In a fast-paced, performance-based society, competition to be the best of the best is ever present. The Netflix documentary Take Your Pills made several claims in regards to this phenomenon and its relation to prescription stimulants for ADHD (2018). The claims that “prescription stimulants are a thirteen billion dollar industry, there are financial incentives for doctors to file prescriptions for ADHD,” and “most people can use amphetamine without becoming addicted, but some do,” will be evaluated to explore this issue further (2018). Main Body Oh, I almost forgot that I’m writing a paper! Before I lose focus, I think you should know just what a slippery slope this current ADHD business is for many individuals. According to a …show more content…
While there has been a significant increase in the rate of prescribing stimulants used to treat ADHD, it may be due to a wider range of diagnostic criteria, the awareness that ADHD can be present in adulthood, and that treatment duration may be prolonged (Sepulveda, D. R., et al., 2011). However, there are many situations where physicians face financial gain by private insurers, health plans, or through company policy in being rewarded for performance (Sarpatwari, A., et al., 2015). Regarding ADHD diagnoses in children specifically, the prevalence of children diagnosed has less to do with the physician’s incentives and more to do with the school’s incentives. Depending upon the state, a school will receive extra funding based off of the number of children receiving special education services (Morill, M. S., 2017). In short, on top of the difficulty of accurately diagnosing children and adults with ADHD, both schools and physicians present obstacles to objective treatment. The complicated intertwining of multiple parties’ personal agendas on ADHD diagnoses and prescription stimulants is frustrating in its complexity if for no other reason than being a major health …show more content…
Even without concurring research, the possibility of harm to an individual due to such a complicated set of motivations and variables is alarming. When accurately prescribed for patients with ADHD, amphetamine stimulants can be neurotoxic in addition to having a high abuse potential (Berman, S. M., et al., 2009). A separate review of 60 studies revealed that prescription stimulants carry a definite abuse potential, interacting biochemically similarly to meth (Sussman, S., et al., 2006). So whether an individual is using amphetamine to manage their ADHD symptoms temporarily or chronically, or whether an individual is in the illicit drug use category, real risks are associated with all use of the