The proposal targets longstanding gaps in VA prescribing practices that leave veterans uninformed about addiction, suicide and other serious side effects.
What do you do now?
Do you trust him with your very life—though he cannot prove that the “disease” he diagnoses you with even exists?
Or do you take full control of your own well-being, health and future by doing due diligence and researching the drug—demanding to know if it is addictive, causes suicidal or homicidal ideation, or might leave you in even worse shape than before?
Do you insist on full written informed consent before you pop those pills and take a chance on the psychiatric roulette wheel of life and death?
Well, you most certainly should.
“Our veterans deserve nothing less than complete transparency when it comes to their health.”
In fact, a new piece of legislation called the Written Informed Consent Act is slowly making its way through Congress, and would require Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to “provide veterans with clear, written information about the potential side effects of antipsychotics, stimulants, antidepressants, anxiolytics and narcotics prescribed through the VA healthcare system.”
The bill would order that a standardized written consent form be provided to veterans.
“Our veterans deserve nothing less than complete transparency when it comes to their health and the medications they’re prescribed,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. “The Written Informed Consent Act will empower veterans to make better-informed decisions about their treatment and protect their right to understand the risks involved.”
