How many websites do you visit each day to keep abreast of the developments in healthcare, finance and technology? Do you visit each website individually? If so, you know how time-consuming that process is. Fortunately there’s a better way, using Really Simple Syndication or RSS.
RSS provides an easy way to scan through articles on a number of websites quickly, selecting those of interest and bypassing those that are not useful. You use an “RSS Reader” that’s built into Outlook and Internet Explorer, although many other RSS readers are available. To set up an RSS feed in your reader you “subscribe” to it by clicking on the orange RSS button found on most news websites and follow the directions shown for your particular reader. Directions for using various readers are linked below.
I use Google Reader, which requires a Google account (if you use gmail you already have one) and will keep your RSS lists up to date across multiple computers and devices so you aren’t presented with an article that you’ve already read somewhere else. There are RSS readers for iPad and iPhone devices that work well – I use NewsRack on the iPhone and Reeder on the iPad.
Try it – you’ll shorten you news-reading time by at least 50%.
How to use RSS with Outlook and Internet Explorer: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/add-an-rss-feed-HA010159539.aspx
How to use Google Reader: http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-use-google-reader-to-keep-up-with-your-favorite-blogs.html
Here are some RSS feeds of interest to healthcare professionals:
HFMA: http://www.hfma.org/templates/blogrss.ashx?blogid=258
Modern Healthcare News and Legislation: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/section/rss06&mime=xml
Becker’s Hospital Review: http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/index.php?option=com_ninjarsssyndicator&feed_id=1&format=raw
Health Affairs: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/index.php?feed=rss2
Healthcare Economist: http://healthcare-economist.com/feed/
Managed Care Matters: http://www.joepaduda.com/atom.xml
Disease Management Care Blog: http://diseasemanagementcareblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Singletrack Analytics Blog: http://singletrackanalytics.com/blog/rss