Tapping private health sector for public health program? Findings of a novel intervention to tackle TB in Mumbai, India

Background India carries one-fourth of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden. Hence the country has drafted the ambitious National Strategic Plan to eliminate tuberculosis by 2025. To realise this goal, India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and partners piloted a novel strategy to engage private-providers for tuberculosis care via a “Private-provider Interface Agency” (PPIA) in Mumbai and other locations. Intervention The program mapped and engaged private-providers, chemists, and laboratories; facilitated TB notification via call centers and field staff; provided free tuberculosis diagnostic tests and anti-TB drugs using novel electronic vouchers; monitored quality of care; and supported patients to ensure anti-TB treatment adherence and completion. This report summarises the descriptive analysis of PPIA implementation data piloted in Mumbai from 2014 to 2017. Findings The program mapped 8789 private doctors, 3438 chemists, and 985 laboratories. Of these, 3836 (44%) doctors, 285 (29%) laboratories, and 353 (10%) chemists were prioritized and engaged in the program. Over three and a half years, the program recorded 60,366 privately-notified tuberculosis patients, of which, 24,146 (40%) were microbiologically-confirmed, 5203 (9%) were rifampicin-resistant, and 4401 (7%) were paediatric TB patients. Mumbai's annual total TB case notification rate increased from a pre-program baseline of 272 per 100,000/year in 2013 to 416 per 100,000/year in 2017. Overall, 42,300 (78%) patients completed the TB treatment, and 4979 (9%) could not be evaluated. Interpretation The PPIA program in Mumbai demonstrated that private-providers can be effectively engaged for TB control in urban India. This program has influenced national policy and has been adapted and funded for a country-wide scale up. The model may also be considered in conditions where private-provider engagement is needed to improve access and quality of care for any area of public health.