ADHD · Autism · Mental Health · Medications
Independent specialist medication support for your most complex clinical situations.
I’m Penny Maxwell – consultant pharmacist, FANZCAP (Mental Health and Paediatrics), one of the first in Australia to hold both fellowships.
I am lead author of the Child and Adolescent chapter of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines (8th edition) – the global reference text for mental health prescribing, translated into 19 languages. I wrote the Knowledge and Skills component of the SHPA Training Residency Framework for Mental Health – the official accredited advanced practice program for specialist mental health pharmacists across Australia. Most recently I was co-lead pharmacist on the NSW Health ADHD co-management project across Hunter New England.
I don’t prescribe or diagnose. That stays with you. What I do is look at the whole picture: pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, pharmacogenomics, co-morbidity, legislation, supply, and patient experience. I work wherever the medication chain is under strain.
Independent means no hospital system, no pharmaceutical ties, no outcome-linked funding. My recommendations are shaped only by your patient’s situation, the evidence, and 23 years of frontline MDT experience.
Find the right next step
Tell me what’s in front of you.
What I offer
Open what’s relevant. The list isn’t exhaustive – if it involves medication in ADHD, autism or mental illness and needs experienced, expert input, get in touch.
01 – Prescriber consultation and support Penny works with you directly. No patient involved.
Quick consultation | $250 – 20 min
A 20-minute teleconference with a written summary of any recommendations. For a specific prescribing question, regulatory query, second opinion, or to think something through with someone who knows this field.
Written enquiry | $440/hr
A detailed, structured, referenced written response to a specific clinical question. Documented and ready for your records.
Start with a quick consultation first. Written enquiries carry more complexity than the original question usually anticipates – a short conversation almost always narrows the field and saves you time and cost.
Complex medication questions | $440/hr
- Patient-specific medication reviews drawing on current evidence, international guidelines and 23 years of frontline MDT experience
- Pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, drug interaction, monitoring, adverse effect and pharmacogenomic analysis – applied with practical clinical judgement
- Specialist expertise in neurodivergence across ADHD, autism and complex mental illness
- When the evidence is thin or contested – transparent about that, working with you on the best available framework
Workshops – coaching – prescribing supervision | POA
Navigate ADHD, autism and mental health prescribing – systems, legislation, evidence gaps, real cases. Individual or small group. Tailored to your situation and your gaps.
02 – Patient services on referral Penny works with your patient and reports back to you.
Targeted medication education | $440/hr
A focused session for your patient or their family – tailored to the specific medication and their situation. Stimulants, lithium, antipsychotics, antidepressants, pharmacogenomics, hormonal interactions.
Shared decision-making session | $440/hr
Extended shared decision making for a referred therapeutic target – management of ADHD, anxiety, OCD, bipolar depression. Patient explores options with Penny. Summary and prescribing monograph returned to you.
Legacy Review | POA
For new or complex patients with history across multiple prescribers. Two outputs:
Legacy Report – reconciled medication history, failure analysis, patient-specific risk profile, documented contributors to past failures.
Medication Portrait™ – who this patient is as a prescribing subject right now. Beliefs, practical traps, supports in place, a prescribing guide for future clinicians.
Can be commissioned together or separately. Scope agreed before work begins.
Systems and supply navigation | $440/hr
- PBS funding, authority prescribing, SAS – Category A and B
- State and federal legislation – what the rules mean in practice
- Overseas medication access and medication shortage navigation
- Off-label and unregistered frameworks – evidence, risk and documentation
Not sure if your patient fits any of the above? If it involves medication in ADHD, autism or mental illness and needs experienced expert input, get in touch. We will work out what fits.
Concierge – the whole thing, handled Coordination layer for complex situations. Scope and pricing agreed before work begins.
Some situations need more than advice. They need someone to pick up the whole thing and move it forward – coordinating every person, every system and every step until it’s resolved. Concierge can be added to any other service or used standalone.
- PBS, SAS and off-label frameworks – applications prepared, submitted and followed through
- Overseas medication sourcing when Australian supply is exhausted
- Medication shortage navigation – alternatives, clinical implications, coordination
- Legislation and policy translation for this patient, this prescription, right now
- Comprehensive medication histories and bespoke prescribing monographs
- SafeScript and My Health Record review, full medication reconciliation
- Liaison between prescribers, patients, pharmacists, insurers and regulatory bodies
- Unity function – for patients with multiple clinicians who don’t share a complete picture
Available to prescribers, patients and carers. Scope and pricing always agreed before any work begins.
How I think – the MEDWISE™ framework
Seven dimensions, systematically examined, every patient, every time. Not a checklist – the full depth of specialist pharmacist training applied to one person’s specific situation.
What prescribers say
“We inherit kids on a cocktail… if they’re thriving it’s amazing, but if they’re not thriving… what do you do?”
Child and adolescent psychiatrist
Shared with permission
“It’s really helpful having you there to sit down and brainstorm – what could this be, why is this not working? You think about the interactions and how the medication is being metabolised, and that brings a different aspect to it.”
Child and adolescent psychiatrist
Shared with permission
Not sure where to start? A quick consultation is $250, takes 20 minutes, and includes a written summary. Or describe your situation and we’ll work out what fits.