Getting started

Getting referred for obesity care in Guelph

Obesity is a chronic medical condition with medical treatment. At GOALS, the OHIP-covered obesity medicine program at Guelph Internal Medicine Clinic, care starts with one request to your own doctor or nurse practitioner.

An examination room at the clinic: an examination chair below a framed print, and a slatted wood wall with a tall plant.

Three steps

How do I get a referral?

  1. Ask

    Ask your family doctor or nurse practitioner for a referral to GOALS.

  2. They send it

    Their office sends it by Ocean eReferral or fax. Nothing more is needed from you.

  3. We contact you

    Usually by email, to welcome you and confirm your first visit.

Say this at your next appointment

“I’d like a referral to the OHIP-covered obesity medicine program at Guelph Internal Medicine Clinic.”

Portrait of the GOALS physician.

Who you will see

What kind of doctor treats obesity?

Family doctors, internists and endocrinologists all treat obesity. Canada has no separate Royal College specialty for it.

At GOALS your care is led by an internist, Royal College–certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He sees every patient in the program himself.

Meet the physician

Will a doctor help me with my weight?

A doctor can help, and the help is medical: an assessment, a plan, and follow-up that continues. It includes the conditions that often travel with weight, such as type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea and high blood pressure.

Why your body fights weight loss
“A prevalent, complex, progressive and relapsing chronic disease.”
How Canada’s obesity guideline defines obesity (Wharton et al., CMAJ 2020)
The corridor between rooms: an orchid on a white counter, with an examination room door standing open.

After the referral

What happens next?

  1. Assessment

    Your history, labs, and your metabolic picture. You leave with an explanation, not an assignment.

  2. Your plan

    Nutrition, sleep, activity and, where appropriate, medication.

  3. Follow-up

    Physician oversight that continues, with reports back to whoever referred you.

This website never asks for your health information.

Common questions

Can my nurse practitioner refer me?

Yes. A referral from your nurse practitioner works the same way as one from a family doctor.

Does my family doctor need to refer me for medication?

No. Family doctors can prescribe medications for weight management without a referral. A referral to GOALS is for a medical assessment of weight and metabolic health, with follow-up that continues.

Is it covered by OHIP?

Your visits are covered by OHIP, and your care never depends on buying anything. Medication is paid separately. See what OHIP covers.

Where are visits?

In person at the clinic, 1030 Gordon Street, Suite 202, Guelph.

Not sure it’s for you?

Call us at 226-270-8618. No scripts, no pressure — just a conversation.

For referring offices

Ocean eReferral links, the referral form and what to include are on gimclinic.ca/refer.

Sources

  1. Wharton S, Lau DCW, Vallis M, et al. Obesity in adults: a clinical practice guideline. CMAJ. 2020;192(31):E875–E891. PubMed 32753461
  2. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Information by Discipline. royalcollege.ca

OHIP-covered Obesity & Lifestyle Medicine

Care starts with a conversation— and a referral.

What the program is