What Are RVUs? A Complete Guide for Physicians

As a physician, understanding Relative Value Units (RVUs) is crucial for managing your productivity and compensation. Whether you're a resident tracking your first RVUs or an established physician looking to optimize your earnings, this comprehensive guide will help you master the fundamentals of RVUs and how they impact your practice.

What Are RVUs and Why Do They Matter?

RVUs are part of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS), which Medicare and other payers use to determine payment for physician services. Despite the growth of value-based payment models, the most common payment method in physicians' employment contracts remains a base salary plus production bonus based largely on RVUs.

RVUs reflect:

• Your volume of work
• Level of effort in treating patients
• The complexity of services provided

The Three Components of Total RVUs

1. Work RVUs

Reflect the physician's work, including:

• Mental effort and decision making
• Technical skills required
• Physical effort
• Stress related to patient risk
• Time spent on the service

2. Practice Expense RVUs

• Clinical and nonclinical labor costs
• Practice overhead expenses
• Equipment and facility costs

3. Malpractice RVUs

• Liability insurance costs
• Risk associated with the service

How RVU Payment is Calculated

The payment formula involves three key components:

Where:

• GPCI = Geographic Practice Cost Indices (adjusts for regional cost differences)
• CF = Conversion Factor (dollar amount multiplier, updated annually)

Common Work RVU Values for Primary Care

Understanding the work RVU values for common services helps you track your productivity:

Office Visits (Established Patients):

Level	CPT Code	Work RVUs
Level 2	99212	0.70
Level 3	99213	1.30
Level 4	99214	1.92
Level 5	99215	2.80

Office Visits (New Patients):

Level	CPT Code	Work RVUs
Level 2	99202	0.93
Level 3	99203	1.60
Level 4	99204	2.60
Level 5	99205	3.50

High-Value Services:

• Initial Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: 2.60 work RVUs
• Welcome to Medicare Visit: 2.60 work RVUs
• Transitional Care Management (high complexity): 3.79 work RVUs

Why Track Your RVUs?

Monitoring your RVUs allows you to:

• Understand how your productivity is measured
• Compare performance to peers
• Identify opportunities to increase income
• Optimize your scheduling and coding practices
• Make data-driven career decisions

Getting Started with RVU Tracking

Whether your employer provides productivity reports or you're tracking independently, understanding your RVU generation is essential for financial success in medicine. Tools like RVU Tracker can help you monitor your productivity in real-time and identify trends in your practice.