Electronic medical record adoption is on the rise in the United States, as many already know, but have you ever wandered exactly where EMRs are most popular among medical practices? Well know we know, thanks to a report conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Released at the beginning of September, the CDC looked at each state in the U.S. and the percentages of office-based physicians that employed the use of an EMR in their clinic throughout 2014.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) forwarded the final rules for Meaningful Use Stage 3, as well as modifications for the Stage 2 final rules, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. While both rules were combined when they were sent on to the OMB on Sept. 3, it still remains to be seen whether or not they will be finalized in this manner (as one final rule or as two separate rules).

One of the unavoidable side effects of the shift to Electronic Medical Records (EMR) has been a nearly exponential surge in the amount of digital data storage being occupied by the healthcare industry, which some are referring to as the “data deluge.” In all honesty, this data flood of epic proportions is something that everyone really should have seen coming a long time ago. It’s been pretty obvious for quite some time. For a number of years already, in fact, medical-related data has been consuming increasingly bigger pieces of the global storage pie.

A 2014 HIMSS study showed that more than two-thirds of clinicians use smartphones or tablets at their facilities. Mobile devices will only become increasingly common in health care, and if used right, they can improve the way doctors interact with patients.

With just under a month until the ICD-10 deadline on October 1, specialty physicians are doing what they can to ensure their practices are prepared for massive transition.

Medical practices aren't the only organizations preparing for the major ICD-10 transition set to take place on October 1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services conducted its third end-to-end test of the year in regard to preparing for ICD-10 claims. The results? A huge success.

Nextech's National User Conference, EDGE, was a huge success last February as Nextech and MDIntelleSys clients from all over the country decended upon Walt Disney World for three days. Building upon the success of EDGE 2015, Nextech is thrilled to announce EDGE 2016 is officially set to take place Feb. 25-27, 2016 and that Early Bird registration for the conference is now live! If you didn't attend last year's conference, we know you're probably kicking yourself for missing out on the best meeting of the year! Still need some more convincing? Here are three reasons why you should attend EDGE 2016:

In the second quarter of 2015, wearables tech company Fitbit saw its sales revenue more than triple to $400 million, up from $113 million in the same quarter last year. This upward trend in the wearables market isn’t just being seen by Fitbit, either. While they definitely seem to be leading the pack, many other tech companies have introduced their own wearable devices in recent years, usually in the form of wristbands that track a wearer’s stats/behavior for things such as heart rate, step counts, calorie intake/burn, and even sleeping habits—Apple Watch, the Nike+ FuelBand (though this device discontinued last year as part of a new fitness-wearable joint venture between Nike and Apple), MiBand, and Jawbone, to name just a few.