Frequently Asked Questions

Mental Health Pathway is an evidence-based, practical medication guide for treating ADHD. The software is an additional tool in your clinical toolbelt that allows you to make more effective, quick decisions during your workday.

Input your patient’s data so you can track their medication journey, which can be difficult to see in most electronic health records. Use our medication algorithm to help you decide which medication to start with or switch to. Manage side effects with ease with our side effect algorithms and printable handouts.

We recommend adding a chart tag in your patient’s EMR with this information so it is always associated with that specific patient.

Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to retrieve a patient’s identification number once it is created. This is why we suggest you keep it in a safe, confidential location such as in their EMR.

We keep all data in a HIPAA compliant, secured database that is separated from identification numbers. There is no patient identifiable data stored, so nothing can be traced back to a specific patient.

If you would like to cancel your subscription to the Mental Health Pathway, please email us at mentalhealthpathway@gmail.com and we will cancel your account for you.

Yes, you can cancel anytime. If you have a monthly subscription, you will have access through the month that you have paid for. If you have a yearly subscription, you can cancel within 30 days and receive a full refund. If you cancel after 30 days, you will not receive a refund, and you will have access through the year.

Yes! Residents receive a free subscription. Your information must be validated first, so please enter your information as requested on our sign-up page. Once everything has been approved, you will receive free access to the website for 1 full year (even if it extends past your residency graduation). It must be renewed every year.

Payment information can be changed by clicking on My Account in the upper right hand corner of your screen, and then clicking on Billing.

We offer individual, office, and institutional subscriptions. The pricing of medical offices and institutions will depend on the number of users expecting to utilize the software. We offer monthly and yearly subscriptions. Please contact us at mentalhealthpathway@gmail.com for more information about pricing.

Yes! We offer 2 months free before any charges are made so you can try out all of the features and see how they work into your clinical workflow.

Once you are logged in, go to your Dashboard, then click on Patient Lookup on the left side of the screen. Enter your patient’s identification number provided to you when you created the patient’s record.

Once you are logged in, go to your Dashboard, then click on Add New Patient. Enter your patient’s information in the pop up window, and click on the blue Add Patient button at the bottom of the window.

Once you are logged in, go to your Dashboard, then click on Medication Search. Using the drop down boxes across the top, you can narrow your search to find a specific medication. Please see our Glossary of Terms for definitions. Alternatively, you can click on the magnifying glass at the top of the screen labeled “Medications.”

Once your patient has been diagnosed with ADHD and behavioral therapy and interventions are in place, you can utilize our Medication Pathway to help guide you through the complex world of ADHD medications.

We have created a category of medications called Stage 1 medications. This includes all medications in the methylphenidate class. When you click on Stage 1 Medications on the pathway, it takes you to a medication search page with only Stage 1 medications listed. From there, you can click on each individual medication to find out more information on its duration, metabolism, and dosing options. You can also narrow down your search even more, such as displaying only long-acting or short-acting medications.

If you would rather start with medications in the amphetamine class, you can click on Stage 2 Medications. This will take you to the medication search page with only Stage 2 medications listed. From there, you have the same ability to narrow down your search, or click on each individual medication for more information.

Once you have decided which medication to start with, you can create a titration schedule using our Prescription writing tool. Note, you must be in a patient’s record to “prescribe” the medication, which creates the titration schedule and adds it to the patient’s Medication History. You can print this to give to the patient, pharmacy, or keep for your records.

Log into your account, and access your patient’s record with their specific ID number. Click the green “Begin Appointment” button at the top of the page. A pop up will ask you for the patient’s current weight and if they have been started on an SSRI (this changes their maximum dose for certain medications). If the patient has lost a significant amount of weight (over 5% of their initial weight), an alert will be displayed at the top of the page to make sure you are aware of this change. That patient’s general information is also displayed across the middle section of the page, and can be edited at any time using the blue “Edit Patient’ button at the top of the page.

If the patient is struggling with a side effect, you can click on the Side Effect Pathway displayed in the top row of small squares below the Patient Information section. If your patient is struggling with duration, the Duration Pathway may be helpful to decide if a short acting medication is needed. You can also use the Medication Pathway to help you decide if modifying the prescription or changing the medication is needed.

If you decide to prescribe a new medication or dose, you can use our “Prescribe Medication” button. A pop up will be displayed asking what type of prescription you are wanting, and allows you to toggle the available doses. You are responsible for the correct dosing for each prescription. Once you have specified the dosing you want, click “Prescribe Medication.” You will be taken to the Medication History for your patient. Click on “Prescription” to view the prescribing directions, pill number, and letter for the pharmacy, family, and your records. Be sure to personalize your letter with your name and any notes you have for your patient.

All of our handouts, plus access to commonly used ADHD evaluations, are available by clicking the Handouts button on the bottom row of the Patient page.

Yes, most of the same features are available with or without entering a patient’s record. However, if a specific patient is not entered, dosage recommendations and medication history will not be functional. This is useful for quick, go-to access to handouts or side effect pathways.

We have found that keeping track of the medications a patient has been on is difficult in most EMRs. Searching through each note to see what was prescribed, or scouring through the prescription history takes more time than you have. We wanted to provide a place that tracks dosages and medications over time for each patient. That way you can easily see which ones were tried, and why they were changed. We suggest logging into Mental Health Pathway for each of your ADHD patients and making any changes in their medication history. Prescription directions can be printed from this page, as well.

After looking up your patient, choose which medication you would like to prescribe and enter the prescription information. Click “Add Medication” which takes you back to the Medication History page. Click on the green “Prescription” button.” This produces the instructions for your patient and it auto-calculates the prescription information you can use to enter into your EMR. You can enter your information and any notes you would like for your patient, then print the document.

This allows your patient to start the new dose on a weekend when patients are usually home with parents or guardians to monitor closely. If there are intolerable side effects, the patient can take the previous dose and call the office on Monday, since they will have 3 extra doses. This gives the family flexibility, and the physician can manage any issues during office hours. Weekly titrations are the fastest way to achieve symptom management, and are safe and effective.

The website has the ability to calculate a patient’s suggested maximum dosage based on the FDA-approved ranges. It also can suggest a titration schedule based on the patients age, weight, and whether they are on an SSRI. However, sometimes clinicians use medications and doses outside the FDA-approved range. Please use your discretion and clinical expertise to make decisions regarding any medication and dose.

Utilizing peer-reviewed, evidence-based research, American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice Guidelines, and many other ADHD publications, the pathway was developed to help general practitioners manage the complexity of ADHD medications quickly and accurately in their office workflow. Please see our extensive bibliography here.

Our pathways should be used as helpful guides. Please use your clinical experience, each individual patient circumstance, and evidence-based recommendations to help guide your management. We provide specific examples of how to treat common side effects in order to make it quick and easy to access, but expect you to modify as you see fit. We do not see our pathways as clinical treatment, but as suggestions and ideas to help with your clinical decision-making. Please contact your local specialists for questions regarding specific patients.

The ability to convert from one dose of a stimulant to an equivalent dose within the same class is currently in development. This can be used when a patient is switching medications due to a side effect or ineffectiveness, and you would like to know which dose of the new medication is most equivalent to the dose of their current medication.

As physicians who know the complexity and ever-changing landscape of ADHD medications, our goal is to help general practitioners make evidence-based decisions on the go, which helps improve patient care.

Mental Health Pathway steps in after an official diagnosis has been made. At this time, the purpose of our product is to help with ADHD medication management only.

Please see our blog articles that go into detail about the nuances of medication management. For example, we discuss duration and how to adjust medication that do not last long enough. We also discuss medication titrations, poor impulse control, and more. The Mental Health Pathway algorithms are meant to be a quick, on-the-go resource that is helpful in the middle of a busy clinic day.

Features will be added frequently based on feedback from our users. We will be adding a conversion calculator, additional steps on our Medication Algorithm, lots of blog articles, a service where you can “consult an expert,” and the ability for the user to select which dosages to prescribe for titrations. To submit feedback please go to the Contact Us page.