Dr. Hahnnemann was experimenter, who discovered the symptomatic source of both Pathologic and Therapeutic diagnosis and thereby he made the practice of medicine scientific. Drug proving is the pivot of Homoeopathy. If you remove Homoeopathic Materia Medica then Homoeopathy vanishes from the scene. The scientific criteria of any work are "Hypothesis should satisfy either the mathematical analysis or should be established by Experimental Validation".
Individualized Homeopathy is based on the fundamental principle of similitude and individualization. The present scientific protocols do not very well fit in because the operational and implementation part of drug intervention (model validity) is not taken care of in clinical research protocol. Unfortunately this is a reason that many metanalysis done in the past in different countries do not go in favour of effectiveness of Homoeopathy. Therefore, there is dire need to evolve the research methodologies and protocols which fits in the tenets of homoeopathy.
A beginning has been made by Lex Rutten about validating effectiveness of Homoeopathic medicine in individual cases. Thereafter, the experience has to be translated in a larger population responding well to the specific medicine then in the remainder of the population. It means we wish to find high likelihood ratio from our clinical trials. Higher the likelihood ratio of the symptom, higher of the effectiveness of the medicine.
This will help to increase confidence among the prescriber.
This principle has a solid mathematical foundation in Bayes" theorem, identifies Homoeopathic symptoms as prognostic factor, and offers an interesting perspective of individualized research. This kind of research depends on recording symptoms and results of treatment. An important challenge in this research is establishing causality between medicine and improved health. Prognostic factor research could become one of the main pillars of Homoeopathic's scientific identity.
With the advanced and accurate knowledge of Physiology will lead to explanation of symptoms of drug proving to a great extent. This type of research will fall under the category of experimental research.
(Ref.- Preface of 9th edition of Boericke Materia Medica).