Making stimulant medicines safer for Veterans, especially older adults
Official title: Identifying Safe Stimulant Prescribing Practices to Protect Patients, Inform Key Program Initiatives, and Assist Providers
Funded at Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital · NIH-11264639 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses VA health records to find which Veterans, particularly older adults, are more likely to have serious problems from prescribed stimulant medicines.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bedford, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX003453-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11264639 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Veterans who currently receive or have received prescribed stimulant medications, especially older Veterans and those with cardiovascular disease, mental health diagnoses, or substance use history, are the most relevant group.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not enrolled in VA care or who have never received prescription stimulants are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you're a Veteran taking prescribed stimulant medicines, this project will analyze VA medical and prescription records across the country to see how often harms like heart problems, psychosis, or overdose occur. The team will compare different groups—such as older Veterans and those with heart disease, mental health conditions, or substance use histories—to identify who faces higher risk. They will also examine off-label stimulant use and whether certain prescribing patterns are linked to higher death risk. No new drugs or clinic visits are required for this work since it uses existing VA records and aims to help VA programs set safer prescribing and follow-up practices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help clinicians prescribe and monitor stimulants more safely, reducing serious side effects and overdoses among Veterans.
How similar studies have gone: Smaller studies and signals have suggested increased risks in some groups, but large, VA-wide analyses like this are relatively new and aim to provide clearer, more definitive results.
Where this research is happening
-
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
Bedford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smith, Eric G. — Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
- Study coordinator: Smith, Eric G.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.