The concept of blinding in drug provings was introduced to minimize bias from both the provers and the observers. While Hahnemann laid the foundation for drug proving on healthy volunteers, the refinement of the methodology, including the introduction of blinding techniques, evolved over time.
Dr. John James Drysdale, a prominent British homeopath of the 19th century, is credited with proposing and implementing the double-blind method in homeopathic drug provings. This involved giving some provers the actual drug and others a placebo, without either the provers or the supervisors knowing who received what until the end of the proving. This approach aimed to enhance the objectivity and reliability of the proving results by reducing the influence of suggestion and expectation.