What is shared care?
Shared care is an arrangement where, once your ADHD medication is stable and established, your GP takes over the ongoing management of your prescription — including issuing repeat prescriptions and conducting routine monitoring. At that point, your need for private prescribing appointments with us reduces significantly, and in many cases stops entirely.
Shared care is good for patients because it reduces long-term private costs and integrates your ADHD treatment into your primary care record properly. It is also what NICE guidance recommends as the appropriate long-term arrangement for stable ADHD medication management.
The honest picture on GP shared care
We want to be straightforward about this because we think you deserve accurate information before you start treatment, not after.
Not all GPs accept shared care for privately initiated ADHD medication. The reasons vary, and they are not always about clinical objection. Understanding why can help you navigate the conversation with your own GP more effectively.
Local prescribing policy
Some ICBs and GP practices have policies that do not permit GPs to prescribe controlled drugs initiated by private providers. This is a commissioning decision rather than a clinical one, and it varies significantly by geography.
Unfamiliarity with the medication or pathway
Some GPs are less experienced with ADHD prescribing and feel uncomfortable taking on ongoing management. This is more common in practices without a resident GP with a special interest in neurodevelopmental conditions.
Concerns about the originating provider
Some GPs have become cautious following widely reported concerns about quality in parts of the private ADHD sector. Our reports are produced to NICE NG87 standard with mandatory second-clinician review, which addresses the most common clinical objections. We will always provide supporting documentation if your GP requests it.
Workload and capacity
Shared care adds ongoing prescribing and monitoring responsibility to a GP’s workload. Some practices decline on capacity grounds rather than clinical grounds.
The three outcomes and what each means for you:
GP accepts shared care
Ongoing prescribing and routine monitoring transfers to your GP. Your private costs with us reduce to annual reviews only. The most common outcome for patients with stable medication.
GP declines shared care
Your prescribing remains with us privately. You continue to pay for prescribing appointments and reviews. We will always continue to support you — you will not be left without a prescription or a plan.
GP requests more time
Some GPs want to see a longer period of stability before accepting shared care. In this case, we continue prescribing privately while you build that track record. A further shared care request can be made at a later point.
What we do to support a successful shared care request
We write to your GP at the conclusion of your assessment regardless of outcome, so your primary care record is up to date from the start. When your medication is stable, we prepare a formal shared care letter that sets out the diagnosis, the medication, the dose, the clinical rationale and the monitoring requirements — everything your GP needs to make an informed decision.
If your GP has questions or concerns, we are happy to correspond with them directly. If they decline and you wish to discuss your options, the team will talk you through what is available.
We cannot guarantee that your GP will accept shared care. What we can guarantee is that you will never be left without clarity about what happens next.
A note on NHS Right to Choose
Right to Choose is an NHS pathway that allows patients to access ADHD assessment through an approved private provider, funded by the NHS. HG Mind Works is working toward Right to Choose approval and expects to be in a position to offer this pathway in due course.
We do not currently offer Right to Choose funded assessments. If this is specifically what you are looking for, please contact the team and we will advise on current availability and expected timelines.