Assessing the Status of Mandatory Tuberculosis Case Notification among Private Practitioners in Urban Puducherry

BACKGROUND: In India, tuberculosis (TB) was made a notifiable disease in 2012 and nonnotification was made a punishable offense in March 2018. In 2018, 25% of TB cases notified were from private sector. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to assess the proportion of private practitioners (PPs) who notified TB cases to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) and to identify the facilitating factors and barriers to TB case notification, including channels most preferred for notification. METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among PPs in urban Puducherry. PPs were included consecutively, and data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Almost 60% (75 of 125) of PPs had dealt with presumptive TB cases in the last 1 year. Only one of 16 PPs who diagnosed and two of four PPs who treated had notified. PPs preferred electronic modes of notification such as e-mail and short messaging service (SMS). Concerns regarding patient confidentiality and delay in collection of notification forms from PPs by RNTCP were the barriers to notification. CONCLUSIONS: Notification for TB diagnosis was poor as PPs preferred to refer cases to RNTCP rather than notifying. Only four PPs had initiated TB treatment, of whom two PPs (50%) had notified.