Possibly state-by-state, practice specific, or insurance company policies.
My doctor told me that in my state a psychiatrist has to test and diagnose. The testing was covered by my insurance (if you have a referral), but the wait list is a problem.
It took me over a year to get a diagnosis from my initial inquiry with my doctor. She gave me a referral (otherwise it would not be covered by insurance), and a list of practices that did ADHD testing (not every psychiatrist does it), and I stumbled on picking a place for a few months. When I picked a place, their wait list was 3 months and I never pursued testing.
The testing process in my area takes a few hours - my wife’s took 3 on a video chat, and it took about 3 months for them to send their report to her doctor.
Cut to a year later, my old doctor had retired, and I had a new one. She gave me a new referral for testing, but cautioned me that the wait list for most places was now 6 months. Checking around with other folks in my area confirmed this. But while at that appointment, she recommended an online company, who - after a few weeks of weighing options, I did pursue, and tested/evaluated me (no video chat, just an online survey - about half was written responses - that took about 4 hours to complete), and got results back in a week. It was $180, and may have been eligible for a reimbursement from insurance, but I have ADHD, so I never bothered.
And like - I guess I appreciate it. It does seem like whoever made those policies made them so that the diagnosis won’t be given lightly, but it creates issues. I sorta feel that I cheated, but my test was actually reviewed by a psychiatrist, and when I told friends of my diagnosis, the most common response was ‘Duh. You didn’t know?’ - so even though the online approach is sorta ‘cheating,’ I know that it’s definitely a warranted diagnosis in my case.
Yeah, that’s terrible. I do agree there needs to be some checks and my doc might be an annomaly in regards to dishing out pills for everything. But while the course so far hasn’t helped me, I’m grateful I don’t have to go through so much just to start. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that.
Possibly state-by-state, practice specific, or insurance company policies.
My doctor told me that in my state a psychiatrist has to test and diagnose. The testing was covered by my insurance (if you have a referral), but the wait list is a problem.
Wow. I had no idea that was a thing. I’m glad I asked then. Opens my mind to how hard it can be for other folks. That’s really awful.
It took me over a year to get a diagnosis from my initial inquiry with my doctor. She gave me a referral (otherwise it would not be covered by insurance), and a list of practices that did ADHD testing (not every psychiatrist does it), and I stumbled on picking a place for a few months. When I picked a place, their wait list was 3 months and I never pursued testing.
The testing process in my area takes a few hours - my wife’s took 3 on a video chat, and it took about 3 months for them to send their report to her doctor.
Cut to a year later, my old doctor had retired, and I had a new one. She gave me a new referral for testing, but cautioned me that the wait list for most places was now 6 months. Checking around with other folks in my area confirmed this. But while at that appointment, she recommended an online company, who - after a few weeks of weighing options, I did pursue, and tested/evaluated me (no video chat, just an online survey - about half was written responses - that took about 4 hours to complete), and got results back in a week. It was $180, and may have been eligible for a reimbursement from insurance, but I have ADHD, so I never bothered.
And like - I guess I appreciate it. It does seem like whoever made those policies made them so that the diagnosis won’t be given lightly, but it creates issues. I sorta feel that I cheated, but my test was actually reviewed by a psychiatrist, and when I told friends of my diagnosis, the most common response was ‘Duh. You didn’t know?’ - so even though the online approach is sorta ‘cheating,’ I know that it’s definitely a warranted diagnosis in my case.
Yeah, that’s terrible. I do agree there needs to be some checks and my doc might be an annomaly in regards to dishing out pills for everything. But while the course so far hasn’t helped me, I’m grateful I don’t have to go through so much just to start. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that.