Kickbacks from diagnostic and consultation fees are known to occur. Patients too poor to afford private diagnostic facilities are referred to government-run services. Treatment regimens prescribed typically lasted more than 6 months, with a four-drug intensive phase of 2 to 3 months being the norm. Most of the regimens prescribed were probably adequate to achieve cure, if actually taken. Private providers without allopathic qualifications did not appear to differ from those with qualifications, in their prescribing behaviour, possibly because drug manufacturers' representatives are the main source of information for both groups.
Treatment outcomes Private providers generally keep no patient records .
About half the private providers in one study admitted that they made no attempt to contact patients who defaulted from follow-up visits , while the other half claimed that they sent a message to the patient through someone. Outcomes of treatment were generally not measured by private providers . Importance of TB treatment to private providers TB patients do not form an important part of the business of private for-profit providers . Some private providers have already made promising innovations to improve results among the poorest patients. In one example from South Bombay, a center was set up where patient records were kept and drugs dispensed by a social worker.