What is a family medicine infirmary (a model practice in family healthcare)?

Family medicine infirmary is a standard general physician infirmary with an expanded medical team, where graduate nurse is monitoring the patients besides the physician and junior nurse. The graduate nurse is in charge of monitoring certain parameters for chronic diseases and prevention activities.

My physician runs a family medicine infirmary. What does it imply for me as a patient?

At family medicine infirmary, a graduate nurse consults the patient about prevention activities, if necessary. The nurse fills out disease prevention questionnaires to verify the possibilities for certain diseases, which is later confirmed by the doctor, or determines that you are healthy. Based on results, the nurse provides advice on different risk factors, such as alcohol, smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, and on managing a chronic disease. This means that you receive regular screening for different chronic disease and risk factors, including health education.

If you are a patient with a managed chronic disease, such as asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, arterial hypertension or diabetes, your status is monitored by the graduate nurse. The graduate nurse also monitors patients with heart disease, benign enlarged prostate, osteoporosis and depression. Your physician still examines you in case of degraded health condition and prescribe required therapy. Because graduate nurse takes over part of treatment, your physician has more time for examination and consultation, when you are ill and when your health degrades.