Macquarie Park Medical — Patient Portal
A GP and specialist practice built a patient portal — reception calls dropped 78% and patient satisfaction jumped.
TL;DR
- Challenge:
- A GP + specialist practice with reception handling 350+ calls/day — appointment requests, results, refills, referral status.
- Approach:
- Custom AHPRA-compliant patient portal with appointment booking, results access, prescription refills, referral tracking.
- Result:
- Reception calls 350/day → 77/day (down 78%), patient satisfaction 3.2 → 4.7/5, prescription refills 0% → 71% online.
Key Results at a Glance
-78%
Reception calls
+47%
Patient satisfaction
+71pts
Repeat prescriptions online
Client Context
Business Type
Multi-doctor GP + specialist practice
Founded
2008
Team Size
12 doctors + 8 reception + nurses
Market
Macquarie Park + Upper North Shore
Revenue Tier
$5.4M annual revenue
Stack Before
Best Practice PMS, phone-only patient interaction, PDF results emailed manually
The Challenge
Reception handled 350+ calls daily: appointment requests, results enquiries, prescription refills, and referral status checks. Wait times hit 8 minutes, patients were frustrated, and receptionists were burning out.
Goals & KPIs
North-Star Metric
Cut reception phone volume 60%+ while increasing patient satisfaction
Supporting KPIs
Reception calls/day
Target: Under 150
Patient satisfaction
Target: 4.5/5
Online prescription refills
Target: 60%+
Portal adoption
Target: 70% of active patients
AHPRA compliance
Target: 100%
Discovery & Research
Audit Findings
- •350 reception calls/day (peak 8-min waits)
- •Prescription refill requests via phone only
- •Results emailed manually as PDFs
- •Referral tracking via phone calls
- •No self-service option
Baseline Issues
- •350 reception calls/day
- •3.2/5 patient satisfaction
- •0% online prescription refills
- •AHPRA compliance risk
Competitor Insight
Top AU medical practices ran patient portals with AHPRA-compliant results viewing + prescription refills + referral tracking.
Audience Insight
Patients want to check test results, request refills, and see referral status without calling — the phone is a barrier for professionals.
Strategy
Core Hypothesis
“If we build an AHPRA-compliant patient portal with appointment + results + refills + referrals, reception load will drop 60%+ because self-service beats phone tag.”
Positioning Shift
Repositioned as "Macquarie Park's connected medical practice — book, results, refills, all online".
Channel Mix
Custom patient portal · 50%
Core platform
Best Practice API integration · 25%
Data source
AHPRA compliance framework · 15%
Risk mitigation
Mobile-first UX · 10%
80% mobile traffic
Our Approach
Patient portal
Built a secure patient portal where patients can book appointments, view upcoming visits, and access their appointment history — with AHPRA-compliant health information.
Online results & prescriptions
Added secure access to pathology results (with GP review flags) and repeat prescription refill requests — the two highest-volume call reasons.
Referral tracking
Patients can track referral status, view specialist appointment details, and download referral letters — eliminating the "has my referral been sent?" calls.
Phased Roadmap
Month 1
Discovery + Compliance
- →Patient journey mapping
- →AHPRA compliance framework
- →Best Practice API scoping
- →Portal wireframes
Months 2–4
Build
- →Portal (Next.js + Node.js)
- →Best Practice API integration
- →AHPRA-compliant content
- →Referral tracking system
Month 5
Launch
- →In-clinic sign-up during visits
- →Email + SMS campaign
- →72% adoption within 90 days
- →Reception calls: 350 → 77/day
What We Built
The Results
Daily Reception Calls
Before vs After — 6 Months
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception calls | 350/day | 77/day | -78% |
| Patient satisfaction | 3.2/5 | 4.7/5 | +47% |
| Repeat prescriptions online | 0% | 71% | +71pts |
“Our receptionists used to dread Mondays. Now they actually have time to help patients who walk in.”
Dr. Mark T.
Practice Principal
Key Insights
- →Prescription refills online was the killer feature — 71% adoption within 90 days
- →Reception can finally help walk-in patients instead of answering phones
- →AHPRA compliance done proactively is cheaper than reactively
- →Patient satisfaction jumped 47% because self-service = respect for their time
What's Next
Adding telehealth booking, integrating pathology results directly from labs, and testing AI-assisted referral routing.
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Services Used
Representative case study. Figures illustrate the type of outcomes achievable through these strategies for Australian businesses; individual results vary based on market, budget and starting position.