Healthy thoughts & industry news Thoughts, inspiration, and stories about healthcare in Canada and beyond, brought to you by Maple Most recent General health Mental health Diet and nutrition Skin and hair care Sexual health COVID-19 How to Get Birth Control without a Family Doctor We know how hard it can be to get birth control. We care about your reproductive health and we believe that birth control isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity. But, as much as Canadians enjoy reproductive freedom, access to family planning isn’t even across the country. Depending on where you live, birth control can be…Read more Why Do I Need a Family Doctor? We care about your health and we’re dedicated to improving healthcare access across Canada. Right now, a country-wide physician shortage means millions of Canadians don’t have a family doctor. And, those that do aren’t always able to see them in a timely manner. You could find yourself waiting for days or weeks to see your…Read more How Long Does it Take to Get a Family Doctor in Ontario Does Ontario have a family doctor shortage? If you don’t have a family doctor right now, you’re not alone. A shortage of GPs across the country has left one in five Canadians without the primary care they need. Here in Ontario, that means 2.3 million people don’t have access to a family doctor. This can…Read more How to Find a Family Doctor in Toronto How to get a family doctor in Toronto: A quick step-by-step guide Register online with Health Care Connect. Search the CPSO registry of Ontario physicians to find a list of family doctors in your area and call to see if any are accepting new patients. Tap into your social networks to see if anyone can…Read more Top tips to enjoying the holiday season The holidays, often dubbed the most wonderful time of the year, can come with its fair share of stress. Whether you’re navigating family dinners, travelling with kids, managing a tight budget, or feeling the pressure to handle everything, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. To help you feel great during this festive season, here are practical…Read more How to boost your immune system Keeping your immune system in tip-top shape can go a long way towards warding off colds and flus this winter. Without a healthy immune system, your body can’t fight off infections, viruses or pathogens effectively. Pesky viruses, bacteria and fungi are all around, and given the opportunity, they’ll try to make you sick. You don’t…Read more How access to primary care can improve early detection of chronic diseases In Canada, having a family doctor or another primary care provider is a strong predictor of your ability to access care in the broader healthcare system—including non-emergency surgery, diagnostic testing, and referrals to specialists. A primary care provider (or PCP) is, for many Canadians, their main point of contact for understanding their health. Whether for…Read more How to keep your kids healthy this winter Kids never seem to get sick when it’s convenient. It always seems to hit in the middle of the night or the morning of a big test, and it’s not always obvious if they need to see a doctor or not. If your little one’s sick, your teen needs a doctor’s note for school, or…Read more Is it a cold, flu, or Covid-19? Learn the differences, best next steps, and how Maple can help this cold and flu season It’s that time of the year again. Colds, the flu, and Covid-19 come knocking on the door with our cold Canadian weather. When someone in your family brings home a virus, it’s often just days before it hits the next person. With so many overlapping symptoms it can feel overwhelming and sometimes difficult to tell…Read more How serious is Lyme disease? According to the Government of Canada, cases of Lyme disease in Canada have skyrocketed from a low of 143 in 2010 to a high of 3,147 in 2021 as climate change, animal migration, and continued land use have expanded ticks’ habitat. Given the number of unreported cases and the individuals who don’t realize they’re infected,…Read more How do harmful food ingredients affect your health? Regular exposure to certain food additives, contaminants, carcinogens, and mutagens in your diet adds up over time, which can increase your risk of developing cancer. Thankfully, there are things you can do to help counteract this. While no single food or diet can guarantee good health, making healthier dietary choices may reduce your cancer risk.…Read more Load More