Perceptions of the Private Sector for Creating Effective Public-Private Partnerships against Tuberculosis in Metro Manila, Philippines.

This article's goal is to assess the perspectives of private providers on current and future public-private engagement in Metro Manila, a city of 13 million using semistructured interviews with a convenience sample of 18 private physicians. Our study found that private providers perceived their clientele as loyal and their services as distinct from public services, with unique attractions of convenience and quality of service. They saw value in engaging with the public sector for knowledge exchange, access to public-sector commodities, and access to public sector assistance with public health tasks related to tuberculosis (TB). However, their proposed ways of engaging were more centered on the private sector role, in ways that are not currently being pursued by the public sector. It is of the utmost importance to recognize that private provider perspectives are essential to build effective engagement models and, thus, to reach all clients with quality TB care.