ADHD telehealth in Australia: assessment, care and prescribing

ADHD care has moved rapidly onto telehealth, and much of it fits the medium well — but two things demand real care: the assessment has to be thorough rather than quick, and stimulant prescribing runs into controlled-drug rules that vary by state and are not changed by the fact you’re on video. Get those two right and telehealth becomes a genuine way to widen access to ADHD care across Australia.

Here’s how it works, and where the caution belongs.

How ADHD care works over telehealth

ADHD care spans assessment, diagnosis, treatment initiation, and — most of the ongoing workload — review and management. Telehealth can support all of these, but it’s especially well suited to the ongoing parts: medication reviews, monitoring of response and side effects, and the regular check-ins that good ADHD care depends on.

The national picture is shifting. In 2025 the Australian Government funded the first national evidence-based clinical practice guideline for ADHD, aimed at improving how the condition is identified, diagnosed and treated across the country (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). That guideline, endorsed by the RACGP, covers assessment and both non-medication and medication management across the lifespan (RACGP).

Assessment by video: thorough, not quick

The strongest word of caution about ADHD telehealth concerns assessment quality. The RANZCP is clear that an accurate diagnosis requires a comprehensive assessment — developmental history, screening for comorbidities, and collateral information — and it has publicly warned about the risks of brief, online-only assessments that skip these steps (RANZCP).

Telehealth is entirely compatible with a thorough assessment; it just doesn’t excuse a shortcut. In practice that means:

• Taking a full developmental and psychiatric history, over more than one session where needed.
• Gathering collateral — from family, school reports, or previous records — rather than relying on self-report alone.
• Using validated rating scales as part of, not instead of, clinical assessment.
• Actively screening for the conditions that mimic or accompany ADHD.

Done this way, a video assessment can meet the same standard as an in-person one. Done as a 20-minute online transaction, it can’t — and that’s a clinical and reputational risk, not just a regulatory one.

Beyond medication

ADHD care is not only about prescribing, and much of the non-medication work translates well to telehealth. Psychoeducation for the patient and family, behavioural and environmental strategies, sleep and routine support, and coaching around organisation, study or work demands can all be delivered effectively by video. For children, involving parents directly in the session — as participants rather than observers — strengthens the strategies that carry over into home and school.

The considerations also differ across the lifespan. Paediatric assessment leans heavily on collateral from parents and schools, while adult assessment often relies on retrospective developmental history alongside current functional impact. Both can be gathered by telehealth, but both take time and more than a single short appointment to do properly.

Prescribing stimulants: the Schedule 8 catch

This is where ADHD telehealth differs most from other telehealth care. The stimulant medications commonly used for ADHD are Schedule 8 controlled drugs, and prescribing them is governed by state and territory legislation — not by Medicare, and not by whether the consult was in person or by video.

The rules genuinely differ across jurisdictions: who may initiate stimulant treatment, whether a specialist or an authorised GP is required, what authorities or permits you must hold, and how ongoing prescribing is authorised. On top of that, real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) obligations apply to Schedule 8 medicines, so checking the monitoring system before prescribing is part of safe practice. We cover this in detail in Schedule 8 controlled drugs, telehealth and RTPM.

Telehealth does not change controlled-drug law. Whatever your state or territory requires to prescribe a stimulant in person, it requires by video too — the authorities, the permits and the RTPM checks all still apply. Before prescribing, confirm the current rules with your relevant state or territory health department.

The practical upshot: a clinician can complete a valid ADHD assessment by telehealth and still be unable to prescribe a stimulant themselves, depending on their jurisdiction and authorisation. Knowing your state’s position before you start avoids putting a patient in limbo.

Ongoing management, shared care and GP-led reform

The access problem in ADHD care is real, and reform is underway. The RACGP argues that ADHD management sits within the scope of general practice and is calling for nationally consistent legislation so that appropriately trained GPs can initiate and continue stimulant treatment (RACGP). Several states and territories have already moved to enable GP-led diagnosis and prescribing under staged rollouts, but the arrangements — and the training required — vary by jurisdiction.

This is where telehealth and shared care fit together well. Once a diagnosis is established and treatment stabilised, much of the ongoing work — reviews, titration monitoring, side-effect checks, and coordination between a GP and a psychiatrist or paediatrician — can be delivered efficiently by video. If your model involves specialist input, our guide to telehealth for psychiatrists covers the specialist side, and telehealth for GPs covers the primary-care side.

Platform and privacy

ADHD consultations are sensitive, often involve children and families, and frequently include a support person or another clinician. That makes a low-friction, private platform genuinely useful. MedCall is made for Australian clinicians, and the patient joins the video call by tapping a texted link — no app, no account, no download — which matters when you’re consulting a distractible teenager or a busy parent. Calls are Australian-hosted and never recorded, and video is end-to-end encrypted. You can add a parent, support person or another clinician to the call, up to 4 people in all. Your bookings, notes and prescribing all stay in the clinical software you already use; MedCall just handles the video.

The bottom line

ADHD telehealth can be excellent care — but only when the assessment is as thorough as it would be in person, and when stimulant prescribing follows the controlled-drug rules of your state or territory to the letter. Treat video as the delivery method, not a reason to compress the clinical work; check RTPM and your jurisdiction’s Schedule 8 requirements before prescribing; and use telehealth’s real strength — accessible, consistent ongoing review — to keep patients well supported over time. For the current national guidance, see the RACGP-endorsed ADHD clinical practice guideline and the RANZCP position on safe ADHD care.