ABSTRACT
This chapter explains physicians attention to the topic of intensive caring, an expression that denotes high-quality, compassion-driven care for people with life-threatening illness. Because of the humanitarian philosophy, patient and family focus, team approach, and insistence on providing comprehensive care, hospice palliative care has been called the "gold standard" when it comes to end-of-life care. In the United States, hospice usually refers to end-of-life care for people who are not expected to live longer than six months. In Canada, hospice palliative care is a benefit provided in a variety of settings: hospital-based palliative care units, stand-alone facilities, acute care facilities, continuing care beds, and at home. Medicaid uses Medicare's hospice requirements, but, unlike Medicare, which covers all people over 65 years of age, Medicaid covers people of any age who have low incomes and few assets, including those who have become impoverished by the high cost of health care.
