An increasing number of places in Indiana lack a suitable number of health providers, and it can be costly.

While treatment for the disease is relatively straightforward, the communication between insurers and providers can be riddled with clerical errors and prone to delays.

A new experiment is popping up in emergency departments across the country: Hospitals are hiring former addicts to connect patients with the support they need to get into treatment for addiction.

Hundreds attended the event sponsored the Indiana University Institute of Psychiatric Research and Mental Health America of Indiana.

Now that marijuana use is allowed in 28 states, it has opened up renewed questions about the drug as a pain reliever for people — including players in the National Football League.

Experts say more people are seeking treatment just as the number of mental health professionals in Indiana is dwindling.

The program is aimed at reducing recidivism by treating addiction as a disease, not a crime.

Heroin isn't new in Cincinnati, but the recent surge in overdoses is being blamed on an even more potent drug called carfentanil. It's 100 times stronger than fentanyl, a more common synthetic opioid that is itself much stronger than heroin. Carfentanil is used to sedate elephants. It can be dangerous to even touch it without gloves.

Researchers found that costs associated with tobacco use total $6.8 billion each year.