Switching ADHD prescribers in New York without a gap in medication

Changing prescribers is routine, and New York law puts no barrier in the way. What catches people out is the calendar. A stimulant prescription cannot be refilled or handed from one clinician to another, so the new prescriber has to evaluate you and write a fresh prescription before your current supply ends. Plan the switch backward from the day your bottle runs out and the gap usually disappears.

The rules that set the timetable

The full set of supply rules is in New York's rules for ADHD stimulant prescriptions.

The sequence that avoids a gap

1. Stay with your current prescriber until the new one has seen you. Do not cancel future appointments or announce that you are leaving until the first visit elsewhere is on the calendar.
2. Count your supply. Write down the date of your last fill and the day the bottle will be empty. Ask the new practice for a first appointment that falls before that day, ideally by a week or more.
3. Ask the new practice what it needs. Many want records, a medication list and the name of your pharmacy before the visit. Some will not prescribe a controlled substance at a first appointment. Find that out before you book.
4. Request your records now (details below). Copies can take two weeks.
5. If the dates do not line up, ask your current prescriber for one more month. Say plainly that you are transferring care and when the new appointment is. Many clinicians will bridge a patient who is transferring, but the decision is theirs.
6. Attend the first visit with your bottle, your records and your list of past medications. Expect the new clinician to ask many of the same questions again. That repetition is the evaluation the rule requires.
7. Once the new prescriber has written a prescription, tell the old office you have transferred. From that point, one prescriber only.

Getting your records: what New York law provides

Section 18 of the Public Health Law covers records kept by physicians and other licensed practitioners. The statute and the Department of Health's guidance on it say:

• The request must be in writing. The Department advises naming the provider, describing the information you want, signing the request, and giving the name and address of any third party, such as another physician, who should receive the copies. A provider may ask for a notarized signature.
• The provider must give you an opportunity to inspect the records within ten days of the written request.
• The law sets no deadline for copies beyond a reasonable time. The Health Department considers 10 to 14 days reasonable.
• Paper copies may cost no more than 75 cents a page, plus postage. A provider may not charge a search and retrieval fee.
• Access cannot be denied solely because you are unable to pay, and a physician cannot refuse because you have an unpaid bill.
• A practitioner may withhold "personal notes and observations," which the law defines as speculations, impressions (other than a tentative or actual diagnosis) and reminders. Your diagnosis is not something that can be withheld on that ground.
• If access is denied, the provider must give you a form explaining how to appeal to the state Medical Record Access Review Committee.

Federal HIPAA rules add a separate right of access, with a general deadline of 30 days for the provider to act on a request. Records held by clinics licensed or operated by the Office of Mental Health follow a different process under the Mental Hygiene Law. Physicians must keep adult records for at least six years after the last visit, so do not assume very old files still exist.

What to ask for

• The initial evaluation or diagnostic report.
• Any rating scales or testing results.
• A medication history: each drug tried, the dates, and the reason for any change.
• The most recent two or three visit notes, with blood pressure and pulse readings if recorded.

A request you can adapt

"I am a patient of Dr. [name], date of birth [date]. Under New York Public Health Law section 18, I request copies of my records from [start date] to the present, including the initial evaluation, medication history and progress notes. Please send them to [new clinician's name and address or secure fax] and send me a copy at [address]. [Signature, date, phone number.]"

What the new prescriber will see without your help

The Prescription Monitoring Program registry shows the controlled substances dispensed to you in New York and reported by pharmacies over the past year. It does not contain your diagnosis, your evaluation or the reasoning behind your treatment, which is why records still matter. State law also gives you the right to obtain your own controlled substance history, and you can ask a prescriber for a copy of your report. How the registry works is explained in I-STOP and the Prescription Monitoring Program.

Video or in person for the first visit

As of October 2026, a New York prescriber may start or continue a Schedule II stimulant after an audio-video visit without an in-person examination, because the state regulation defers to federal DEA rules and the federal telemedicine flexibilities run through December 31, 2026. What applies in 2027 had not been published when this page was written. If you are switching late in the year, ask the new practice how it plans to handle first visits after that date.

If a gap happens anyway

• Call both offices the same day. The current prescriber can still write for you while you remain a patient, and the new one may be able to move the appointment.
• Ask the pharmacy for nothing it cannot do. A pharmacist cannot extend or refill a Schedule II prescription.
• Do not take anyone else's medication. Under the New York Penal Law, giving a controlled substance to another person counts as a sale.
• Tell the new clinician how many days you have been without medication.
• If you are in crisis, call or text 988.

To transfer care to this practice, start with the new patients page, or ask a question through the contact page. How ongoing medication care is organized is described under adult ADHD treatment.