Labs in city will now provide QR codes with RT-PCR test reports to counter fake results

India — PUNE Laboratories in the city will now provide QR codes with RT-PCR test reports to counter fake negative reports.

Certain labs found that clients edited the Covid-19 RT-PCR reports to show a negative result, so as to meet commercial requirements.

The move also comes after a requirement by the Dubai health authorities which, that passengers travelling to the UAE must have a QR code link to their original test report.

Krsnaa Diagnostics currently already has this system in place.

Shravan Mutha, Covid-19 manager at the laboratory chain, said, “We have already implemented the QR code system in our RTPCR reports for the past two months. The QR code take you to our portal where the patient can get the details. We have implemented it because of fake reports in market.”

Abrarali Dalal, chief operating officer, Sahyadri Hospitals, said that the hospital had two cases wherein a forged report in hospital’s name was used.

“In one case, the HR department of a company called us asking for a hard copy and when we checked our records, we could not find such a report. In Pune too, we found a similar case, following which we filed a complaint with the Kothrud police station. To counter such fake reports we are in the process of starting QR code based RT-PCR reports. Also we have had multiple requests from passengers wanting to go to Dubai, where such a report is required. The QR-code based report cannot be forged and also the customers will not be charged above the government-capped price for this,” Dalal said.

“We do provide QR codes on the RT-PCR test results. Due to the increasing demand to provide the same, we recently made the decision to provide QR-codes for the test results across India and have been doing so since the past three days” said Dr Manish D Karekar, chief of Lab Services, Metropolis Healthcare.

The government has restricted the price for RT-PCR rests at private labs at Rs.850, and at Rs.980 for home collection.

As per the advisory issued by the Dubai health authorities on January 28, 2021, passengers travelling from India to Dubai have to carry a negative RTPCR report which is linked to a QR code.

Pune has one flight to Dubai.

A passenger who is to board a flight from Lohegaon airport to Dubai on Monday, on condition of anonymity, said, “I have a flight to catch Monday. I was asked to get a QR-linked RTPCR report and I enquired at many places, but didn’t get any private or government labs that give such reports. Finally, I found one private lab which has such a facility. Hopefully, I’ll get the report before the flight.”