Integrating private health care in National Tuberculosis Programme: experience from Ernakulam - Kerala.

A private institution in Ernakulam took initiative in distributing anti-tuberculosis drugs on behalf of the District Tubereulosis Programme(DTP) through their Community Medicine Department A model for integrating private and public health care systems in tuberculosis control was thus evolved. A critical review of the patients treated for tuberculosis in this project over 3 years was made to evaluate the model Patents’ records and feedback from patients received through a postal survey were used for I he review. There was 87.7% cure rate no relapse within 6 months of follow up and 80% had resumed normal life. A viable model of how the District fuberculosis Programme can be integrated into private health care system which is contacted b) more than 40% of the patients is presented. Counselling modified ways of ensuring treatment completion have achieved cure rates comparable to results achieved in DOTS. (authors)