60% of radiologists and other docs surveyed are unhappy with RVU-based compensation
Nearly 60% of radiologists and other physicians say they’re unhappy with the current RVU-based compensation system, according to new survey data from Medscape.
About 43% of those polled said they’re “dissatisfied” with having relative value units shape their salary and bonus while 16% said they’re “very dissatisfied.” Meanwhile, about 25% of employed physicians surveyed said their salary is entirely tied to these units, while 42% said “partially.”
Some radiologists and other physicians crave a system that isn’t focused solely on productivity.
“The theory behind RVUs may sound efficient to some,” Alok Patel, MD, a pediatric hospitalist with Stanford Hospital in California, who has written about RVUs previously, told Medscape. “Nevertheless, when the focus is on volume and billable procedures and not on the quality of patient visits, you quickly realize RVU models benefit the employer, not the practicing physician or the patient.”
The news outlet conducted the survey between March and May, reaching 1,005 physicians including about 30 radiologists. Respondents were required to be practicing and employed U.S. physicians who generate RVUs.
About 59% of those surveyed said RVUs also affect their performance bonus, 19% said they do not, and 21% do not receive such an incentive. Around 1 in 6 physicians qualified as “major generators,” generating over 10,000 RVUs in an average year. Between 4,001-6,000 RVUs and 6,001-8,000 were the most popular answers, each accounting for 22% of responses.
Another 7 in 10 physicians said they think the RVU-based compensation approach is “misguided,” Medscape noted. And 2 of 3 believed the current system is “unfair” (39%) or “very unfair” (20%), versus 10% who labeled it as fair.
“The current equation that includes work, practice liability and practice expense RVUs seems to be an overly complicated algorithm for physicians to take into account when we simply want to take care of patients and focus on our jobs,” Patel said.
Among those surveyed, 43% said they frequently feel pressured to up RVU tallies, and 30% said “occasionally.” Many (55%) believe there is a better tool to use than RVUs for insurers. This could include incorporating quality data into compensation, an idea favored by 73% of respondents.
“A blend of qualitative and quantitative RVUs can absolutely be possible. We simply have to advocate and try,” Patel added.
Read more about the results from Medscape here:
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.