A recent query on the DermChat listserv about the type of music that is most appropriate for medical offices yielded a surprisingly wide range of opinions.
"Doesn't matter to me," said one dermatologist. "I let the staff decide, since they are there all the time, and the patients (hopefully) only for a short time."
"I play what I want to hear," said another. "I play only classical - the most 'recent' composer being Mozart - and have done so since I opened my office. I get compliments all the time about the music."
"Playing overhead music is unprofessional," insisted a third. "No music is the best music.If I played my favorite music (opera), patients would not like it.So why should I be subjected to a similar torture, or why should my patients listen to what my front desk likes?"
"I can't function without music," said yet another."It is like oxygen for me."
The diversity of opinions led me to wonder how my own patients felt about my office music. So I randomly polled several dozen of them over a 2-week period. Most said that our mix was appropriate and pleasant; the rest had no opinion one way or the other. No one said it was annoying or offensive, or that they would prefer no music at all.
Later in the week, one patient followed up with an e-mail message:
"I got to thinking about your questions about your office music, and how the atmosphere in your office is so relaxed, and I realized that the music contributes a lot. It instantly puts me at ease when I walk through the door. Believe me, not every doctor's office does that!"
So, music does seem to make a difference for some patients, at least. I'm happy about that, because, like one of the DermChat respondents, I couldn't work well without it. Besides, I worry less about patients overhearing other patients' conversations.
Your preferences (or your employees' or patients') will determine what kind of music you play. I basically agree that you should pick what you and your staff like to listen to, because you and they listen to it all day while patients come and go.
In my office we play a satellite radio mix of classical, classic rock, and jazz, which varies as the mood strikes us. Those three genres tend to be calm enough to create a serene, relaxed atmosphere without being soporific. Younger patients may prefer more exciting stuff, but I notice that many of them have MP3 players anyway.
Occasionally I bring in a few selections from my extensive, rather eclectic (some say eccentric) vinyl and CD collection to break up the routine.
Each room in the office has its own speakers, with individual volume controls so the music can be "backgrounded" when necessary.
I should point out that there are legal issues involved here: Playing music from a CD, MP3, or regular radio in your office technically requires you to pay royalties to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), and SESAC - the agencies that represent the music copyright owners. Using background music to entertain your patients and employees in a commercial setting is considered a public performance of the music, which requires a commercial license be obtained to pay royalty obligations to the artists and the record labels that represent them.
That's one reason (the wide range of musical choices and absence of commercials are others) that I use satellite radio: All licenses and royalties are included in the cost of their commercial subscriptions.
The recordings I bring from home are all classical music, which is in the public domain and not subject to royalty payments.
Although I know of no physician's office that has actually been asked to pay royalties, the possibility exists; it has been known to happen to larger businesses such as department stores and supermarkets.
Whatever venue and genre choices you make, remember that the ultimate goal is to create a more pleasant environment for your patients, employees, and yourself. If that occasionally requires a bit of flexibility, so be it.
The DermChat physician who insists on all classical music, all the time, later told me he has been known to make exceptions. "I did have one very nice fellow bring a boom box, and he played oldies in the waiting room," he said. "But he did it nicely, and he announced he was going to do it. Everyone, including [the receptionist], was boogying like crazy out in the waiting room. It was very entertaining!"