For Patients & Families

Clear, accessible information about vascular access care. Understand your treatment options and what to expect.

Your Rights: Informed Consent and Decision-Making

A patient's guide to informed consent for vascular access procedures — your right to understand, ask questions, agree, or refuse — and what happens if you cannot make decisions for yourself.

patient-education Patient Patient Rights

Your Interventional Radiology Visit: What to Expect

A patient guide to visiting interventional radiology for vascular access procedures — what IR is, what types of catheter procedures are done there, how to prepare, what the environment looks like, and what to expect during and after.

patient-education Patient Procedures

Your First Visit to an Outpatient Infusion Center

A guide to your first visit to an outpatient infusion center — what the facility looks like, what to expect during check-in and your infusion, how long to plan for, what to bring, and how to make the experience more comfortable.

patient-education Patient Infusion Therapy

Vascular Access Safety for Immunocompromised Patients

Vascular access safety guidance for immunocompromised patients — those receiving chemotherapy, transplant recipients, patients on immunosuppressants or biologics — including why infection risk is higher, stricter fever thresholds, enhanced precautions, and when to seek care immediately.

patient-education Patient Safety

Vascular Access in the NICU: A Parent's Guide

A parent's guide to vascular access in the NICU — explaining umbilical catheters, neonatal PICC lines, and peripheral IVs in newborns: why they are placed, what they look like, how they are cared for, and how parents can help protect them.

patient-education Patient Neonatal

Vascular Access and Goals of Care

A guide to vascular access decisions when shifting toward comfort-focused or palliative care — when to keep or remove a catheter, the role of IV lines in symptom management, questions about IV fluids at end of life, and how to have these conversations with your care team.

patient-education Patient Palliative Care

Understanding Vascular Access: A Patient's Guide

A plain-language introduction to vascular access — what it is, why you need it, and what to expect when your care team places an IV or catheter.

patient-education Patient Vascular Access Basics

Types of IV Lines and Catheters: What's the Difference?

Plain-language descriptions of all major vascular access devices — peripheral IVs, midlines, PICC lines, central venous catheters, and implanted ports — including when each is used and what to expect.

patient-education Patient Vascular Access Basics

Travel with a Vascular Access Device: A Practical Guide

A practical guide to traveling with a vascular access device — flying with a PICC or port, managing medications and supplies on the road, TSA and airport security, international travel, time zone management, and finding emergency care away from home.

patient-education Patient Lifestyle

Therapeutic Apheresis: What to Expect

A patient guide to therapeutic apheresis — what it is, the different types (therapeutic plasma exchange, LDL apheresis, red cell exchange, photopheresis), what vascular access is needed, what to expect during the procedure, and how to manage side effects.

patient-education Patient Procedures

Subcutaneous Infusion (Hypodermoclysis): What to Expect

A patient guide to subcutaneous infusion (hypodermoclysis) — delivering fluids and medications under the skin instead of into a vein. How it works, who it's for, what can be given, site care, and what to expect.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Skin Care Around Your Catheter Site

How to protect and care for the skin around your vascular access catheter site — understanding skin reactions to adhesives and antiseptics, preventing medical adhesive-related skin injury, managing sensitive skin, and when skin changes need professional attention.

patient-education Patient Device Care

Recognizing Complications: When to Call for Help

A patient's guide to recognizing IV and catheter complications — including infiltration, phlebitis, infection, clotting, and air embolism — and knowing when and how to ask for help.

patient-education Patient Safety

Quick Reference Cards: Vascular Access at a Glance

Quick reference cards for patients with vascular access devices — concise summaries of PICC care, port care, flush schedules, when to call versus go to the ER, signs of catheter infection, and emergency contacts. Designed to be printed and posted at home.

patient-education Patient Quick Reference

Questions to Ask Your Vascular Access Team

A curated list of questions for patients to ask their vascular access team — before a procedure, during a hospital stay, before going home, and for ongoing catheter care — organized for easy reference.

patient-education Patient Patient Empowerment

Preparing for Port Placement: What to Expect

A patient guide to preparing for implanted port placement — pre-operative instructions, what happens on the day of surgery, anesthesia options, recovery, incision care, and when the port can first be used.

patient-education Patient Procedures

Preparing for PICC Line Placement: What to Expect

A patient guide to preparing for PICC line placement — what happens before, during, and immediately after the procedure, what to wear, what to expect, and how to prepare to minimize anxiety and ensure a smooth experience.

patient-education Patient Procedures

Port Removal: What to Expect

What patients need to know about implanted port removal — why ports are removed, what the procedure involves, what to expect during recovery, and wound care after removal.

patient-education Patient Procedures

PICC Removal: What to Expect

A patient guide to PICC line removal — when and why PICCs are removed, what the procedure involves, what to expect immediately afterward, and when to seek help if something does not feel right.

patient-education Patient Device Care

Patient Education: Vascular Access

Plain-language guides for patients and families on IV lines, catheters, infusion therapy, and vascular access care — what to expect, how to stay safe, and when to ask for help.

patient-education Patient

Outpatient IV Antibiotics at Home (OPAT): Your Complete Guide

A complete patient guide to outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) — going home on IV antibiotics, managing your infusions, understanding your medications, lab monitoring, completing your course, and knowing when to seek help.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Mental Health and Emotional Adjustment During IV Therapy

A guide to the emotional and psychological challenges of living with a vascular access device and undergoing IV therapy — normalizing anxiety and depression, identifying when to seek professional support, and practical coping strategies.

patient-education Patient Mental Health

Medication Safety: Your Role in Preventing Errors

How patients can actively participate in preventing IV medication errors — understanding the five rights, verifying identity before every administration, knowing your medications, asking questions, safe home medication management, and speaking up when something seems wrong.

patient-education Patient Safety

Living Well with Long-Term IV Therapy

A guide to maintaining quality of life during long-term IV therapy — practical strategies for daily life, sleep, clothing, work, relationships, travel, and finding a sustainable new normal while managing a catheter and infusion schedule.

patient-education Patient Lifestyle

Keeping Your IV Safe: Infection Prevention

How patients and families can help prevent IV-related infections, what hand hygiene means at the bedside, when to alert your care team, and what your nurses are doing to keep your catheter safe.

patient-education Patient Infection Prevention

IV Medications and Infusion Therapy Explained

What patients need to know about IV medications and infusion therapy — types of infusions, what to expect during treatment, how the pump works, side effects to watch for, and how to stay comfortable.

patient-education Patient Infusion Therapy

Insurance and Prior Authorization for Home Infusion Therapy

A patient guide to navigating insurance coverage and prior authorization for home infusion therapy — how prior auth works, why delays happen, how to appeal a denial, financial assistance resources, and who can help you navigate the system.

patient-education Patient Administrative

Home Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN): Your Complete Guide

A complete patient guide to home total parenteral nutrition (TPN) — what TPN contains, equipment and setup, daily monitoring, managing the pump and infusion cycle, complications to watch for, lab requirements, and living well on home TPN.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Children with IV Lines

A guide for parents and caregivers of children receiving IV therapy or living with a vascular access device — communicating with children about IVs, managing needle fear, age-appropriate activity and school, home catheter care, and caring for yourself as a caregiver.

patient-education Patient Pediatric Care

Guide for Caregivers of Adult Patients on IV Therapy

A guide for family members and unpaid caregivers supporting an adult on home IV therapy — understanding your role, learning care tasks, managing emergency situations, setting realistic limits, and supporting your own well-being.

patient-education Patient Caregiver Education

Going Home with an Implanted Port: Your Complete Care Guide

A complete patient guide to living with an implanted port — how the port works, what port access feels like, home care between uses, activity and bathing, warning signs, and when to seek help.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Going Home with a Tunneled Catheter (Hickman, Broviac, Groshong)

A complete patient guide to living with a tunneled central venous catheter — Hickman, Broviac, or Groshong — including exit site care, dressing changes, flushing differences by catheter type, activity, bathing, complications, and long-term management.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Going Home with a PICC Line: Your Complete Care Guide

A complete patient guide to going home with a PICC line — dressing care, flushing, bathing, activity, recognizing problems, when to call for help, and home infusion therapy.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Going Home with a Midline Catheter: Your Care Guide

A complete patient guide to going home with a midline catheter — dressing care, flushing, bathing, activity, recognizing complications, and when to seek help.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Fall Prevention During IV Therapy

How patients receiving IV therapy can reduce their risk of falling — in the hospital and at home — including IV pole navigation, medication side effects, safe movement with a catheter, and when to ask for help.

patient-education Patient Safety

Exercise and Physical Activity with a Vascular Access Device

What patients can and cannot do physically while living with a vascular access device — activity guidelines by device type, returning to exercise after catheter placement, sports and swimming, and why staying active matters.

patient-education Patient Lifestyle

Emergency Room Visit When You Have a Catheter

What patients with vascular access devices need to know when visiting the emergency room — what to tell triage, how to protect your catheter, what ER staff may want to do, how to advocate for your device, and what to bring.

patient-education Patient Safety

Discharge Planning: Leaving the Hospital with an IV Device

A patient guide to discharge planning when leaving the hospital with a vascular access device — what to confirm before you leave, home infusion setup, supplies, follow-up, and who to call for help.

patient-education Patient Home Care

Dialysis Vascular Access: AV Fistulas, Grafts, and Catheters

A complete patient guide to dialysis vascular access — understanding AV fistulas, AV grafts, and tunneled dialysis catheters, how to care for each, what warning signs to watch for, and how to protect your access long-term.

patient-education Patient Dialysis

Chemotherapy Infusion: What to Expect

A patient guide to chemotherapy infusion — what happens before, during, and after treatment, understanding the nadir and neutropenic precautions, managing side effects, and knowing when to seek urgent help.

patient-education Patient Infusion Therapy

Blood Draws and Lab Tests: What to Expect

A patient guide to blood draws and lab tests in the context of IV therapy — how blood is collected, what to expect when drawn from a PICC or port, managing difficult veins and needle anxiety, and understanding common lab results.

patient-education Patient Procedures

Arterial Lines: A Guide for Patients and Families

A patient and family guide to arterial lines (A-lines) — what they are, why they are used in critical care, how they work, the critical safety rules that apply, and what to expect when one is placed or removed.

patient-education Patient Device Care

Allergies and Sensitivities During IV Therapy

What patients need to know about allergies and sensitivities related to IV therapy — including drug allergies, latex allergy, tape and adhesive reactions, antiseptic sensitivities, and how to recognize and respond to an allergic reaction.

patient-education Patient Safety