Eating disorders treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $79.99/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

We accept all major credit cards, including AMEX cards, as well as Google and Apple Pay.

At Maple, we proudly prioritize privacy as a cornerstone of our virtual care services. We strictly adhere to privacy and healthcare legislation in Canada, such as PIPEDA and PHIPA regulations, to ensure patients' personal and health information remains completely private and safeguarded.

Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

All providers delivering healthcare through Maple are licensed in Canada and governed by their licensing regulatory colleges, and in all instances, must act in accordance with the governing principles set out in the telemedicine policies of each medical regulator in the applicable province.

Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.

Yes. Our doctors, therapists and registered nutritionists treat eating disorders via online therapy, personalized nutritional support and prescription medication. Our doctors also offer additional eating disorder support for secondary health issues that may result from eating disorders such as: digestive issues, nutrient deficiencies, heart problems and/or osteoporosis.

Eating disorders are characterized by dysfunctional and unhealthy patterns of food consumption, often coupled with negative body image. The most well-known eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia, however, there are a number of other types of eating disorders. Individuals with eating disorders may severely restrict their food and caloric intake, or they may eat large amounts of food in one sitting. They may also purposely throw up their food, abuse laxatives, or consume inedible things such as pencil shavings or hair.

The symptoms of an eating disorder depend on which type of disorder it is, but all involve dysfunctional patterns of food consumption.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia involves the extreme restriction of food and calories and individuals with anorexia struggle to maintain a healthy body weight. Additional symptoms may also include:

• Intense fixation on food
• Irritability, extreme mood changes
• Weight loss (sometimes quite extreme)
• Inability to gain weight as they grow (in children)
• Dizziness, fainting
• Depression
• Anemia
• Feeling cold constantly

ARFID

A lesser-known eating disorder, ARFID stands for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder — sometimes known as extreme picky eating. ARFID usually begins in childhood after a traumatic food-related experience (such as choking). Individuals with ARFID refuse to eat certain foods because they believe something bad will happen to them if they do — they believe they will die or be poisoned, for example.

Binge eating disorder

Symptoms of binge eating disorder involve consuming large quantities of food, well beyond what would be considered normal, usually in private. Individuals often report feeling out of control during these periods of over consumption, and often hoard food secretly.

Bulimia nervosa

As with many eating disorders, individuals with bulimia will often try to hide their disordered eating habits. Noticeable symptoms of bulimia may include:

• Frequent trips to the bathroom after meals
• Sores on the back of hands from self-induced vomiting
• Bad breath and tooth decay
• Irritability and mood swings
• Extreme fixation on food and body image
• Binge eating large quantities of food, often secretly

Pica

Pica is an eating disorder that involves consuming non-food substances such as metal, plastic or crayons. Symptoms may include:

• Intestinal issues
• Blood in the stool
• Tooth problems
• Individuals may also become extremely sick from eating non-food items (they may develop lead poisoning, for example)

Rumination disorder

Rumination disorder is characterized by regular regurgitation of partially digested food without retching. It usually begins in childhood, sometimes as the result of an illness.

There are many risk factors for eating disorders, but depression and anxiety, as well as negative self-image and social isolation are often present. Perfectionism and having a relative with an eating disorder are other factors that increase an individual’s risk. Some eating disorders like ARFID, Pica and rumination disorder, often begin in childhood as the result of a biological issue (such as a vitamin deficiency), or as the result of a traumatic experience such as choking. Addressing the underlying cause of the behaviour is crucial for a successful recovery from an eating disorder.

Treating eating disorders often involves a multi-modal approach such as personalized nutritional support, seeing a therapist or counsellor, and medication. Registered dieticians can help eating-disordered individuals reestablish healthy eating habits with customized nutrition plans. For many individuals with eating disorders, therapy and medication are necessary as well to address underlying feelings of anxiety and/or depression, and to change negative thought patterns and actions. ARFID treatment may involve body work (deep breathing techniques, yoga) in addition to traditional eating disorder treatment, in order to calm panic, while individuals with Pica may be given supplements to address any underlying vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

In life-threatening eating disorder cases, patients may require hospitalization and intravenous feeding. Certain individuals may also benefit from admission to an eating disorder clinic for around-the-clock monitoring and in-patient eating disorder treatment programs.