# Prepare a medication safety review

Published by Pawel Jozefiak. [About this project](https://adhd100.jock.pl/about/), [How we check sources](https://adhd100.jock.pl/methodology/)

- Canonical: https://adhd100.jock.pl/prepare-medication-baseline-review/
- Language: en
- First published: 2026-09-29
- Evidence checked: 2026-09-29, using AI-assisted source verification
- Clinical review: Not clinically reviewed
- Number 8 of 100 in the list: https://adhd100.jock.pl/#prepare-medication-baseline-review

Your full health and medicine history lets the prescriber choose and monitor ADHD treatment safely.

**The number:** Full health and heart assessment before starting medication ([NICE, 2019](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87/chapter/Recommendations))

## The evidence

- How sure: Certainty of evidence: Guideline advice, not formally graded. Measured in people with ADHD.
- Evidence grade: A. Grade A: moderate or high certainty evidence in people with ADHD, or an explicit ADHD guideline recommendation.
- Basis: NICE NG87 1.7.4 to 1.7.6 (committee consensus informed by very low to moderate quality safety evidence) and AAP medication safety guidance
- Benefit: 80/100. The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.

## Why it matters

Whether a medicine suits you depends on more than the ADHD diagnosis. The AAP and NICE call for your medical history and physical checks before prescribing, including a heart assessment, and NICE says an ECG is needed only when specific heart features are present. Telling the prescriber about other medicines and other conditions helps catch interactions or anything that needs a closer look.

## How to do it

1. List every prescribed medicine, anything you buy without a prescription, and supplements.
2. Tell the clinician about heart symptoms, fainting, and heart problems in your family.
3. If they apply to you, mention other mental health conditions, worries about substance use, and plans for pregnancy.
4. Ask which baseline measurements or extra assessments you need and who will arrange them.

## Talk to a clinician first

A qualified prescriber decides whether treatment suits you and which tests are needed. A normal screening result does not replace follow-up, and new symptoms still need reporting.

## Putting it into practice

### Start now

- 1 minute: Open your notes and write the one health detail or medicine the prescriber must not miss.
- 5 minutes: List every medicine and supplement you take right now for the appointment.
- 15 minutes: Write down your own and your family's health history, and your questions about baseline checks.

### What it looks like

- Bring the names of your supplements, not just prescribed medicines.
- Mention any sudden death or inherited heart disease in the family at the assessment.

### Common mistakes

- 'Natural' does not mean it can't interact. Put it on the medicine list.
- Not everyone needs an ECG. Ask which tests your own history and examination call for.

### A structured start

**Prepare the safety information**

1. Gather medicines and relevant health history.
2. Share the information at the clinician's assessment.
3. Confirm required checks and the monitoring plan.

### Trusted how-to guides

- [Tips for Talking With a Health Care Provider About Your Mental Health](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/tips-for-talking-with-your-health-care-provider), NIMH

## Sources

- [Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87), recommendations](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87/chapter/Recommendations), NICE, 2019 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of ADHD in Children and Adolescents](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067282/), American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: What You Need to Know](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-what-you-need-to-know), NIMH, 2024 (Tier 1 guideline)

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General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.

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