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What are physician preference items?

Also called: PPI, physician preference products

Physician preference items (PPI) are medical devices and supplies, often high-cost implants such as orthopedic, spine and cardiac devices, whose choice is driven mainly by the preference of the physician using them.

By John Britton, VP of Marketing, MedicalProspects · Updated November 4, 2026 · Buyers & Committees

Why it matters for healthcare sales and marketing

PPI are a large share of hospital supply spending, so hospitals try to standardize vendors and prices through value analysis. Device companies must win both surgeon preference and hospital approval.

How it works

  • Examples: orthopedic and spine implants, cardiac devices, some surgical instruments.
  • Tension: surgeons prefer devices they know; hospitals want fewer vendors and lower prices.
  • Decision process: surgeons, service line leaders, supply chain and value analysis, sometimes with GPO or system contracts.
Comparison of what surgeons want (familiar devices, clinical performance, training and support) and what hospitals want (fewer vendors, lower price, standardized outcomes).
Physician preference items sit between surgeon preference and hospital standardization.

Example

Illustrative scenario. A spine implant company with strong surgeon support at a hospital faces a standardization initiative. It works with the spine service line leader and supply chain to show outcomes and total cost, so its device stays on the approved list.

Common mistakes

  • Relying on surgeon loyalty alone. Hospitals standardize PPI.
  • Ignoring total cost. Supply chain compares the whole episode, not just price.
  • Missing service line leaders. They balance surgeon and hospital goals.

Related terms

  • Value Analysis Committee (VAC)A value analysis committee (VAC) is a multidisciplinary hospital or health system team that reviews requests for new products and decides whether to approve them, weighing clinical evidence, safety, total cost and fit with existing contracts.
  • Hospital Supply ChainA hospital supply chain is the team and process that buys, stores and delivers the products a hospital uses, from gloves to implants. It manages contracts and GPO agreements, runs value analysis, and works with distributors and manufacturers.
  • Medical Device CommercializationMedical device commercialization is everything a company does to bring a cleared or approved device to market and drive adoption: market access and reimbursement, clinical evidence, hospital and surgeon adoption, and sales and marketing.
  • Group Purchasing Organization (GPO)A group purchasing organization (GPO) negotiates contracts with manufacturers and distributors on behalf of its member hospitals and health systems, using their combined buying volume to win better prices and terms. Members then choose whether to buy on those contracts.

Put it to work

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