Great medicine is no longer enough: what a mortgage broker for doctors learned about patient experience

1 day ago

6 min read

I have read the NAB Health Insights Report and watched the webinar so you do not have to.

You may also be wondering why a mortgage broker is writing about patient experience in healthcare. The answer is that this one is particularly relevant to me.

My wife, Elize O'Reilly, and I are currently designing and putting together an Immunology and Allergy Clinic in Robina on the Gold Coast called Little Reactions. I normally read reports like this through the lens of a mortgage broker for doctors and other medical professionals. This time, I was also reading it as someone helping design a specialist medical practice from the ground up.

Patient arriving at a specialist medical practice reception before seeing the doctor

And there was one message that kept coming through:

The patient experience starts well before the doctor enters the room.

The clinical care is not the main problem

One of the most interesting findings in the NAB Health Insights Report is that Australians remain broadly positive about the care they personally receive.

In 2026, satisfaction with care received reached 7.6 out of 10, with 60% rating their care highly. By comparison, overall satisfaction with healthcare in Australia was only 6.5 out of 10, with 35% rating the broader system highly.

That is an important distinction. Patients are not necessarily saying their doctor is not good enough. They are often saying the overall experience around seeing that doctor could be better.

NAB's report repeatedly points to access, waiting times, cost transparency, communication, follow-up and how easy the whole process is to navigate. Clinical expertise remains fundamental, but patients are increasingly judging the entire journey, not just what happens during the consultation.

That stood out to me because when you are designing a new clinic, it is very easy to focus almost entirely on the clinical side:

What rooms do we need?
What equipment do we need?
How should the consulting rooms be laid out?
What systems does the doctor need?

They are obviously critical questions. But the patient has already had several interactions with the practice before they ever sit down with the specialist.

The patient experience starts with access

The first part of the experience is simply how easy the practice is to deal with.

Can the patient find the practice easily? Can they book online? Are appointment times visible? Does someone answer the phone? Are reminders clear? Do they know what information they need to bring? If the doctor is running late, does anyone tell them? What happens once the appointment is over?

The NAB report makes the point that patients define access much more broadly than simply whether an appointment is available. Patients talked about easier booking, online systems, reminders, after-hours options, clearer communication of results and better follow-up. NAB specifically notes that some of the biggest opportunities for healthcare practices may sit around the consultation rather than only inside it.

That is a very useful way to think about a medical practice.

A great doctor cannot completely undo a frustrating experience that has already occurred across several interactions with the business.

The receptionist matters. The booking system matters. The waiting room matters. Communication matters. Follow-up matters.

None of those things replace good medicine. They support it.

Good communication is part of good care

The consultation itself obviously remains critical, but patients are not judging it purely by whether the practitioner reaches the correct clinical conclusion.

They want to feel listened to. They want information explained in language they understand. They want enough time to ask questions, and they want to understand what happens next.

The report found that active listening, plain language, written instructions, room for questions and clear next steps can improve confidence, adherence and trust.

That sounds obvious when you read it. But in a busy medical practice, obvious things can become surprisingly easy to lose.

A technically excellent consultation can still leave a patient dissatisfied if they walk out feeling rushed, confused or unsure about what they are supposed to do next.

One of the simplest patient comments in the report probably summarises it best:

"Just listen."

Value is not the same thing as price

This was another section I found particularly interesting, especially with the current attention being placed on specialist fees.

Patients are becoming increasingly conscious of healthcare costs, but the NAB findings do not simply suggest that patients want everything to be cheaper.

They are judging value.

Patients are more likely to perceive value when costs are predictable, the consultation feels thorough, the purpose of the care is explained and they understand what the fee includes and what happens next.

For specialist doctors specifically, NAB identifies opportunities around access, explanation and perceived value because specialist care is often higher cost, referral based and more complex to navigate.

That means fee transparency itself becomes part of the patient experience.

Ideally, patients should understand:

What the appointment is likely to cost.
What their out-of-pocket cost may be.
What is included in the consultation.
Whether follow-up is included.
Whether results require another appointment.
What the likely next step will be.

A practice does not necessarily need to be the cheapest.

But if the fee is significant, the patient should understand what they are paying for and feel that the experience justified it.

There may be more demand than the appointment book shows

Another interesting finding was how much healthcare people believe they need but never actually receive.

Almost half of Australians said there was at least one type of health practitioner they believed they should have visited during the previous year but did not. Cost, appointment availability, uncertainty, lack of time and simply putting it off were among the reasons.

For specialist doctors, 55% of those who believed they should have attended but did not cited affordability, while 20% cited difficulty getting an appointment.

NAB describes this as demand that has stalled.

I think that is an important concept for practice owners.

A patient not booking does not necessarily mean there is no demand for the service. Sometimes there is simply too much friction between recognising the need for care and actually getting through the door.

That friction might be price, waiting time, a difficult booking process, uncertainty about what will happen, poor communication or something as simple as putting the appointment off.

Reducing those barriers may sometimes be just as valuable as trying to generate more enquiries.

Why patient experience matters to a mortgage broker for doctors

This was probably the biggest takeaway for me.

Patient experience no longer sits separately from the business side of a medical practice. NAB directly links it with both care quality and business performance.

The report highlights very practical things such as whether the phone is answered, appointments are visible, costs are clear, reception is helpful, results are communicated and follow-up is prompted.

Those things influence whether patients trust the practice, whether they return, whether they recommend it and, eventually, whether they leave.

The report also shows that patients do switch practitioners because of dissatisfaction. NAB describes switching as often being the visible end result of earlier friction such as difficult appointments, unclear costs, rushed communication, weak follow-up or poor perceived value.

That may seem outside the normal work of a mortgage broker for doctors, but understanding how medical practices operate is a large part of understanding the clients I work with. Practice ownership, income, staffing, expansion and the demands of running a medical business can all eventually flow into major personal and financial decisions.

A welcoming medical practice with helpful reception staff, a doctor listening to a patient, and a nurse explaining follow-up care in a calm, organised setting.

For us personally, though, this report was useful for a much simpler reason.

We are currently getting the opportunity to design Little Reactions before the doors open.

That means thinking about the clinical rooms and equipment, but also thinking about what happens before and after the consultation.

How easy is the practice to contact?

How clear is the booking process?

Does the family know what to expect?

Are fees explained properly?

Are delays communicated?

Do parents leave knowing what happens next?

Does follow-up feel organised rather than becoming another job for the patient to manage?

None of that requires turning a medical clinic into a luxury hospitality business.

Most of what patients appear to be asking for is actually very simple:

Make it easy to book.
Make the fees clear.
Answer the phone.
Communicate delays.
Listen properly.
Explain things simply.
Make the next step clear.
Follow up when you say you will.

The best medical practices may not be the ones trying to create the most impressive patient experience.

They may simply be the ones that remove the most unnecessary friction.

Great medicine gets the patient referred.

The experience may determine whether they come back.