Federal Bill: HR 4837

H.R. 4837, the Written Informed Consent Act, directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to update Veterans Health Administration Directive 1005—which currently requires written informed consent only for long-term opioid therapy—so that it also covers five additional medication classes: antipsychotics, stimulants, antidepressants, anxiolytics, and narcotics. Under the bill, VA clinicians would need to provide veterans with clear written information about the risks, side effects, and alternatives to these drugs and obtain a signed consent form before starting treatment, bringing these high‑risk psychiatric and pain medications under the same structured informed‑consent process already used for long‑term opioids. The goal is to enhance safety, transparency, and documentation around prescribing powerful medications that can affect mental health, cognition, dependence risk, and long‑term quality of life.