The purpose of the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ISTC) is to describe a widely accepted level of care that all practitioners, public and private, should seek to achieve in managing patients who have, or are suspected of having, tuberculosis. The Standards are intended to facilitate the effective engagement of all care providers in delivering high-quality care for patients of all ages and for patients with tuberculosis caused by drug-resistant tuberculosis as well as patients with a combination of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

In addition to healthcare providers and government tuberculosis programs, both patients and communities are part of the intended audience. Having generally agreed-upon standards will empower patients to evaluate the quality of care they are being provided.  The Standards are intended to be complementary to local and national tuberculosis control policies that are consistent with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.