Choosing your waiting room music

Hey there folks, my name is Keith Reynolds, I’m the editor of Physicians Practice and this is the P2 Management Minute. Here are two quick tips for picking waiting-room music that calms patients and helps your team focus.

1) Set the vibe on purpose not by shuffle

Choose instrumental or light-vocal tracks at a steady 60–80 BPM—think acoustic, ambient, soft jazz. Keep volume conversation-friendly. Daypart the mix: a touch more energy in the morning, softer by afternoon. Avoid lyrics that are explicit, polarizing, or faith-specific, and skip anything with jarring tempo shifts.

2) Get licensing and logistics right

Use a business-licensed streaming service or properly licensed playlists—personal accounts and radio won’t cover public performance. Build 3–5 hours of music to prevent repeats, filter explicit content, and remove ads. Rotate playlists monthly and post a tiny QR code asking patients whether the music helped them relax. Use feedback to fine-tune.

Curate the mood, cover the legal, and your lobby will work for you.

For more bite-size practice tips and tricks make sure you visit PhysiciansPractice.com.

Thanks for watching I’ll see you Monday on the P2 Management Minute!

About the P2 Management Minute

The P2 Management Minute is a fast-paced video micro-series from Physicians Practice that distills proven management strategies into bite-size, one-minute episodes for busy medical practice administrators and lead physicians. Each installment spotlights high-impact tactics—drawn from real-world best practices and expert insights—that administrators can apply the same day to boost efficiency, strengthen patient satisfaction, or elevate staff engagement. No theory, no fluff; just concise, actionable guidance that respects tight schedules and delivers measurable results between appointments.

Record your own!

Interested in stepping in front of the camera to share a quick tip of your own, or have a suggestion for a topic we should spotlight in an upcoming P² Management Minute? We’d love to hear from you. Whether it’s a proven strategy for streamlining workflows, a clever morale-booster, or a hard-won lesson on patient engagement, your insight could help peers across the country elevate their practices in just 60 seconds. Drop Keith a note at kreynolds@mjhlifesciences.com with your idea—or, better yet, a brief outline or smartphone video sample—and we’ll walk you through the simple submission process. Let’s collaborate to make every minute count for the medical community.

Keith A. Reynolds is the editor of Physicians Practice and wants to know what practice issues are keeping you up at night. You can let him know at kreynolds@mjhlifesciences.com.