How can a family physician refer a patient to Finding Focus for an ADHD assessment?

Confirm the referral route before sending records

Contact Finding Focus to ask how referral information should be submitted and whether a particular form is needed.

Do not assume a general contact form is suitable for clinical records. Confirm the secure submission method and intended recipient before transmitting personal health information.

1. Confirm the patient wants an ADHD assessment and agrees to the proposed information sharing.
2. State your clinical question and why an ADHD-focused assessment is being requested.
3. Prepare a concise summary of relevant history, functional concerns, current treatments and previous assessments, where available.
4. Include your practice contact details and ask how assessment documents can be returned with patient consent.
5. Make clear whether you are requesting assessment only or are willing to consider a later discussion about ongoing care.
6. Send the agreed information through the confirmed channel and ask for acknowledgement of receipt.

These are preparation suggestions, not a clinic-issued referral checklist. Send information relevant to the clinical question rather than a whole chart by default. This page explains referral communication; it is not patient-specific diagnostic or treatment advice.

Your patient still needs to complete intake

A referral letter supplies clinical context; it does not replace the patient’s participation or confirm an appointment.

The free online ADHD screener can help the patient consider whether an assessment is worth discussing. It is screening only, not a diagnosis, and paid clinical services are separate.

Adult care is available in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Confirm the patient’s physical location and service eligibility before they proceed.

For youth, consent and family involvement depend on the young person’s circumstances, maturity, applicable law and clinical judgment. Confirm arrangements with the clinic rather than promising a parent must attend or a teen can always attend alone.

Ask the patient to review the clinic’s intake instructions, provide requested background information and tell the assessing clinician about relevant existing care.

If the patient plans to seek reimbursement, they should check with their plan. A referral does not establish coverage.

Agree on what documentation will reach your practice

The assessment includes results and a treatment plan. Confirm which documentation is included and whether a separate healthcare-provider report is needed.

Before the assessment, discuss what the patient wants shared with you. Confirm the intended recipient and delivery route with the clinic; do not tell the patient their family physician has received a report until that has been confirmed.

Optional documents should be requested deliberately, rather than treated as automatic referral correspondence. Ask which document will be supplied before requesting an additional paid document.

Document contents are separate from whether you agree with its conclusions or accept care.

Once documentation arrives, record receipt and review any outstanding questions with the issuing clinician through the confirmed communication route. Keep the patient informed if information is missing.

Assessment and follow-up have defined clinical limits

Licensed nurse practitioners working with Finding Focus conduct online assessments using validated methods, DSM-5-TR criteria and CADDRA-aligned practice. Care is delivered by independent professionals.

The assessment evaluates whether the presentation is consistent with ADHD; it can conclude that the patient does not have ADHD. Alignment with CADDRA guidance is not an endorsement by CADDRA.

Optional ongoing adult care is provided through check-ins. Medication, where clinically appropriate and legally permitted, is managed by the prescribing clinician. Stimulant medications and non-stimulant options may help ADHD symptoms but can cause side effects such as sleep or appetite changes and require individualized safety review and monitoring.

Cognitive behavioural therapy and ADHD coaching are provided by a Registered Social Worker working with Finding Focus, for adults physically located in Ontario. The therapist does not diagnose, prescribe, adjust medication, perform psychological testing or write third-party reports.

Therapy is not a crisis service. If your patient needs help now, call or text 9-8-8, Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline, or call 911 in an emergency.

You decide whether to accept any later handover

You retain independent clinical judgment about accepting ongoing care, including whether to take responsibility for prescribing.

A referral or receipt of a report does not, by itself, establish that the receiving professional has accepted ongoing care. Confirm responsibilities explicitly with the assessing clinician. If a transfer is proposed, clarify:

• Whether you accept it, decline it or need further information.
• Which responsibilities you are accepting and when they begin.
• Who remains responsible for appointments, monitoring and patient questions while the decision is pending.
• How the patient and other clinician will be told about the decision.

Do not ask the patient to infer these arrangements from a letter. Make your position explicit and document it through your usual practice processes. A referral is a request for assessment, not a commitment to follow every recommendation in a subsequent report.

Verify the issuer and the clinician separately

Document authenticity and professional registration are different checks, so confirm both before relying on an unfamiliar report.

1. Start from the clinic’s published contact information, rather than relying solely on contact details printed in the document.
2. With appropriate patient consent, ask for the secure route for a verification request. Supply agreed identifiers, the document date and the named author, not an entire chart.
3. Ask whether the clinic issued that document and whether the copy is complete. Request clarification of missing, inconsistent or amended information.
4. Check the named clinician’s registration with the regulator in the relevant province. For example, the College of Nurses of Ontario provides the Find a Nurse public register.

The register can help confirm professional status; it cannot authenticate a particular document. Clinic confirmation of authenticity likewise does not require you to accept its clinical conclusions or a handover of care.

Use your usual documentation process to record who verified the information and any unresolved questions. If verification remains incomplete, seek clarification before treating the document as confirmed.