FDA 2026 Guidance on Voluntary Patient Preference Information

The FDA 2026 guidance on voluntary Patient Preference Information (PPI) encourages device manufacturers to integrate patient perspectives across the total product life cycle. This update expands the 2016 guidance, highlighting PPI’s role from device design to post-market surveillance. Incorporating patient feedback supports regulatory decision-making, especially for devices with direct patient interfaces, subjective outcomes, or high-risk profiles. Understanding this guidance is essential for U.S. medical device submissions and aligns with global patient-centric trends, including EU MDR/IVDR post-market follow-up practices.

Key Updates in FDA PPI Guidance 2026

• Encourages PPI collection throughout the total product life cycle (TPLC), not just premarket.  

• Highlights types of devices where PPI is most impactful: direct patient interface, subjective outcomes, high-risk, and unmet need devices.  

• Voluntary submission, but guidance outlines best practices for study design and analysis to ensure regulatory relevance.  

• Aligns conceptually with EU MDR/IVDR post-market clinical/performance follow-up (PMCF/PMPF), helping evaluate patient risk tolerance and benefit-risk trade-offs.  

Impact on Regulatory Submissions

• PPI can strengthen the scientific evidence supporting premarket submissions, labeling decisions, and post-market surveillance strategies.  

• FDA may consider well-collected PPI when evaluating benefit-risk profiles, especially for subjective or high-risk devices.  

• Encourages proactive patient engagement strategies to improve device adoption, compliance, and market success.  

How to Comply and Leverage PPI

• Identify critical device attributes that influence patient preferences early in design.  

• Collect PPI using scientifically valid methods (surveys, discrete choice experiments, or focus groups).  

• Integrate findings in regulatory submissions, clinical trial design, and post-market evaluations.  

• Document methods and rationale to ensure FDA reviewers understand the relevance of PPI evidence.  

Internal links  

• Learn more about FDA US Medical Device Registration

External links  

• FDA PPI Guidance 2026 PDF  

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