# QR codes for clinics and healthcare providers

> Healthcare QR codes must never be the only route to clinical information, and they must not carry patient data. Use them for check-in, directions, appointment booking and aftercare leaflets — with a printed alternative always available.

Source: https://useqr.app/qr-codes-for/healthcare · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Never encode patient data

A QR code is plain text that anyone who photographs it can read. Do not put names, NHS or
insurance numbers, diagnoses, or appointment details identifying a person into a code that
will be printed on a letter, a wristband or a door.

Use an **opaque identifier** resolved by an authenticated system. The code says which record;
the system decides who may see it.

## Accessibility is a legal matter here

Patients disproportionately include people with low vision, cognitive impairment, no
smartphone, or no data. A QR-only route to aftercare instructions, consent information or
medication guidance is an access failure with real consequences.

Always: printed alternative available without asking, linked pages as real HTML with proper
heading structure, plain-language text, and no PDF-only documents.

## Where codes genuinely help

| Use | Placement |
|---|---|
| Waiting-room check-in | Reception desk, at seated height |
| Wayfinding to a department | Entrance and each junction |
| Appointment booking and rescheduling | Letters and posters |
| Aftercare instructions | Discharge leaflet |
| Interpreter and accessibility services | Reception, in multiple languages |
| Feedback | Exit door |

## Wristbands

Clinical wristbands face alcohol gel, which dissolves many inks. Specify a gel-resistant
print or a laminated insert, keep the payload to a short opaque id, and expect a 2 cm code
at most — see [wristbands](/qr-codes-on/wristbands).

## Signage in a hospital

Corridor signage is scanned from 1–3 m: **10–30 cm** of code. Mount at 1.4–1.6 m. Matt
laminate — hospital corridors are brightly and evenly lit, which is exactly the condition
that produces glare on gloss.

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