What is shared care?

Shared care is the transfer of your ongoing medication prescriptions from a specialist (such as ProblemShared) to your GP or local service, where this is suitable and in your best interest.

If you are seeking an ADHD assessment through ProblemShared, we will ask your GP upfront to accept shared care as part of the referral process.

In most cases, GPs will accept shared care. In the instances that they do not, the next steps in the process will depend on which of our partners referred you to ProblemShared.

How does shared care work?

If you have received an ADHD diagnosis through ProblemShared, you may be offered the choice to begin a trial of ADHD medication. ProblemShared can prescribe ADHD medication subject to clinical assessment, a GP referral, and approval by your NHS provider, insurer, or university health service.

If you choose to take ADHD medication, our prescribing team will work closely with you to find the appropriate dosage to meet your treatment goals and tackle any challenges you may face along the way.

Once you have reached a stable dosage of medication, we will write to your GP requesting that they accept you into shared care and take on responsibility for your ongoing prescribing.  

If they agree to take over, all following prescriptions will be issued by your GP practice, on an NHS prescription form, and the cost will be the same as any other prescription medication you receive from your GP.

Transferring care back to your local community

At this stage, we will also request that a local ADHD service in your area accepts the responsibility for your ongoing periodic reviews.

These ongoing periodic reviews occur every 12 months for adults, every 3 months for 7–10-year-olds, and every 6 months for 11-17-year-olds.

Please note that there is a chance that our initial request will be rejected. Your prescribing team will continue to reach out to the local ADHD services in your area until one of them accepts. ProblemShared will continue to be responsible for all your ongoing monitoring and reviews until you are accepted into local area specialist service care.

This stage of the process will be influenced by which of our partners referred you to ProblemShared initially. You will be sent a detailed Medication Guide before starting the medication pathway which will explain any specific nuances to you.  

What if my GP rejects the shared care agreement?

While many GPs will accept shared care, there is a chance that your GP may decline this request. Please check with your GP practice in advance as to whether they accept shared care agreements.

If your GP rejects the agreement, you will have the choice to continue or end your prescription in the knowledge that you will be required to pay for your private prescriptions.

Our clinicians can continue prescribing at a cost per repeat prescription, plus the cost of the medication itself. For specific pricing information, please read the ADHD medication guide available on your client dashboard.

How ProblemShared can help

ProblemShared is a CQC-registered online mind health service, offering the highest quality mental health and neurodevelopmental care, including ADHD assessments and post-diagnostic support.  

We partner with the NHS, universities, and other institutions, and are a registered NHS Right to Choose provider.  

Our ADHD service is led by a multidisciplinary team, including a consultant psychiatrist, specialist ADHD nurses, cardiologist, pharmacist, and paediatrician. Each clinician must go through our in-house training and meet rigorous competency standards before conducting assessments.

For more details on our ADHD medication service, please visit our ADHD medication page.

If you are seeking an ADHD assessment, we offer ADHD assessments for adults and for children. Please visit the relevant page for more information.

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