Evidence-Based Medication Management
The Center for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center specializes in conducting Individualized Medication Effectiveness Tests (IMETs). IMETs are designed to help parents and doctors identify the right medicine at the right dose for their child with ADHD.
Typically, the IMET involves weekly visits to the Center for ADHD for a minimum of five weeks. Each week, your child will try different doses of the same medicine, different medicines or no medicine (placebo). After a change is made, parents and teachers will rate the child's behavior and watch for side effects.
In order to really know what works and what doesn't, parents and your child's doctor will not know what the child is taking until the testing is complete. Once the child's best test week is identified, the pharmacy will reveal what the child was taking. The results of the IMET will be summarized in a report and discussed with you. Parents are provided with copies of the report to share with their child's doctor to help inform subsequent treatment decisions.
