After 20 years publishing NDNR monthly, I’ve heard this dismissal of case reports countless times. But I’ve come to believe we’re overlooking something critical:
Medicine has always been built on careful observation of individual patients.
Yes, RCTs are the gold standard. Yes, we need rigorous research. I get why people are skeptical of case reports (confirmation bias, lack of controls, cherry-picking). But here’s what large-scale studies can’t capture:
The patient who responds completely differently than the statistical norm
The unexpected remedy combination that changes someone’s life
The clinical insights from long-term patient relationships
The patterns that only emerge after seeing hundreds of individual cases
And let’s be honest: case reports are free from the institutional and economic biases we all know exist. No one’s spending millions to prove that a simple dietary change or an inexpensive botanical worked. These reports come from clinicians in the trenches, not boardrooms.
In natural medicine especially, where treatment is individualized and we’re working with complex botanical formulas, lifestyle interventions, and constitutional approaches, the case report isn’t just valuable. It’s essential.
Every medical breakthrough started with someone noticing something unexpected in a single patient. Penicillin. Aspirin for heart disease. The first successful immunotherapy. All began with careful observation, not a controlled trial.
The question isn’t whether anecdotes matter in medicine. It’s whether we’re humble enough to keep learning from them.
We need both: the rigor of research AND the wisdom of clinical observation.
Because at the end of the day, we don’t treat statistics. We treat individuals.
This is why our 20 years of case reports and clinical pearls at NDNR have become a trusted resource for NDs, MDs, DOs, nurse practitioners, and tens of thousands of healthcare providers. Real cases. Real outcomes. Real clinical wisdom.
What’s the most important clinical insight you’ve gained from a single patient case?
Razi Ann Berry
Publisher
