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Prabhat Chand

National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital

ORCID iD 0000-0001-8807-5610
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About

I am a Professor and Head of the Centre for Addiction Medicine (CAM) at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India — a premier public-funded institution of national importance. My work spans clinical care, postgraduate education (MD and DM Addiction Psychiatry), research, and digital health innovation in addiction and mental health.
Over two decades, our team's efforts have focused on democratising evidence-based knowledge in addiction medicine by leveraging digital technology to bridge the urban-rural treatment gap in India and beyond. Our digital health initiatives include the NIMHANS ECHO tele-mentoring platform, the NIMHANS eLearning Hub (nimhanselearning.org), and the Addiction Rx mobile app. VKN NIMHANS NIMHANS ECHO has trained over 10,000 healthcare professionals across India through weekly case-based learning in tobacco cessation, alcohol use disorders, and other addictive disorders. LinkedIn The Addiction Rx app, built on FlutterFlow and Firebase, has reached over 14,000 users across 140+ countries, offering clinicians evidence-based screening tools, clinical guidelines, and comorbidity resources.
As an Indo-US Public Health Fellow at Project ECHO, University of New Mexico Health Science Center, I have been engaged in tele-technology-based capacity building Taylor & Francis Online, and this experience informed the conceptual and technical design of VKN NIMHANS ECHO — one of India's first and most sustained tele-mentoring networks in mental health and addiction (launched 2014, 65+ programs). The NIMHANS Digital Academy, established in 2018, has further institutionalised this commitment to scalable, technology-leveraged learning.
My primary research interests include substance use disorders, digital health, capacity building, and Project ECHO-based tele-mentoring. Google Scholar I have authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in psychiatry, addiction medicine, and digital mental health VKN NIMHANS, with an h-index of 27 and over 2,600 citations (as of 2026). Research contributions span pharmacotherapy of substance use disorders, tele-mentoring effectiveness, digital health interventions, and addiction epidemiology in India.
Beyond addiction medicine, our team leads NAMAH (namahnimhans.in) — a physician wellness initiative leveraging ECHO-based mentoring to support the mental health and resilience of healthcare professionals.
Affiliations: Professor & Head, Centre for Addiction Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bengaluru 560 029, India
Contact: [email protected]
Web: cam.nimhans.ac.in | vknnimhans.in | addictionrx.app | nimhanselearning.org | namahnimhans.in

Employment

  • National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Chief
    2014 - Present
  • National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Professor
    2007 - Present

Education

  • Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research MD
    1999 - 2002
  • Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital MBBS
    1991 - Present

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (70)