ADHD

Diagnosis and treatment of ADHD

Update – As of June 1st 2026 ADHD assessments have been paused. Our priority is keeping appointment space and doctor time available for the annual winter busy season. We will decide in late spring 2026 whether to resume doing these assessments. ADHD assessments already booked and/or paid for as of the 1st of June 2026 will be the only ones done over winter.

Dr Longman is able to do ADHD assessments at Kendal Medical Centre for people at least 18 years old. These assessments are not government subsidised. They will require a 30 minute initial appointment, a questionnaire to be completed by a minimum of three adults who have known you for a long time, and your permission to discuss the questionnaire information and seek their verbal comments on the possibility of you being diagnosed with and treated for ADHD. The three people should know you in different contexts, for example a parent, a sports coach and a former teacher could be suitable. We may ask you to provide these questionnaires from additional people if we feel further information will be useful.

We only provide these assessments for our own patients and if you have been diagnosed by a medical doctor at another clinic full documentation to our satisfaction will be needed before we prescribe ADHD medication. There will be a charge from Kendal Medical Centre for an initial 30 minute appointment with us if you have been diagnosed elsewhere, see costs below. This will involve reviewing that assessment, diagnosis and discussing treatment options before deciding on next steps. We will require you to have further assessment here at your cost if we are not fully satisfied with the documentation provided. If you have been assessed by a psychologist as having ADHD further costs will apply as below. There will also be charges from Kendal Medical Centre for necessary medical checks like an ECG and blood pressure checks, if relevant to your treatment, and for ongoing reviews and prescriptions.

Medication for ADHD is often of benefit. Some people with ADHD manage their diagnosis without medication and some find the negative effects of medication outweigh the positive. In the last few years we have seen instances of patients paying thousands of dollars for diagnosis only to discover that the medications give them intolerable physical side effects, don’t work well for them, cause significant new mental health problems, or realise that their challenges are better explained by an alternative diagnosis. Paying for an ADHD assessment does not guarantee a diagnosis of ADHD. If ADHD is diagnosed it is not always the highest priority medical problem. For example there can be blood pressure, heart issues, other mental health diagnoses, or medications that don’t combine well with ADHD medication that need to be dealt with first.

The fact that a patient have been diagnosed with ADHD does not mean our doctors are obliged to prescribe or continue prescribing a particular treatment. There are many possible side effects of these treatments, and not all treatments will work for or suit all patients. Most of the pharmaceutical treatments of ADHD are controlled drugs which means any patient starting them will need to sign a controlled drug agreement with the doctor before starting treatment. Whether you are seeing your GP or a psychiatrist situations do occur where ADHD medication needs reduced, changed or stopped.

We only provide these assessments to patients enrolled at Kendal Medical Centre. We are not seeking self referrals or referrals from your current GP. If you request an ADHD assessment soon after enrolling with us we may at doctors discretion defer ADHD assessment until you have been enrolled with us for six to twelve months. In some situations, eg a patient recently transferred to Kendal Medical Centre asks for ADHD assessment, we may need to speak with your prior doctor as part of this assessment which will add to the cost of assessment.

When a new patient transfers to Kendal Medical Centre and is on ADHD treatment there will be a charge for reviewing the prior ADHD assessment.

You will need face to face reviews for any ongoing prescriptions, we would not provide phone prescriptions until satisfied everything is going smoothly, and even then most prescriptions will need to come through a face to face appointment. These will be charged at your normal GP appointment fee. This does mean that if you move away from our area you will need to find a GP in your new area. A formal ADHD treatment review will be needed from time to time. We anticipate this being after 3-9 months of treatment then every few years. This will not be a subsidised appointment, and may require your permission for us to contact other people, eg the people who gave information during your initial assessment for their perspective on your mental health.

Booking

Please book via our receptionist if you wish to have this assessment. All appointments must be face to face, assessment is not offered by telephone or video consultation. We require pre-payment before we start the assessment. The full assessment price includes GST but excludes any ECG or other extra test.

Cost

ADHD assessment $1490

ADHD assessment includes initial 30 minute doctors appointment, review of 3 ADHD questionnaires, making phone contact with the people who completed them, doctors time documenting these discussions, then a 30 minute face to face appointment for discussion of results and next steps. There may be extra charges if our team need to do further assessment

Additional ADHD questionnaires and making contact with respondents (if needed) $120 per extra questionnaire

Pre-treatment ECG if needed $65, and a further ECG for $65 may be needed after starting treatment, changing dose, or adding other medication

Blood pressure check no extra charge when done during the face to face appointments. $15 if done by our nurse outside a doctors appointment.

First appointment with us to review ADHD assessment completed by a doctor at another clinic $360 (and this could lead to further assessment by our doctors at your cost)

First appointment with us to review psychologist only ADHD assessment $750 minimum, and may require a full ADHD assessment for $1490 if psychologist report not detailed enough

Formal review of ADHD treatments including liason with others in your life $250

All prices include GST