attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) care. According to pediatricians' self-report of adoption of these guidelines, community-based ADHD care appears to be marginally adequate.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Using reviews of .1500 patient charts, this study demonstrates that community-based ADHD care is not consistent with evidence-based practice. Furthermore, variability in much of community-based ADHD care is unrelated to the provider, suggesting that innovative, system-wide interventions are needed to improve ADHD care. abstract BACKGROUND: Although many efforts have been made to improve the quality of care delivered to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in community-based pediatric settings, little is known about typical ADHD care in these settings other than rates garnered through pediatrician self-report.
METHODS:Rates of evidence-based ADHD care and sources of variability (practice-level, pediatrician-level, patient-level) were determined by chart reviews of a random sample of 1594 patient charts across 188 pediatricians at 50 different practices. In addition, the associations of Medicaid-status and practice setting (ie, urban, suburban, and rural) with the quality of ADHD care were examined.RESULTS: Parent-and teacher-rating scales were used during ADHD assessment with approximately half of patients. The use of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria was documented in 70.4% of patients. The vast majority (93.4%) of patients with ADHD were receiving medication and only 13.0% were receiving psychosocial treatment. Parent-and teacher-ratings were rarely collected to monitor treatment response or side effects. Further, fewer than half (47.4%) of children prescribed medication had contact with their pediatrician within the first month of prescribing. Most variability in pediatriciandelivered ADHD care was accounted for at the patient level; however, pediatricians and practices also accounted for significant variability on specific ADHD care behaviors.
CONCLUSIONS:There is great need to improve the quality of ADHD care received by children in community-based pediatric settings. Improvements will likely require systematic interventions at the practice and policy levels to promote change. Dr Epstein contributed to the conceptualization and the design of the study, and drafted the initial manuscript; Drs Kelleher, Baum, Brinkman, Lichtenstein, and Langberg contributed to the conceptualization and the design of the study, and reviewed and revised the manuscript; Drs Peugh and Gardner carried out the initial analysis, and reviewed and revised the manuscript; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.www.pediatrics.org/cgi