Dr Prashant Bhat
Public Health Leader · Health Systems Strategist · Epidemiologist
27+ years of professional experience · prashant@drbhat.co.in
Professional Experience
Deputy Director, National Free Drugs and Diagnostic Services
Lead planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of NFDS across Karnataka; provide strategic and technical leadership for diagnostics, laboratory networks, imaging services, biomedical equipment, policy, procurement, digital systems, PPP diagnostics, research and quality improvement.
Senior Manager, Biomedical Equipments, KSMSCL (Additional Charge)
Lead end-to-end procurement and lifecycle governance of medical equipment, reagents and allied health technologies; technical specifications and tender evaluation; vendor and contract oversight; commissioning and performance monitoring; and development of the Karnataka Biomedical Equipment Management System.
Adjunct Professor, Prasanna School of Public Health (Consultancy)
Academic and research collaboration, One Health teaching, student mentoring and internships, health-system linkages, and One Health and climate-change adaptation studies.
Senior Consultant PMDT (Consultancy)
Developed training materials and technical guidance for implementation of the BPaL regimen for drug-resistant TB in India, including supply-chain management and logistics.
Subject Matter Expert (Consultancy)
Provided technical expertise for digital training tools under NTEP and collaborated with The Union and technical partners to mainstream digital learning resources.
District Vector Borne Disease Control Officer, Udupi
Led district vector-borne disease control from 2016 to June 2026, including programme planning, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, staff capacity building, data-to-action reviews and administrative management.
Medical Writer (Consultancy)
Developed scientific publications using PPIA TB project data, a DR-TB implementation kit for PPSA, and a TB-HIV convergence document for private-sector partners.
National Consultant, Monitoring and Evaluation
Supported India's Central TB Division in M&E policy, internal evaluation, training, programme reviews, operational research, Global Fund coordination, technical and operational guidelines, Standards for TB Care training tools, the RNTCP website and Joint Monitoring Missions.
Medical Consultant, WHO-RNTCP Technical Assistance Project
Provided technical assistance for TB programme planning, training, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, electronic reporting, data validation, programme evaluation, public-private coordination, MDR-TB and TB/HIV scale-up, operational research and drug logistics.
Administrative Medical Officer
Delivered primary clinical care and implemented, supervised and monitored National Health Programmes; managed PHC administration and finances, medico-legal responsibilities, NGO coordination, operational-research data collection and community health awareness.
Casualty Medical Officer – Night Shift (Part Time)
Provided emergency care, resuscitation and coordination with specialist doctors for critical cases attending the hospital at night.
Key Achievements
Model tick survey across 66 grids — Udupi
Led Udupi district in conducting a model tick survey in 66 grids for tick speciation and density mapping, along with KFD viral isolation.
Health infrastructure refurbishment and training in 15 PHCs
Instrumental in refurbishing health infrastructure and supporting training in 15 Primary Health Centres in Udupi under CSR funding from an international NGO, with a total project cost of INR 2.25 crore.
COVID-19 surveillance and emergency response — Udupi
Led the district COVID-19 pandemic response, guiding establishment, operationalisation, streamlining and monitoring of the emergency response and surveillance system.
BSL-2B virology laboratory — District Hospital Udupi
Instrumental in establishing a state-of-the-art BSL-2B level virology laboratory at District Hospital Udupi, with a total cost of approximately INR 3 crore.
CHIMS portal for COVID-19 data management
Instrumental in designing and operationalising the CHIMS portal for online COVID-19 data management for Udupi district.
Malaria Reduction in Udupi: 513 to 6 Annual Cases
Led Udupi district to reduce malaria incidence to a single figure: 6 cases in 2024, from 513 cases in 2017.
Solarisation of 60 Primary Health Centres — Udupi
Led a CSR-supported green-energy initiative to solarise 60 Primary Health Centres in Udupi, strengthening reliable power availability for essential health and diagnostic services.
Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in Udupi
Instrumental in clearing three Transmission Assessment Surveys in Udupi and submission of a dossier for elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis; led the district VBD team in demonstrating null local transmission.