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"WAITING ROOM." IT IS HARD TO DENY THAT THOSE WORDS SUMMON NEGATIVE A SSOCIATIONS FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE © IF NOT A MA JORIT Y © OF PATIENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. Taking the Misery out of the WAITING ROOM BUT WITH SOME pla nning a nd creativit y, your waiting room can reduce patient dread and foster better outcomes, say experts who weighed in with The DO, a publication of the A merica n Osteopathic A ssociation. Shif t your terminolog y. A l Turner, DO, a nd fellow clinicia ns in Por tla nd, Oregon, e s c h e w e d " w a i t i n g r o o m " i n f a v o r o f "reception a rea" or "reception space" — a nd they equipped the a rea with only six cha irs, spurring them to stay on schedule. " It is insu lting for patients to ma ke a n appoi nt ment t o w a it ," D r. T u r ner, who recently retired, told The DO. Leverage natura l light or the next-best thing. Jea n Ha nsen, Susta inable Interiors Manager in the San Francisco off ice of HDR A rchitecture, notes this ha s a ca lming effect on patients. " Let daylig ht f lood t he space" when appropriate, Hansen says, and use shades during times of intense light. Lighting options usi ng L ED bu lbs, rat her t ha n linea r f luorescent f i x tures, do not hum or f l i c k e r, m a k i n g t h e m a s o o t h i n g a lter native if nat ura l lig ht isn't ava i l- able, says Rosa ly n Ca ma , a hea lthca re interior desig ner ba sed in New Haven, Connecticut. Ditch the tube. TV is often superf luous. "Most people wa lk a round with their ow n enter ta inment today," Ca ma says. " Televisions a re a n intrusion into what I a m doing with my own device." ■ BY STEVE BARRETT CORE AULTMAN MEDICAL GROUP PROUDLY WELCOMES DAVID LITVAK, M.D., F.A.C.S. Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Residency: University of California Fellowship: John Wayne Cancer Institute A fellowship-trained surgical oncologist, Dr. Litvak is joining Aultman from Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phoenix, where he served as the national chair for the department of surgery and performed complex surgical oncology cases. Dr. Litvak performs laparoscopic and robotic surgery. His specific areas of interest include surgery of the pancreas and liver, sarcomas, complex melanoma, and colon and rectal cancers. Dr. Litvak will also serve as the medical director of the Aultman Cancer Center. Aultman Medical Group General Surgery 2600 Tuscarawas St. W. – Suite 600 Canton, Ohio 44708 aultmanmedicalgroup.com 2 3 M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C L E V E L A N D /A K R O N / C A N T O N ■ J U LY/A U G U S T 2 017