Done with “Done” and My Experience with Online ADHD Diagnosis
🚨 CEO of ADHD telehealth company charged with fraud
Last week, the CEO of Done (a telehealth company that aggressively targets people seeking an ADHD diagnosis) was arrested and charged with health care fraud in what’s being called an “Adderall distribution scheme.”
Great.
Somehow I don’t think this will help the already negative stigma around ADHD and particularly around medication.
I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve been skeptical of Done for years. They reached out to me several times about a potential partnership but my spidey sense was tingling and I always trust that intuition. (I actually had a more direct run-in with Done in 2022, more on that later).
But the whole thing is extremely disappointing for a variety of reasons.
One that jumps out: the CDC has announced that this will likely affect the ADHD medication shortage, making an already bad situation even worse.
That sucks.
And on top of that, it makes it even harder for those still looking to get diagnosed.
So what to do if you are seeking diagnosis?
I still think the best thing is to find someone local who specializes in ADHD, especially someone that specializes in ADHD in Adults.
You can also ask your family doctor, but be prepared for much more mixed results with that. At the very least, go into that conversation prepared. I recorded a podcast about preparing for an ADHD evaluation with Dr. Tish Gentile that should help.
I’ve also gone through the process of diagnosis myself with a couple of companies that felt a bit more legit than something like Done.
These aren’t sponsored links or anything like that and I’m simply sharing my honest feedback of the process, though full disclosure: I was provided free testing by both of these companies.
(These should not be considered medical advice or endorsement)
ADHD Online (Mentavi)
This was almost entirely virtual, but still seemed comprehensive. It took about an hour or so to complete. I didn’t get the feeling that they were trying to fast track me to medication. My evaluation was done back in 2022 and I understand there have been some changes there recently, so it’s one I’m keeping an eye on.
Marker Learning
I took their evaluation in 2022 as well, but it was a much more traditional type of experience. They sent me a thick packet in the mail and a document camera, and I was connected with a licensed medical professional who guided me through the packet. I believe the evaluation was a total of 4 hours—it seemed very thorough and afterward the same licensed professional evaluated the results with me a week or so later and gave some recommendations. They are on the expensive side, likely because of the live evaluation.
Also, I forgot to send back the document camera… It’s been 2 years but if anyone from Marker Learning reads this, let me know where I should send this. 😂
I hope this helps somewhat.
If you have any advice for what’s worked well for you in your diagnosis journey (or things to avoid), please share in the comments!
Stay curious,
Jesse J. Anderson
P.S. I recently put together a Member Resource Hub for paid supporters of Extra Focus. This gathers the different resources that are available into a single place, and I’m hoping to grow this over time as well. If you have an resource recommendations you’d like to see, let me know in the comments.
Thoughts on Done.
For paid supporters, I thought I’d share about the time Done wanted to partner with me, and what they did when I refused...
So back in 2022, I’d been seeing lots of ads from Done on social media, it seemed like they were sponsoring every platform all the time, and many other ADHD creators were doing sponsored content deals with them, so it wasn’t just the ads.
They were everywhere.
Like I said though, my spidey sense was tingling and I just felt like something wasn’t right. Cerebral had just gotten busted around that time, and I honestly felt like Done was going to be next. (I guess I was right, but it took a couple of years)
I ignored their emails and messages asking for a partnership.
So imagine my surprise when sometime later I see a post from Done that includes my own content!
Not cool.
I scratched their name out on the screenshot because I still didn’t want any direct association before sharing it on Twitter with this text:
So... if a brand didn't pay you anything but just starts posting your content to their social media (with their logo on it) as if it's an endorsement or a paid ad...
(particularly if it's a controversial brand you don't want to be associated with)
What should I do about it?
It got some buzz and people were pretty immediate to recognize and call out Done. Eventually they responded by taking down the post with my stolen content.
They did send me an apology email, but hilariously tried to use it as another opportunity to partner.
The subject line was “A Formal Apology from Done. And An Opportunity” which I just find hilarious.
Needless to say, I didn’t take them up on the “opportunity” to partner with them after they stole my content.
I was also skeptical of Done. I have my first appointment for an evaluation in July. It’s taken years but I’m hopeful.
Do you think that this might have some implications to countries outside the US for supply in ADHD meds? I mean if you have any insight on that if not ignore my question 😅
Btw. really nice surprise today to see a new post of yours here on Substack, thanks for that! ❤️