In the Zanmi Lasante network, many patients come to consultation with problems that are already advanced. Irregularly monitored hypertension, pregnancy without sufficient support, psychological disorders left untreated. These situations call for structured, regular and accessible follow-up.
Family medicine organizes this follow-up over time. It links consultations, maintains contact with patients and enables earlier intervention, before complications set in.
Dr. Kerry Norbrun, a family medicine resident physician at Zanmi Lasante, works within this organization of care. Her days bring together a variety of situations: a sick child, a pregnant woman in antenatal consultation, a hypertensive patient resuming treatment, a person requiring mental health support.
A follow-up enables us to see how this organization works in practice.
A pregnant woman is supported throughout her pregnancy. After delivery, follow-up continues for the infant. At the same time, this patient’s parents, both hypertensive, receive care. The same family enters a continuous care pathway, with different needs followed within a coherent framework.
Les journées du Dr Kerry Norbrun, médecin résident en médecine familiale, rassemblent des situations variées : un enfant malade, une femme enceinte en consultation prénatale, un patient hypertendu qui reprend son traitement.
Consultations become regular. Treatments are better understood. Patients are coming back sooner. In another case, a teenager with psychological problems who had dropped out of school entered a follow-up program. Consultations follow one another, exchanges take place and referrals are put in place. She gradually returns to school.
These developments are based on repeated actions over time: explaining, listening, seeing the patient again, adjusting care, maintaining the link.
The constraints remain present. Late consultations are frequent. Treatment follow-up varies. Workloads are high. Mental health remains highly stigmatized.
Despite these conditions, continuity of care is producing concrete results. Patients understand their condition better. They follow their treatments with greater regularity. They consult before their situation becomes complicated.
Family medicine thus structures a more stable relationship to care. It enables individuals and families to be followed over time, with regular points of contact and care adapted to each stage.
Providing regular follow-up for entire patients and families requires trained staff, available medical time and services that are accessible throughout the network. Your support enables Zanmi Lasante to maintain this continuity of care, accompany patients over the long term and strengthen a healthcare system capable of responding before situations become critical.
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