Indeed, the NPI Registry contributes to the development of precision medicine. For example, how can we advance this field in the non-pharmacological treatment of pain without confusing patients when a prestigious medical school like Stanford publishes such a vague, incomplete, and unranked list on its website?

• Physical activity
• Acupressure
• Acupuncture
• Application of heat or cold
• Aquatherapy
• Art therapy
• Biofeedback
• Family coaching
• Individual coaching
• Psychological conditioning
• Desensitization
• Therapeutic education
• Occupational therapy
• Horticultural therapy
• Hypnosis
• Physiotherapy
• Massage lotions
• Meditation
• Music therapy
• Posturology
• Companion presence
• Psychosocial support
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• Comfort therapy
• Theatre therapy
• Psychosocial therapy
• Tonification and strengthening
• Yoga

How many hopes dashed? How much time wasted? How many futile efforts? How much money squandered? How many unnecessary carbon emissions from transport? This subtly highlights pharmacological treatments and pain surgeries, which have precise contents and proven effects. The NPIS and its partners propose a solution to break this deadlock in favor of those affected by health issues. The goal is to provide reliable information on the most relevant NPI. It is also about no longer opposing pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies, but rather associating them wisely and at the right time.

NPI are a field in which many amalgamations occur between scientific knowledge and opinion, due to their objective—human health—and their operational mode, which involves immaterial protocols. However, it is essential to learn to distinguish science from research amidst the multiplication of tools and information channels (Klein, 2020), particularly on the subject of NPI. The same communication channels transmit both scientific knowledge and beliefs, opinions, comments... Information of different statuses becomes intertwined. Knowledge can turn into the belief of a particular community, and vice versa.

Research, on the other hand, pertains to questions for which we do not yet have answers. These well-defined questions still have no answer. A researcher works on the subject using various methods and strategies. Research fosters doubt. Scientific societies work to advance research within a specific territory and theme.

Given that NPI are universal health protocols centered on individuals and administered by humans, an international multidisciplinary scientific society needed to be created. This has been achieved since 2021. This society is called the Non-Pharmacological Intervention Society (NPIS).

Immaterial practices of prevention and care have existed since ancient times. However, the diversification of practices, the multiplication of professions at the intersection of prevention, care, and social assistance, and the globalization of information systems have leveled these services and obscured them at a time when medicine has made significant advances in the early detection and diagnosis of health issues. The interdisciplinary and multisectoral approach of the NPIS generates a value chain, from the design of practices to their implementation, regulation, and financing.

Innovative economic model initiatives are emerging worldwide, including fee-for-service, bundled payments, social economy provisions, offers promoting sustainable development, e-health economy, human innovation bundles, and long-term economy (World Economic Forum, 2024). The NPIS Prospective Pole, led by Michel Noguès, documents these initiatives in books (Noguès, 2022; Noguès, 2024). The NPIS Forums invite all innovators to share their experiences.

A scientific validation model for medications has existed since the 1960s, with specific regulations recognized worldwide (e.g., FDA, EMA, ANSM). A similar procedure has recently been implemented for medical devices in Europe. However, until now, no consensual model existed for nutritional, bodily, and psychosocial health services due to confusions between approach, protocol, and technique/ingredient. A participatory, pragmatic, and multidisciplinary consensus work followed international scientific health recommendations to address this for NPI (Ninot et al., 2023).

This work took into account the specificities of NPI, health risks, the balance between internal and external validity, the justification of explanatory mechanisms, ethical considerations in health, and respect for contexts of use. The NPIS Model accelerates research through the harmonization of methodological and ethical expectations in NPI. It also enhances the identification, referencing, transferability, and implementation of NPI for the benefit of user health and safety, improving the quality of training.

Ultimately, the NPIS Model distinguishes between individualized, science-based services aimed at addressing known health issues in Western medicine and occupational practices (lifestyle, art of living, work, sociocultural activity, personal development, pursuit of happiness, spiritual practice, etc.). In this sense, the model does not impede individuals' freedom to choose a particular lifestyle. It aims to address a specific health issue for an individual or a group of people within a limited timeframe and a framework regulated by the health sector. The NPIS Model encourages innovations across all other health sectors, particularly in health organizations and early identification actions for health problems.