The 3‑Tap Test for Healthcare Sites: Bookings, Prices and Urgent Help in Three Taps or Less

Modern patients are on their phones, often stressed, often in a hurry. If they cannot find how to book, what it will cost, or how to get urgent help within three taps, many will give up, ring the practice, or go elsewhere.

This article adapts the “3‑Tap Test” concept (popular in dental UX) for GP practices, NHS providers and private healthcare clinics. You can use it today to cut phone pressure, improve access, and stay aligned with UK standards around accessibility and patient information.

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Why the 3‑Tap Test Matters for GP and Healthcare Sites

On mobile, attention is brutally short. If core actions are buried, patients:

• Call instead of self‑serving online
• Abandon the task and delay care
• Turn to urgent care or A&E unnecessarily

For UK providers, there is also a regulatory and standards backdrop:

• NHS and public‑sector sites must meet WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
• NHS design guidance emphasises clear plain English labels, mobile usability and accessible navigation.
• Good digital access supports equality duties under the Equality Act 2010.

The 3‑Tap Test is a simple, practical way to pressure‑test your site against real patient behaviour.

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Define the Three Non‑Negotiables

For most high‑volume UK healthcare sites, three journeys drive the majority of urgent demand and phone calls. They must be reachable within three taps from your mobile homepage.

1. Book or Request an Appointment

This covers the primary action patients come to your site for.

What this might include

• GP: “Book appointment”, “Request an appointment”, “eConsult / Online consultation”

• Dental or specialist: “Book online”, “Book new patient appointment”

• Mixed models: “Book online” plus “Call to book” for those who cannot use digital Why it is non‑negotiable

• Reduces incoming calls and queues

• Encourages use of digital tools like the NHS App or online request systems

• Supports accessible, 24/7 access to the practice

2. Prices, Fees and Finance (or “Costs and Charges”)

Even in the NHS, cost transparency drives trust and reduces complaints and calls. What this might include

• GP: “Costs and charges” for private letters, medicals, travel vaccines, non‑NHS services
• Dental / Physio / Private clinics: “Fees and finance”, “Price list”, “Treatment costs”
• Hospital / community: “Parking charges”, “Private patient fees”, “Travel cost support”

Why it is non‑negotiable

• Patients want to know “How much will this cost?” before contacting you
• Financial anxiety is a major barrier to care; clarity reduces non‑attendance and disputes
• Transparent pricing aligns with fairness and informed consent principles

3. Emergency or Urgent Help

This is about what to do right now.

What this might include

• GP: “Urgent help now”, “I need help now”, “Same‑day or urgent care”

• Dental: “Emergency dentist”, “Urgent dental care”

• Mental health: “Feeling unsafe or in crisis?”, “Urgent mental health help”

• Hospital: “Emergency and urgent care”, “Out of hours” Why it is non‑negotiable

• In crisis, people scan for clear, obvious calls to action

• Reduces unsafe delays and inappropriate A&E attendance

• Supports safeguarding, clinical risk management and duty of care

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Label Clarity vs Jargon

Passing the 3‑Tap Test is not just about structure. The labels on your buttons and menus decide whether patients recognise what they need.

Principles for Clear, Converting Labels

Use patient language, not internal jargon

• Prefer “Book appointment” over “Access online triage system”
• Prefer “Costs and charges” over “Non‑core services”
• Prefer “Urgent help now” over “Same‑day access protocol”

Make the action explicit

• “Book appointment”

• “View prices”

• “Get urgent help now” Avoid ambiguous one‑word labels

• “Services” – too vague

• “Resources” – not meaningful to patients

• “Clinicians” – patients are usually looking for “Our doctors and nurses” or “Our team”

Plain‑English Label Examples That Convert

You can use or adapt these directly for your navigation and home‑page buttons.

For bookings

• “Book appointment”

• “Request an appointment online”

• “Book online (NHS App)”

• “Call to book an appointment” For prices and finance

• “Treatment prices”

• “Costs and charges”

• “Private fees and payment options”

• “NHS charges and exemptions”

For emergencies and urgent care

• “I need help now”
• “Urgent help – what to do”
• “Emergency dentist / Emergency GP”
• “Feeling very unwell or unsafe?”

Combine label clarity with good visual hierarchy: larger touch targets, adequate contrast and white space, in line with WCAG guidance.

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The 3‑Tap Test: Scorecard and Thresholds

You can audit your own site in under 10 minutes with the 3‑Tap Test.

How to Run the 3‑Tap Test

Use a real mobile phone, not a desktop view.

• Open your site’s homepage
• Pretend you are:
  • A new patient who wants to book
  • Someone worried about money who wants to check costs
  • Someone who feels unwell or in pain now
  • Count how many taps (including opening a menu or scrolling to tap a button) it takes to:
    • Reach your booking or appointment‑request page
    • Reach a clear prices/fees page
    • Reach an urgent help/emergency information page

Links in the footer count, but if users have to scroll a long way, mark it down – in practice, most patients never reach the bottom on a first visit.

Scoring Framework

Score each of the three journeys on taps required:

• 1 tap = Homepage → direct button or link
• 2 taps = Homepage → menu → page
• 3 taps = Homepage → menu → section → page

Journey score

• 2 points: 1–2 taps, clear label, obvious on the page

• 1 point: 3 taps or label slightly unclear

• 0 points: More than 3 taps, buried, or not present Total score

• Maximum: 6 points (3 journeys × 2 points)

• Minimum: 0 points

Thresholds

You can interpret your score like this:

5–6 points: Pass (Strong)

• Patients can complete all three journeys within three taps and understand what to press

• Site likely to be reducing unnecessary calls and supporting better access 3–4 points: Borderline (Needs improvement)

• One or more key journeys is hard to find or unclear

• Expect higher call volume and more frustrated users

0–2 points: Fail (High risk)

• Patients must hunt for key actions or call the practice instead
• Likely to impact access, staff workload and patient safety in urgent situations

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Case‑Style Examples

These anonymised, composite examples are based on real patterns in UK healthcare sites.

Example 1: GP Practice – From 2/6 to 6/6

Before:

• “Appointments” was a sub‑item under “Services”
• Urgent advice was in a PDF leaflet under “Patient information”
• Non‑NHS fees were a small link in the footer

Scores:

• Book: 3 taps (Homepage → Menu → Services → Appointments) = 1 point
• Prices: 4+ taps, tiny footer link = 0 points
• Urgent help: 4+ taps, buried PDF = 0 points

Total: 1/6 (Fail)

After quick changes:

• Added three buttons near the top of the homepage:
  • “Book or request an appointment”
  • “Costs and charges”
  • “Urgent help now”
  • Revised menu labels to match the buttons
  • Replaced the urgent PDF with a simple, accessible webpage

Scores:

• Book: 1 tap (Homepage → “Book or request an appointment”) = 2 points
• Prices: 1 tap (Homepage → “Costs and charges”) = 2 points
• Urgent help: 1 tap (Homepage → “Urgent help now”) = 2 points

Total: 6/6 (Pass)

The practice then reported fewer “What do I do, it’s urgent?” calls and more use of its online request system.

Example 2: Dental Clinic – Private/NHS Mixed

Before:

• Booking link labelled “Patient Portal”
• Fees page called “Treatment bands”
• Emergency care under “Contact us” as a paragraph of text

After:

• “Book online” button (with a note “via patient portal”) placed at the top of the homepage
• “Treatment bands” renamed to “Prices and NHS charges”
• “Emergency dentist – call us now” added as a clear block with click‑to‑call action

Result:

• All three journeys accessible within two taps
• Labels in plain English, easier for anxious patients to notice and act on

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Quick Menu and Homepage Fixes

You often do not need a redesign. A few targeted changes can dramatically improve 3‑Tap performance.

Prioritise the Three Non‑Negotiables

Make sure Bookings, Prices, Urgent help have pride of place.

On the homepage

• Add three prominent buttons above the fold:

  • “Book or request an appointment”
  • “Costs and charges” or “Prices”
  • “Urgent help now”
  • Use consistent colours and clear, high‑contrast text
  • Ensure each has a descriptive heading and short explanatory line In the main menu

• Use top‑level items or clearly labelled sub‑items for:

  • “Appointments”
  • “Prices / Costs and charges”
  • “Urgent help”

Reduce Menu Noise and Jargon

Too many options and acronyms increase cognitive load, especially for older adults or people with cognitive impairments.

Menu tidy‑up tips

• Merge low‑traffic pages into clearer categories, e.g. “Information for patients”
• Remove or relabel internal language, e.g. replace “QOF” with “Quality and safety”
• Avoid multi‑level nested menus on mobile where possible

Make It Accessible and WCAG‑Friendly

While doing quick fixes, align with key accessibility practices: Navigation and controls

• Ensure links and buttons are labelled in a way that makes sense out of context, e.g. “Book appointment” not just “Click here”
• Provide sufficient colour contrast for text and buttons
• Make touch targets large enough on mobile for people with motor difficulties

Content

• Use plain English, short sentences and bullet points for key actions
• Avoid relying on PDFs for urgent or frequently used information
• Ensure headings are logical to support screen reader navigation

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Measuring Calls Saved and Impact

To win internal support, show how better navigation reduces pressure on reception and phone lines.

What to Measure Before and After

Collect baseline data for at least 4–6 weeks before changes, then compare the same time period after.

Quantitative metrics

• Call volumes for:

  • Appointment booking
  • “What will it cost?” or “Do I have to pay?” queries
  • Emergency or urgent advice
  • Website analytics:
    • Number of clicks on “Book appointment”, “Prices”, “Urgent help”
    • Mobile bounce rate on key pages
    • Time to first click on those actions (if your analytics platform allows) Qualitative feedback

• Ask receptionists:

  • “Are we getting fewer calls about X?”
  • “What do callers say they could not find online?”
  • Short patient survey on your website or via SMS:
    • “How easy was it to find what you needed on our website?”

Simple Method to Estimate Calls Saved

You can use a very rough model to illustrate impact.

Step 1: Record call reasons

• Over one week, tally calls by reason:

  • To book or change appointments
  • About costs or fees
  • Seeking urgent advice Step 2: Implement 3‑Tap fixes

• Improve labels and make all three journeys 3 taps or fewer

Step 3: Compare

• Repeat the call tally two months later
• Calculate the percentage change in each category
• Estimate reception time saved (e.g. average 3–5 minutes per call)

Even a 10–20% reduction in “How do I book?” or “What does it cost?” calls can free hours of staff time each month and improve patient satisfaction.

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Key Takeaways

The 3‑Tap Test in One Sentence

A patient on a mobile phone should be able to reach Book/Request, Prices/Costs, and Urgent help in three taps or fewer, with labels they instantly understand. Why it matters in UK healthcare

• Supports obligations around accessibility and equality
• Reduces unnecessary phone calls and reception pressure
• Helps patients act quickly in urgent situations
• Builds trust through transparency about costs and access

The quickest wins

• Add three clear homepage buttons:
  • “Book or request an appointment”
  • “Costs and charges” or “Prices”
  • “Urgent help now”
  • Rename jargon‑heavy menu items to plain English
  • Replace buried PDFs with simple, accessible web pages

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Next Steps for Your Practice or Healthcare Service

You can turn this article into an action plan this week. 1. Run the 10‑Minute 3‑Tap Audit

• Use a real mobile phone
• Test the three journeys: Book, Prices, Urgent
• Score each 0–2 points and total your score out of 6

2. Prioritise High‑Impact Fixes

• If you scored 0–2:
  • Create or surface dedicated pages for bookings, prices and urgent help
  • Add visible homepage buttons and clarify menu labels
  • If you scored 3–4:
    • Focus on simplifying labels and reducing taps for the weakest journey
  • If you scored 5–6:
    • Refine wording and accessibility; monitor analytics and feedback

3. Align with Accessibility and NHS Content Standards

• Review labels and content against plain‑English guidance and WCAG principles
• Ensure good colour contrast, readable fonts and easy keyboard/screen‑reader navigation
• Publish or update your accessibility statement to reflect ongoing improvements

4. Track Impact and Share Results

• Measure changes in:
  • Call volumes by reason
  • Online booking usage
  • Page visits to prices and urgent help information
  • Share quick wins with your team and board: fewer calls, faster help, better patient feedback

By treating the 3‑Tap Test as a regular digital safety and access check, your GP practice or healthcare service can offer a calmer phone system, clearer information, and faster routes to the care people need most.