Prescribing Ritalin: Who Decides?Doctors or Lawyers?

Monday, June 18, 2001, 9:30 a.m.*Noon
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI

     The medical community has undertaken a vigorous debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At one extreme are doctors, psychologists, and others who question whether clinicians are "medicalizing" childhood.   At the other pole are doctors who eagerly prescribe medications for youngsters at the slightest hint of trouble. Nonetheless, while over diagnosis and over prescribing are legitimate concerns, the consensus among mental health professionals is that ADHD exists and that stimulant therapies like Ritalin are effective.
     A legal debate has now been added to the medical one. Trial lawyers representing a class of parents whose children were diagnosed with ADHD have filed lawsuits in several states against the maker of Ritalin and the American Psychiatric Association.  They allege that the two conspired to "create" a disease to hype the benefits of the drug.  This conference will include an overview of the ADHD controversy and an examination of the implications of the ADHD litigation, followed by a question and answer period.

9:00 a.m.	Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:30                  The Clinical Aspects of ADHD
                         Panelists:  Marilyn Benoit, American Academy of                                                                                                                                                          Adolescent and Child Psychiatrty
                                          William Carey, Children's Hospital of                                                                                                                                                         Philadelphia
                                           Jerome Wiener, George Washington                                                                                                        University of Medicine and Health                                                                                                                                   Science

                        The Legal Controversy over ADHD

10:45                 Panelists:   John Coale, Coale Cooley Lietz Mc Inerny
                                           Peter Huber, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
                                           David Siegel, Crowell & Moring, LLP

                         Moderator:  Sally Satel

Noon                 Adjournment


I will attend the conference on June 18th

Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:

You may register online at www.aei.org/inv010618.htm, or fax this form to 202.862.7171, or mail this form to Conferences, American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

For additional information, please contact Todd Ostroske at 202.828.6024.