued to increase during the pandemic, with increased health service use among those accessing care.