Evaluating the cost effectiveness of national program for control of blindness in Jorhat district, India

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the cost of different components of the national program for control of blindness (NPCB) and assess the cost effectiveness of this program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational study was conducted in Jorhat District of Assam, India from July 2009 to June 2010 for assessing the cost effectiveness of the NPCB. Four broad categories of cost inputs, that is, capital costs, recurrent costs, prime/variable costs, and fixed costs were considered. The cost incurred by the provider was taken as the actual cost of delivery of different component of services to the patients, which was calculated from the costs of labor, material, and capital costs using the time utilization pattern recommended by WHO. RESULT: The District Blindness Control Society, Jorhat had spent 58.93% of total expense on fixed heads of which 65.86% had been spent for cataract surgery. The medical care cost was found to be Indian rupee (INR) 425 for intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE), INR 675 for extracapsular cataract extraction + intraocular lens (ECCE + IOL) and INR 225 for refractive error correction. The patient-wise provider cost was estimated to be INR 519 for ICCE, INR 769 for ECCE + IOL implantation and INR 319 for spectacle correction of refractive error. CONCLUSION: National program for control of blindness is a cost effective means of controlling and treating blindness.