Understanding what shapes eRantevou adoption - an independent UX analysis

Disclaimer: This case study presents an independent UX study conducted by Significa on a sample of users. The findings and views expressed here do not represent an official assessment of eRantevou or the Greek Ministry of Health, nor are they endorsed by any public authority.

The Greek Ministry of Health has recently introduced eRantevou, a free digital platform for scheduling medical appointments, as part of a broader strategy to modernize public healthcare access.

To sharpen our UX research skills, we put eRantevou under the microscope: running a full UX audit to understand which parts of the experience encourage people to use it — and which hold them back.

Our research found that awareness and use among surveyed users is not yet universal, which prompted this UX case study to explore the factors behind these adoption patterns. Our aim was to understand how people perceive and experience a system designed to simplify their lives, and how interaction design shapes that experience.

Our research highlighted where user expectations were not fully met and how usability issues may influence trust and long-term use. The outcome is a set of insights and recommendations intended to support engagement and help make the platform feel more reliable and usable for everyone.

While digital appointment systems are increasingly common, adoption remains uneven, especially among older and less tech-savvy users. Studies (e.g., Woodcock, 2022; Zhang et al., 2014) show that free access alone isn't enough; low awareness, usability barriers, and trust gaps still hinder use.

In Greece, while the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to digital health services, literature points to ongoing challenges such as fragmented infrastructure and regional disparities in access (Giannopoulou & Tsobanoglou, 2021).

Moreover, most existing research focuses on quantitative data, leaving a gap in understanding the user's actual experience with such platforms (Stoumpos et al., 2023).

Our study explored which factors influence eRantevou’s adoption among our respondents, despite the platform’s clear benefits. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM, Davis, 1989), focusing on Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), we used a mixed-methods approach:

→ A quantitative survey (n=103, aged 18–64+) capturing user expectations and trust.

→ An expert usability audit, evaluating 1000+ statements on key UX pillars, like Task Orientation and Credibility, Navigation, Help, Layout, and more.

→ A targeted literature review that informed our framework, with emphasis on public-sector and technology adoption models.

This combination revealed both surface-level frictions and deeper psychological barriers, while cluster analysis identified distinct user patterns that informed redesign priorities.

The result: clear insights and a roadmap for more inclusive, user-centered digital health services.

A clear entry point and strong management system

Our research uncovered distinct factors influencing users’ adoption of the eRantevou platform.

Positive experiences stem from clear, intuitive booking steps, such as “Entering appointment details” (step 1) and “Managing existing appointments” (after booking service), which scored high in usability thanks to their clean layout, effective copy, and helpful visual cues.

These moments reduce cognitive load (Sweller) and build confidence, encouraging repeated use and reinforcing Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU).

Challenging middle step

Ηowever, critical pain points arise mid-flow. Μore precisely, step 2 “Providing availability and additional info” consistently scored lowest across all dimensions: only 25% conformity in form quality, 33% trust and credibility score and 35% in navigation - with final usability score 1.9/5.

This appears to stem from interaction design choices that do not sufficiently guide users through real-time availability and can lead to dead ends, forcing users to backtrack manually and re-enter preferences.

Such bottleneck can negatively affect both PU and PEOU: the process feels unclear and not worth the effort.

Unintuitive interaction before completing

Following a poor step 2 experience, step 3 “Slot selection” compounded user stress, weighing 2.4/5 usability score. Critically, once a user clicks a time slot, the system immediately redirects to a success screen without asking for confirmation, breaking the interaction pattern.

This mismatch between what users expect (System 1: intuitive, guided steps) and what the system provides (System 2: hidden consequences) creates cognitive dissonance, weakens learnability, and undermines trust; all critical to sustained adoption.

Minimal support across

Across all tasks, help and documentation (Heuristic #10) was a clear gap, scoring only 26%. Users often felt they had to resolve issues on their own when things went wrong.

In health-related platforms, where users perceive high personal risk, the absence of support mechanisms triggers uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede) and loss aversion (Kahneman & Tversky).