CONFERENCE REPORTER CLINICAL CONVERSATIONS
On the
In a poster presentation addressing a few of these points,
Psychiatric Instances spoke with Herman at APSARD in regards to the research’s design, key findings, implications for scientific follow, and the way clinicians ought to take into consideration know-how, comorbidity, and human judgment in
Psychiatric Instances: Telemedicine for ADHD care has expanded quickly, however it has additionally drawn scrutiny. What hole within the proof had been you aiming to deal with with this research?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: So let me tee this up by saying that telehealth is a know-how that is been round for a very long time, however it definitely turned extra extensively used throughout the COVID pandemic.
And that momentum has actually continued as a result of folks like telehealth, initially. Each practitioners and sufferers actually find it irresistible as a result of it gives entry and comfort, each of that are troublesome to realize in right this moment’s psychological well being care system.
Our firm is basically based on the precept that we wished to have the ability to present accessible and reasonably priced psychological well being evaluation and therapy to anybody, anyplace. The issue was there have been quite a lot of completely different practices that had been being utilized in telehealth, particularly within the space of ADHD.
A few of the corporations had been not likely good actors when it comes to their method to each analysis and therapy, and it type of solid a darkish shadow on telehealth, particularly for ADHD and the prescribing of psychostimulant medicines.
On the flip facet, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention issued a report final yr that confirmed that of adults with ADHD, 46% of them had been utilizing telehealth.2 And no one had ever really studied how correct, legitimate, and dependable analysis by way of telehealth of ADHD in adults was in comparison with the present commonplace of care in scientific follow, which is a scientific interview carried out by a licensed psychological well being skilled.
So we set about to conduct a research to match our diagnostic analysis with the present commonplace of care, which is a scientific interview. The outcomes had been reported on the finish of 2024.
After which this final yr, in 2025, we started to disseminate these information each with poster summary shows, however most significantly, we had been revealed within the Journal of Medical Psychiatry final fall in September.3
We’re right here at APSARD now to current the information from that research. I believe it is a actually essential place to have the ability to get our work some publicity and to have the ability to get some suggestions from our colleagues in regards to the research itself.
Psychiatric Instances: For clinicians evaluating the research findings, what ought to they learn about how the research was designed?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: This was a real-world research; it was performed largely off of our personal therapy platform.
We had some actually good collaborators on the research: Stephen V. Faraone, PhD, Andrew J. Cutler, MD, and Jeffrey H. Newcorn, MD, had been among the many co-authors.
So we’re very enthusiastic about the truth that they acknowledged the significance of the research and in addition had been so useful to us in guaranteeing that we method this the correct manner.
We had a really low false optimistic charge for our diagnostic analysis—solely 12%, in comparison with 56% for the clinicians who had been conducting the scientific interview.
And that claims rather a lot. It speaks rather a lot to what’s going on in the actual world with analysis of ADHD. There is a great quantity of variability within the method to analysis.
Psychiatric Instances: What had been essentially the most clinically significant findings to emerge from the information?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: We had been delighted to see that there was a excessive diploma of settlement between our diagnostic analysis and a diagnostic scientific interview. We confirmed 80% sensitivity, a optimistic predictive worth of 95%.
We had a really low false optimistic charge for our diagnostic analysis—solely 12%, in comparison with 56% for the clinicians who had been conducting the scientific interview.
And that claims rather a lot. It speaks rather a lot to what’s going on in the actual world with analysis of ADHD. There is a great quantity of variability within the method to analysis. Many various sorts of well being care professionals are doing the diagnoses, a lot of them who haven’t got ample background, coaching, and experience.
I believe it is essential to level out, presently, there are not any accessible biomarkers to diagnose ADHD; no blood assessments, neuroimaging research, psychometric assessments which are going to definitively make a analysis. Though there are genetic markers, they are not extensively accessible for basic use. Hopefully sooner or later we’ll see some advances in that.
So proper now we’re counting on the judgment of clinicians who conduct a scientific interview, structured or in any other case, after which examine the standards within the DSM-5 for ADHD with their findings.
This was the primary research of its variety to really show the validity of a web-based asynchronous evaluation for diagnosing ADHD in adults. And we’re actually happy with that. We really feel like we’re attempting to set a typical of proof and scientific rigor to the remainder of the sphere, and we’re hoping that this won’t solely advance the sphere when it comes to diagnosing ADHD in adults, but additionally actually advance the sphere of telehealth, which is basically largely untapped and unstudied at this level.
Psychiatric Instances: Given how continuously ADHD co-occurs with different psychiatric circumstances, how does the instrument account for diagnostic complexity?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: Eighty p.c of sufferers with ADHD have a minimum of 1 psychiatric comorbid situation.
We really do attempt to tease out what’s contributing to what, however we positively have the power to have the ability to diagnose the extra generally related psychological well being circumstances with ADHD.
After which our clinicians, or whoever goes to make use of the diagnostic analysis for the needs of therapy, can use these information to assist them of their additional exploration in teasing out the scientific presentation.
Psychiatric Instances: Many clinicians have expressed concern about synthetic intelligence changing scientific judgment. How ought to readers take into consideration the position of AI on this mannequin?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: To start with, our firm has been very proactive in addressing this challenge. We even have an AI ethics committee that we have established.
There is no side of what we do when it comes to analysis and therapy that does not contain a human being. So these aren’t chatbots and AI which are making diagnoses. These are actual people which are taking the information that we acquire and rendering their very own human, scientific judgment.
And I additionally need to type of lay down a problem to everybody that is doing telehealth proper now to actually take a scientific, evidence-based method with good scientific oversight.
Psychiatric Instances: Lastly, on a private degree, what continues to inspire you on this work?
Barry Okay. Herman, MD, MMM: Nicely, I went to medical college to assist folks. And I spent about 20 years within the pharmaceutical business, however now I am again a lot nearer to the person affected person encounter. So I am actually feeling it when it comes to serving to folks daily.
And that is actually been type of my mantra: attempting to enhance the lives of individuals and their households. And I am very grateful to have this chance to have the ability to do this.
Keep up to date with Psychiatric Instances for extra knowledgeable insights and rising information from the APSARD 2026 Annual Convention.
References
1. Herman B. Validity of a web-based evaluation of attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction amongst an actual world pattern of adults in search of web-based psychological well being care. Poster introduced on the
2. Staley BS, Robinson LR, Claussen AH, et al.
3. Herman BK, Faraone SV, Cutler AJ, et al.