Mandatory TB notification in Mysore city, India: Have we heard the private practitioner's plea?

Background: The Government of India, made TB notification by private healthcare providers mandatory from May 2012 onwards. The National TB Programme developed a case based web based online reporting mechanism called NIKSHAY. However, the notification by private providers has been very low. We conducted the present study to determine the awareness, practice and anticipated enablers related to TB notification among private practitioners in Mysore city during 2014.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among private practitioners of Mysore city in south India. The private practitioners in the city were identified and 258 representative practitioners using probability proportional to size were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: Among the 258 study participants, only 155 (60%) respondents agreed to a detailed interview. Among those interviewed, 141 (91%) were aware that TB is a notifiable disease; however 127 (82%) of them were not aware of process of notification and NIKSHAY. Only one in six practitioners was registered in NIKSHAY, while one in three practitioners are notifying without registration. The practitioners expected certain enablers from the programme like free drugs, training to notify in NIKSHAY and timely feedback. 74 (47%) opined that notification should be backed by legal punitive measures.

Conclusion: The programme should develop innovative strategies that provide enablers, address concerns of practitioners while having simple mechanisms for TB notification. The programme should strengthen its inherent capacity to monitor TB notification.