More than half of physicians say productivity-based pay models are unfair and don't truly reflect performance, a Medscape report found.
The 2024 "Medscape Physicians and RVUs Report" surveyed 1,005 physicians between March 1 and May 26.
Medical billing is based on standardized relative value units. Physician salaries and bonuses are at least partly influenced by the number of RVUs they generate, and can put pressure on physicians to ramp up patient counts, the report said.
Here are seven things to know about physician's opinions on RVUs:
1. About 67% of physicians say their compensation is at least partly based on volume of RVUs they generate, and 59% of physicians said their bonuses are based on RVUs generated.
2. Eighty percent of physicians say they are "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with having RVUs shape salary and bonuses, compared to only 4% who said they are "very satisfied."
3. About 73% of physicians generate at least 6,000 RVUs per year, and only 6% generate none.
4. When asked how well RVUs measure productivity, 70% of respondents said "somewhat poorly" or "very poorly," compared to 4% who said "very well."
5. Forty-three percent of physicians said they frequently feel under pressure to up patient counts for RVUs, compared to 14% who never feel pressure. When it comes to high-RVU billing codes, 26% said they frequently feel pressure to use higher billing codes, compared with 29% who said they never feel pressure to do so.
6. Nearly half of physicians said the RVUs at work are not fair, current and accurate.
7. Physicians said there are better tools than RVUs for insurers, such as hours worked and quality data. Most physicians (73%) also said RVUs should include qualitative aspects of treatment.