Maple on-demand healthcare

I was on the waitlist for four years after becoming permanent resident. I got a call asking me if I wanted to try a new program and the methodology of the clinic sounded wonderful, almost like the Kaiser plan I have back in California. Unfortunately, when I tried to get a prescription today, there were no available appointments six months out. This would be for a simple telephone interview to get a prescription for a monitoring device to help me manage my health. So I turned to Maple and was instantly connected, that is within two hours, with a nurse practitioner who was able to give me a prescription so I wouldn’t have to pay top dollar for a monitoring sensor. I think that the maple model should be adopted by all the provinces of Canada. If Canada has limited resources to doctors, then we need to reserve those services for the elderly and disabled who may not be as proficient at setting up E visits or getting into an appointment. Those of us with smart phones should be more resilient and of the technological age to minimize the stress and burden that our doctors are facing.

This app may work if you need to renew a simple prescription or know exactly what you want, but otherwise it is substandard. Other apps like Telus Health are superior. Physicians just send texts and unless you are a super fast texter, there is not enough time to communicate. You would get a more accurate diagnoses with Google or a bot. I was shuffled off and given an insufficient test requisition though I gave symptoms pointing to a serious condition, with no tests for that condition. I was then reprimanded by a Maple rep for requesting the test. A Telus Health physician, on a later video call, shook his head over the lack of the Maple app doctor not requisitioning the simple required test for my condition. The Telus physician responsibly requisitioned proper tests for a serious potentially life threatening condition. I blame the Maple app rather than the physician as texting is not an appropriate format for a <10 minute consult with a patient over 40, not quick enough with texting. Telus is free but even though Canadian healthcare is supposed to not cost a patient directly, yet Maple cost was $49 on top of their billing to BC Health. Maple lets you jump the queue but is poor quality healthcare.

I’m a California resident who was visiting the Vancouver area when I started experiencing a very common but very painful infection. I didn’t have access to a rental car and wasn’t sure how I would get to the hospital, let alone handle waiting to be seen for maybe hours in the emergency room. This app absolutely saved the day! I spent hours on the phone with my health insurance company and looking up alternatives before I finally found Maple. In less than ten minutes, I downloaded the app, filled out my information, and was communicating with a doctor. He was very helpful and efficiently diagnosed my condition and sent a prescription to my local pharmacy after I submitted my photo identification. The app was straightforward and well-designed. The process was painless and saved my vacation! I never write reviews for apps, but more people need to know about Maple and the amazing services it provides!