ADHD app helps physicians convert and titrate ADHD medications

By Saif Usman MD

App review of ADHD Medication Calculator on Android

With so many different medications, schedules and dosages, ADHD can be challenging to treat. The makers of the ADHD Medcalc app aimed to make it easier to calculate how to quickly titrate and wean meds and how to switch between meds while keeping the dosage equivalent.

Clinical Scenario:

13 year old female who comes into your clinic and is currently on 10mg of Ritalin three times a day and you’re interested in switching to Daytrana for the better twice daily dosing.

User Interface

Opening the app presents the title screen and then the home page.

The first time you open the app there is a disclaimer to agree to before getting to the home screen, but it’s a one time thing.

The home screen is basic and very easy to use. At the top you tap on current medication and select the medication the patient is on and its dose.

In this case it’s Ritalin 30 mg.

Then under the ‘convert to’ tab you can select the medication you want to switch the patient to, in this case Daytrana.

As soon as you put in the new medication, a popup at the bottom of the screen gives the recommended dose of the new medication. In this specific conversion the dosage is higher than recommended and a warning label shows up at the bottom of the screen.

So I decided against using Daytrana and wanted to switch the patient to Concerta. This conversion is deemed ‘Ok’ per recommendations so the popup at the bottom is green.

The whole process took about 30 seconds and was very easy to use. The list of medications is scrollable and choosing a selected medication displays information on dosing, titrating, and even whether the tablet can be crushed or not which is very useful to know.

I was using the free version of the app which allows you to convert ritalin to any other medication. For a small fee you can upgrade to allow conversion between all the medications and I think it’s definitely worth it for anyone prescribing these medications regularly.

At the bottom of the home screen are more icons for how to use the app, terms of use, references and contact information for the developers.

Evidence and literature used to support the app

The references are clearly listed and information appears to be evidence based. The app has also been vetted by several physicians, 3 of whom are listed on the reference page with their biographies.

Healthcare providers that would benefit from this app

• Psychiatrists, family medicine, internal medicine and pediatric physicians and residents. Other clinical staff such as PA’s and NP’s who are involved in treating patients with ADHD would also benefit.
• Any physician or clinical staff involved in prescribing and monitoring ADHD medications would benefit from having this app