73% of patients have trouble getting timely care

TORONTO – Maple, a leading on-demand healthcare platform, has released its fourth proprietary research report, Living with Complexity: Navigating Chronic Care in Canada, which reinforces why the direction Maple is heading matters now more than ever.

Living with Complexity: Navigating Chronic Care in Canada, conducted by Maple Corporation among members of the Angus Reid Forum of more than 1,500 Canadians who are affected by a chronic condition, finds that 75 percent of Canadians living with a chronic condition say the healthcare system only sometimes or never meets their needs. Designed for a different era, Canada’s healthcare system is increasingly out of step with today’s challenges, particularly in access, continuity and coordination of care.

For nearly half of Canadian adults living with at least one chronic condition, this gap is not theoretical. It shows up in missed appointments, dismissed concerns, and the burden of navigating a system not built for their needs. More than half say it is not easy or convenient to access a practitioner who understands their condition, while 83 percent say their care feels more reactive than proactive. As a result, many are left to manage their health largely on their own. These experiences point to a systemic need for more continuous, coordinated care.

These findings underscore something Maple has been building toward since day one: that Canadians need a healthcare partner that enables patient agency, the confidence to navigate the system, the ability to reach the right support without unnecessary delay, and the assurance that care is there beyond a single visit. Maple is built to be exactly that: the essential healthcare service for life today, always there and always centred on you.

Other key findings from the report include:

• 73 percent say the system is so overburdened they don’t feel confident accessing timely care and 27 percent say it doesn’t meet their needs at all
• 81 percent say day-to-day life is more complicated because of managing chronic condition-related care while 85 percent report having to repeatedly share their medical history with different healthcare providers
• 57 percent of employed respondents have missed work, reduced hours or taken time off due to their condition
• 95 percent of those affected by a mental health condition say it creates challenges in their daily life even when care is managed well
• Just nine percent of Canadians affected by ADHD say the healthcare system meets their needs, the lowest rate of any condition studied
• 78 percent say consistent, 24/7 access to technology-enabled care would alleviate the significant time and stress currently required to manage their chronic condition

Maple also announced a significant rebranding. Daniel Shearer, chief marketing officer at Maple, said: “This rebrand doesn’t signal a new direction, it clarifies what we’ve always believed: that managing your health should feel empowering, not exhausting. ‘Health Yeah!’ captures the energy and confidence we want every Canadian to feel when they engage with their health, and our latest research shows Canadians are ready for that kind of partnership.”

“I founded Maple because I could not single-handedly address our system’s deterioration from the bedside, but maybe, from outside the hospital, we could help build tools that would make a difference,” said Dr. Brett Belchetz (pictured), co-founder and chief executive officer of Maple. “Our new brand expresses how those tools have made a difference. It’s a celebration of how far we’ve come and a clear statement about who we are and where we’re going: more than a platform to visit when something goes wrong, but an essential healthcare service for Canadians’ lives today, one that is always available and centred on them. At the same time, our newest research puts data behind what our team, our patients, our providers and our partners have long understood: the demand for care that keeps up with how people actually live is real and Maple is built for exactly this moment.”

Living with Complexity: Navigating Chronic Care in Canada is part of Care up Close, Maple’s ongoing report series examining the state of healthcare access in Canada. The full report is available at: www.getmaple.ca/resources/thought-leadership/living-with-complexity-navigating-chronic-care-in-canada/