OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to investigate qualitatively patient preferences for monitoring and treatment in the management of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) in different countries. METHODS: The study involved 39 patients with wAMD from the UK (n=9), Canada (n=10), Germany (n=10) and Japan (n=10). Subjects participated in a 30-minute semi-structured telephone interview. Data were analysed to identify key themes and opinions. RESULTS: Most (74%, n=29) patients were aged ≥ 70 years, 28% (n=11) required a caregiver to attend clinic visits, and 90% (n=35) had comorbidities. Only 13% (n=5) of patients were treatment-naïve, 41% (n=16) had received ≤ 1 year of therapy and 46% (n=18) had received > 1 year of therapy. Most (92%, n=36) were currently or had previously been receiving ranibizumab; 8% (n=3) were receiving or about to initiate therapy with aflibercept. Most patients (62%, n=24) preferred monthly monitoring with treatment given as needed based on disease progression, 26% (n=10) preferred bimonthly monitoring and fixed bimonthly dosing and 13% (n=5) had no preference. Patients reported being very anxious about their sight and tended implicitly to trust their treating physician to decide on the most appropriate treatment; as a result, patients reported being highly adherent to therapy. Many patients reported appreciating the reassurance provided by frequent monitoring and were very satisfied with their current dosing regimen as chosen by their treating physician. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this pilot, qualitative study suggest that most patients prefer frequent monitoring with dosing based on disease progression to treat their wAMD. Understanding patient preferences will help physicians to manage their patients’ disease most effectively and potentially ensure greater adherence to therapy.  Further research is warranted to understand patient preferences quantitatively.