Me and Jericho were doing the blood ties mission, we were going up the path to where the sentry stands at the entrance, when the grenade booby trap sprang, I got away but it crippled Jericho's leg, I tried everything, Sleeping in a bed, going to the doctor, firing him then re-hiring him (Which svcked causs my Karma had gone up, so i had to enslave a bunch of people before I could re-gain him) Finally I put a stimpak in his inventory to see if he would use it, he didnt, but after combat with a giant radscorpion he did use the stimpak, I just want to know if there is a more direct approach to healing followers.

Companions automatically heal after combat. They don't need a stimpak or anything.

They can use stimpacks during combat if they get hurt too much, however.

If a follower gets injured by a trap, they will fully heal after the next time they enter combat. You can take them near a radroach or bloatfly and let them kill it and they'll heal completely afterwards.

I always let Charon carry a few stimpaks.Every once in awhile he uses one.