I know many physicians who lament for the days before the invention of the RVU. In some cases, wRVUs are paid on a sliding or graduated scale. More likely, as health care reform measures continue to push greater access, drive value over volume, and control reimbursement levels, RVUs may become largely irrelevant. Your wRVUs are indicators of your patient volume and efficiency, which is something a hospital or another physician will want to see before buying your practice. You can read more about RVUs here.Practices are using work RVUs and a practice-specific conversion factor to determine compensation. The units take into account the time and clinical skills of the physician. Why Independent Physicians Should Care About wRVUs, The current conversion factor for 2020 is $36.0896, What is Sullivan Cotter? Each year, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) updates their report outlining projected Physician Supply and Demand for the…, Whether you are recruiting physicians to a metropolitan area, where they can choose among plenty of practice opportunities, or to an underserved area, it’s important…. Colleagues tend to compete with their equals rather than support them. And this can be a tricky thing to do. As a physician, the compensation you earn is based on various factors. Those wRVUs are then multiplied by a conversion factor, which is a specific dollar amount. Let’s start by defining what a wRVU compensation plan is. One of the stated goals of MACRA legislation is that 85% of all Medicare FFS payments will be tied to quality by the end of this year. Productivity-based compensation is based on either net collections (the total amount of money you bring in for the practice — payments made by patients and insurers) or total number of work RVU (a metric of work output). The AMGA survey results show a decline in median pediatric RVUs while the MGMA survey indicated a measurable increase in pediatric productivity. Together, they become the total RVU. Understanding RVUs and their impact on earnings can go a long way toward helping physicians negotiate favorable employment agreements. In fact, the underlying data tell us that compensation per work RVU is typically higher for lower-producing physicians and lower for higher-producing physicians. You are paid for your wRVUs based on codes submitted, not codes collected and paid for. As is often the case, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are driving much of the healthcare industry changes. It’s essentially a flat-rate payment system that does not deviate. Conversion rates and wRVUs by CPT code are adjusted at the end of every year for the following year. One of the worst parts about wRVUs is the fact that some procedures get bundled together or discounted. This is typically completed by utilizing independent physician compensation surveys and analyzing the expected productivity of the physician. RVUs are the basic component of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS), which is a methodology used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and private payers to determine physician payment. Many independent physicians don’t pay attention to wRVUs because they work under different physician compensation models. 2655 Northwinds Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30009, reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, Rev Up Physician Recruiting with the Right Benefits, Incentives, and Perks. There are advantages and disadvantages to each system. One of the biggest downsides to wRVU payment is that they only apply to billing procedures that have a CPT code. A rate of $57 would require the physician to produce 65th percentile wRVUs in order to earn at the median. Click the Get Started button if you’re ready to speak with one of our physician recruitment experts. According to a recent study of wRVUs by specialty, the following physicians report the highest median wRVUs: Physicians with the lowest median wRVUs are: Values may vary between hospitals, as there are various physician compensation surveys from which to gather information. RVUs are a good measure of a facility’s efficiency and patient complexity and give good insights into its performance. The more wRVUS you have, the more money you’ll earn. The less you have to deal with, the easier it will be. When you are paying a physician by the RVU, you are paying them for the work they do, rather than their payer mix, etc. This is standard, regardless of the CPT code. What Is an RVU? Physicians Thrive offers a variety of, 3. (3) RVU-Based Productivity Bonus Plans. The more wRVUs you have, the more you’ll earn. This model also leads to a more sustainable and competitive group of physicians. Create an Excel spreadsheet and track your wRVUs per day. This encourages physicians to have a steady stream of patients. Physicians also provided feedback that the RVU thresholds were too high and that the definition of panel size needed further refinement. Anything that alters the standard wRVU is called a modifier. The wRVU then gets added to the other two RVUs (practice expenses and insurance). The relative value of each service is the sum of RVUs representing the following three components: Physician work expenses — accounts for roughly 52 percent of the total relative cost of each. Unfortunately, there are a variety of modifiers that can come into play. This compensation model is not used only for PAs. The other big benefit of this payment model is that it’s an easy system for practice management to administer. The current conversion factor for 2020 is $36.0896. Difficult for hospitals and health groups to administer data tell us that compensation per work RVU, by! 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