The Public-Private Mix (PPM) model of the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), adopted by the Tumakuru district Tuberculosis Control officer, has drawn interest from foreign delegates of four African countries.
A 15-member team, comprising policy makers and health officials from South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, will be visiting Tumakuru on October 26 to study the model.
Officials from the African Development Bank will also be a part of the meeting.
One of the highlights of the programme is the inclusion of private practitioners in the TB detection process. Earlier, most of the private medical practitioners were reluctant to refer their patients to District TB Centre.
In 2012, the Institute of Public Health in Bengaluru took up a project called ‘Optimizing the involvement of private practitioners in TB care, Tumakuru city’.
The main objective was to establish a model where the private sector could be involved in a national health program especially TB, said Vijayashree Yellappa, a principal investigator in the project.
A GPS mapping of all the private medical practitioners in Tumakuru city has also been undertaken under the project.
“An SMS will be sent to the respective private doctor as soon as the patient arrives to the TB Centre and the laboratory report of the sputum sample will also be sent to the private doctor,” said Sanath Kumar, who is co-investigator on the project.
Patients get free treatment, free diagnosis, and medicines will be sent to their doorsteps.
Such methods have gone a long way in early detection and treatment, and also prevent the MDR cases when patient don’t complete the course of medicines.
The proof of its success is in the numbers: In 2014, private medical practitioners referred 452 cases to the TB Centre, of which 69 cases were tested positive. In 2015, there were 2,490 referrals to the TB Centre; 411 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis.
According to the Tumakuru District TB Control Office, 2,729 people are currently being treated for TB. There are 57 MDR cases in the district. Officials believe that with the PPM model, MDR cases can be brought down by 15-20 per cent.
Delegates from African countries will visit Tumakuru on October 26 to study the model
