Optometrists are a caring, empathetic bunch who are very good at listening to their patients and offer outstanding value for money.
Those are the key takeaways from the latest Health Insights Report 2024-25, commissioned by NAB bank, which surveyed 2000 Australians in mid-2024 about the way they perceive and experience healthcare.
The 13th report covers a number of areas, including overall satisfaction with healthcare provided by all disciplines, including ophthalmologists, value for money, communication and language used, ease of access, and the quality of the practice environment.
Satisfaction among Australians with the overall health system was unchanged from the previous year at 6.5 points out of 10 (where 10 is completely satisfied), and 36% were ‘very’ satisfied (scoring eight or higher). Just over one in 10 (11%) were ‘not very’ happy (scored less than three pts).
Interestingly, the gulf in satisfaction between those on higher and lower incomes widened in 2024, as satisfaction edged down in the lower income group but was unchanged for those on higher incomes.
In last year’s consumer snapshot, optometry scored the highest of all disciplines, in terms of overall satisfaction.
In the latest survey it has lost that spot to vets, who were one of only two groups to report higher satisfaction compared with last year (8.3 pts, up from 8.0 pts). Public hospitals was the other (7.5 pts, up from 7.0 pts).
Overall satisfaction with the care, advice or treatment Australians received from optometrists dropped when compared with the previous year, down to 8.2 pts, after scoring 8.4 pts in 2023.
But it was still rated near the top of all disciplines in most categories surveyed.
GPs, pharmacies and dentists remain the most commonly visited or used health practitioners by Australians. In 2024, 71% of people had visited a GP in the past 12 months – albeit down from 73% in 2023 and 78% in 2022.
Visits to optometrists fell slightly over the year (33% vs. 35%) but were still somewhat higher than in 2022 (28%).
Australians were also asked to consider which practitioners were most important to them in terms of their own or their family’s health (both physical and mental). GPs topped the list, with over nine in 10 (92%) Australians rating them in their top five.
Optometrists (48%) were also considered important, according to around one in two Australians overall, especially among the 35-44 age group, where 60% of respondents put them in their top five.
When they did visit, patients found optometrists to be among the most caring and attentive of all healthcare practitioners.
When asked if those professionals really listened to them, optometrists came out on top at 8.1 pts out of a possible 10, followed by pharmacists and vets (8.0 pts).
For the first time, those conducting the survey also asked people to rate the extent they felt cared for as a person.
Chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapists led the way (8.2 pts), just ahead of optometrists and vets (8.0 pts).
And optometrists appeared to do a good job of using language that patients could easily understand.
Again, chiropractors, osteopaths and physiotherapists scored highest (8.4 pts), just ahead of vets (8.2 pts), optometrists (8.2 pts), pharmacists (8.2 pts) and dentists (8.0 pts).
Australians rated the overall practice environments of optometrists at 7.9, just behind chiropractors, osteopaths and physios at 8.3 pts. Patients aged over 65 were particularly impressed with optometrists (8.4 pts).
When asked why they had not visited in 2024, reasons differed considerably but the most common issue cited was affordability. Around four in 10 said that was the main barrier to visiting optometrists (39%). Lack of time was highlighted by 28% of those surveyed.
The poll noted a large increase in the number who said GPs (59%, up from 50%) and optometrists (49%, up from 40%) cost more. This was particularly prevalent in rural towns, where 58% of people said prices were more expensive.
Despite those concerns, people felt that optometry provided great value for money.
With a score of 8 out of 10, optometrists were second only to pharmacies (8.1 pts) for the value of care, advice or treatment provided, and around seven in 10 believed optometrists provided ‘excellent’ value (8+ pts).
Mr John Avent, NAB’s Health and Medfin executive, said the survey showed that cost-of-living pressures might be beginning to impact health decisions, with more patients reporting higher prices for all healthcare practitioners.
“One in two Australians told us affordability was a key reason they had avoided seeing a health practitioner, like a GP or a dentist, in the past 12 months for a health concern – a trend that may risk delayed diagnosis and treatment,” he said.
He said the most important insight was the attitude of consumers, post-COVID.
“We’re seeing a new breed of healthcare consumer who is not only taking a more proactive approach to managing their own health but showing less loyalty if they feel their needs aren’t being met.
“Around a third of patients switched a health professional in the past two to three years, led by a growing number who have changed their GP or dentist.
“This trend is most active in the under-45s, and convenience, bulk billing and the ease of making an appointment seemed to be driving factors.”
More reading
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