500 health professionals have already signed up to Nahibu PRO, a consultation management platform that was developed with the aim of facilitating patient care in this fast-moving area of health science.
“Knowledge of the human gut microbiome is a recent science, but it is moving very fast. Numerous scientific and clinical studies around the world are contributing to this growing knowledge base and are demonstrating the importance of the gut microbiome in health and wellbeing,” Nahibu co-founder Pierre Cressard told this publication.
“Overall, in the health and wellness professional’s community, the feeling is as follows: a health revolution is underway and the gut microbiome is the central key to this change.
“That said, there is a huge need for those professionals to be trained and prepared to include the gut microbiome as part of their everyday practice,” he added.
Bridging the knowledge gap
Recognising the gap that exists between healthcare provision and developments in microbiota science, Nahibu launched Nahibu PRO – a digital platform that healthcare professionals can register with to access online training and resources on the microbiota, patient microbiota analysis data and new patients.
“By registering on the platform, health practitioners have access to new patients, as well as their results and scientific resources to support them digitally in their practice,” said Cressard.
Nahibu PRO membership gives health professionals access to a series of free training modules that will allow them to add microbiota expertise to their practice.
Training is delivered online and supervised by Dr Emmanuelle Lecommandeur, Nahibu’s Head of Research & Development, who has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge.
Monthly webinars on different topics such as digestive disorders, inflammatory bowel disease etc complete the training.
For health professionals wishing to go into further depth, additional paid-for training is also available.
Signing up with Nahibu PRO also helps health practitioners to grow their client/patient base thanks to synergies with Nahibu’s direct-to-consumer microbiota analysis service.
Postal microbiome analysis
Offering mail-order microbiome analysis was the premise on which Pierre and Chrystèle Cressard founded Nahibu in March 2019.
Individuals order a stool collection kit online and return their sample to the laboratory for analysis. In the laboratory, the sample will be subject to quality control, DNA extraction, metagenomic sequencing and biostatistical analysis.
The results are delivered digitally directly to the customer a few weeks later.
“In these results, the user discovers the diversity of their gut microbiome and its functional potential in terms of predisposition to allergies, digestion capacity, inflammatory potential etc,” explained Cressard.
On receiving their results, many customers wish to have a consultation, at which point they are directed to Nahibu’s community of healthcare professionals.
Practitioners who are registered with Nahibu PRO are able to access client results, allowing them to explain and discuss the results and advise the client on how they can improve their microbiota health.
The role of the health professional is essential from there, to take over and support the user on a better health and wellness journey,” said Cressard.
When consumers buy their kit online, they have a choice of a €249 ‘Premium’ package (which includes microbiota analysis and personalised nutrition advice) and a €299 ‘Expert’ package (which also includes a consultation within the price).
In the ‘Expert’ scenario, the Nahibu PRO listed practitioner who is chosen to carry out the consultation is paid by Nahibu.
Nahibu PRO is currently only available as a French language service. However, Nahibu said it is working to make the platform available in other languages to support the company’s development in Europe and beyond.
https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2022/02/14/Nahibu-gets-health-practitioners-up-to-speed-on-gut-microbiota-science