The provider cost of treating tuberculosis in Bauchi State, Nigeria

The study was aimed at assessing the economic cost shouldered by government, as providers, in the provision of free tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and treatment services in Bauchi State, northern Nigeria. A cost analysis study was designed and questionnaires administered by the principal investigators to officers in charge of 27 randomly sampled government TB services providers across the State of Bauchi. Seventeen of these centers were primary care centers, 9 secondary care providers and one was a tertiary care provider. Data was also collected from personnel and projects records in the State Ministry of Health, of Works as well as the Ministry of Budget and Planning. The cost of buildings, staff and equipment replacement, laboratory, radiology and drugs in facilities were assessed and costs attributable tuberculosis inpatient, outpatient and directly observed therapy (DOT) services were estimated from the total cost based on the proportion of TB cases in the total patient pool accessing those services. The average proportion of TB patients in facilities was 3.4% in overall, 3.3% among inpatients and 3.1% in the outpatient population. The average cost spent to treat a patient with TB was estimated at US $227.14. The cost of inpatient care averaged $16.95/patient; DOT and outpatient services was $133.34/patient, while the overhead cost per patient was $30.89. The overall cost and all computed cost elements, except for DOT services, were highest in the tertiary center and least expensive in the infectious diseases hospital partly due to the higher administrative and other overhead recurrent spending in the tertiary health facility while the lower overhead cost observed in the infectious diseases hospital could be due to the economy of scale as a result of the relative higher number of TB cases seen in the facility operating with relatively same level of resources as other facilities in the state.