Traditionally, a distinction is made between VADs appropriate only for intrahospital use (short-term devices) and VADs suitable only for non-hospital use (long-term devices). Medium-term devices (PICC, Mini-midline, midline, etc.) are used both within and outside the hospital.
It should be noted that discussing the extra-hospital context we refer not only to the VADs used in home care or in hospice, but also to devices used in children who are not hospitalized but followed as outpatients.