Do I pay NHS prescription charges or private fees if my GP doesn’t enter shared care?

If you are a private patient, and your GP refuses to enter a shared care agreement, you will need to continue privately funded prescriptions. Please see article here that sets out prices.  How much does titration and ADHD medication cost? 

Care ADHD is contracted by the NHS to provide:

• ADHD assessments

• Up to three medication initiation (titration) appointments over 12 weeks

• Annual reviews

Where GPs accept shared care, they will prescribe for you at NHS rates after the 12 week titration, with Care ADHD carrying out the annual reviews.

We wish we had a clear answer at this time for what happens when GPs refuse shared care. We are actively working to clarify the position with every locality in England, but this may take time, as each area might have different policies on how they manage this situation.

We aim to be as transparent as possible, and below is the best information we have at this time:

Many private ADHD providers will decline a referral if a GP refuses to enter a shared care agreement. However, Care ADHD will not only accept the referral, but we are happy to continue prescribing beyond the initial titration period at NHS tariff rates, ensuring that patients are not forced into private prescriptions.

To provide ongoing NHS-funded prescriptions, we require confirmation from the local NHS commissioning body (ICB) that they will cover the costs of our clinical team to oversee the prescribing.

As we do not have the same ability to oversee the entirety of your healthcare as your GPs does, we may require you to sign a waiver in terms of liability for prescribing ADHD medication if you wish to have us prescribe without your GP's oversight. Rest assured that we apply stringent safety protocols before prescribing ADHD medications.

Will my medication be funded at NHS prices?

We believe that when a patient is referred under NHS Right to Choose, their ongoing care should (and will) be provided at NHS prices, and our legal advice suggests that your ICB has to find a way to ensure this, since you are an NHS patient.

As a new Right to Choose provider, we are working with ICBs across England to confirm how they manage this locally, and to confirm that they will consistently fund NHS-priced prescriptions.

So far, every ICB we have spoken to has agreed, which is encouraging, but we cannot yet guarantee this nationwide.

Yes. We currently accept referrals regardless of whether your GP provides shared care agreements. If we initiate medication, we will continue prescribing beyond the 12-week titration period—provided the local NHS covers the cost to us of doing so.

We are actively working with ICBs to understand how they will ensure that NHS patients can access NHS-priced prescriptions and will update our guidance as we receive further clarity.