A SENIOR EXECUTIVE OF a popular health examination company reportedly told an entrepreneur forum that some companies don't test their customers' blood samples at all, and simply make up the results. CCTV.com comments:

Many people believe that claim even though no specific evidence was forthcoming. That is because it is not uncommon to see news reports of people discovering they have a serious illness in hospital soon after they received health examination reports showing they are supposedly perfectly healthy. Some media investigations have also exposed many serious problems in the commercial health check industry.

However, it is difficult to put a stop to the practice, as customers usually won't question their results.

Moreover, even if someone develops health problems a few months after getting the "all-clear" result from a blood test, it is hard to prove the test result was falsified because people's health condition changes all the time.

In addition, even if the results of a health examination company are found to have been falsified, the punishment is too light to curb the profitable practice. According to the Physical Examination Management Provisional Regulation issued in 2009, falsifying a physical examination test result only leads to a fine of up to 1,000 yuan ($146).

To curb the serious problems in the commercial health examination industry and safeguard people's legal rights and interests, the authorities should enhance their supervision and establish a system to guarantee the authenticity of test results.

For instance, blood sample test results should be kept for a year, and the back-tracking mechanism for test results, especially some tests that are costly and valuable for the diagnosis of some malignant diseases, should be improved.

The costs of falsifying test results should also be increased to deter wrongdoing. Besides heavy fines, anyone caught falsifying health examination results should have their qualifications revoked.

And if the consequences are serious they should be punished according to the article on medical accidents in the Criminal Law.