Fake lab reports: how QR verification protects your lab

The problem: fake and forged reports are everywhere

Fake lab reports come in three forms. Some are forged copies of a real lab’s report, with values or names changed, often for insurance claims, leave or visas. Some come from labs that shouldn’t exist, run without a qualified pathologist and using a rented or forged signature. And some are made from scratch with templates or “report generator” tools.

Each one damages the lab whose name is on it. When a forged report surfaces, patients, doctors and insurers call the real lab, and its reputation takes the hit.

What the law says

Making or using a fake medical report is a crime, not a shortcut. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023:

• Forgery (section 336) is punishable with up to 2 years, and up to 7 years when the forgery is for cheating.
• Using a forged document or electronic record as genuine (section 340) is punished as if you had forged it.
• Cheating (section 318) carries up to 7 years where it induces someone to hand over property, such as an insurance payout.

The IT Act adds offences for identity theft and cheating by personation using a computer resource (sections 66C and 66D). For labs, regulators have also acted against “selling signatures”: the Delhi Medical Council has suspended pathologists for it, and the Supreme Court has made clear that a qualified pathologist must sign medical reports.

How QR verification stops forgeries

A QR code on its own proves nothing: anyone can print one. What matters is where it leads. A proper verification QR:

1. Points to the lab’s own website, so the person checking sees the lab’s domain, not a random link.
2. Uses a unique report ID that can’t be guessed from other IDs.
3. Shows the key facts of the original: patient initials, sample and report times, tests, and who authorised it, or the original PDF itself.
4. Says clearly when a report wasn’t issued, so a fake ID fails loudly.

The person checking compares the page with the copy in their hand. Any change to a value, name or date shows up straight away.

Where NABL and ISO 15189 stand

ISO 15189:2022, the standard NABL uses for medical labs, already asks for unique identification on every page of a report and a record of who reviewed and authorised it (clause 7.4.1.6). Revised reports must be clearly marked as revisions.

NABL has gone further on report authenticity. Its software generates a Unique Laboratory Report (ULR) number and QR code, and in June 2026 it clarified that accredited labs must put the ULR on all in-scope reports, with a six-month transition. Check the current NABL circulars for what applies to your lab’s scope.

Protect your lab: a checklist

1. Put a verification QR on every report, linking to a page on your own domain.
2. Give every report a unique, non-sequential ID.
3. Use digital signatures applied by the pathologist’s own login, never a scanned image anyone can paste.
4. Keep an audit trail of who entered, approved and amended each report.
5. Mark amended reports clearly and keep the original.
6. Tell insurers, employers and doctors how to verify your reports; print a short line on the report itself.
7. Send reports straight to patients on WhatsApp or email from your system, so there’s less reason to pass around edited PDFs.
8. Watch for your name on fake reports; ask insurers to report mismatches to you.

For insurers, employers and doctors: how to check a report

• Scan the QR and check the page is on the lab’s real website.
• Compare patient details, dates, tests and values line by line.
• Check the authorising doctor’s name and qualification.
• If there’s no QR, call the lab with the report ID and ask them to confirm.
• Be wary of reports with no lab address, no registration details or a signature that looks pasted.