Overall, median operative time correlated well with mRVU (R2=0.85). The correlation between mRVU and operative time was lowest for cardiac surgery (R2=0.51), and strongest for ENT (R2=0.97). There was a significant relationship between both surgical specialty and operative time with mRVU (all p<0.004). As depicted in Table 1, starting mRVU was highest for Cardiac Surgery (18.0) and lowest for Orthopedics (-0.51). Neurosurgery had the greatest increase in mRVU per minute of operative time (slope=0.21).
In conclusion, surgeon productivity and income are increasingly based on work RVUs. While mean total work RVU correlates well with operative time overall, there appear to be disparities according to surgical specialty, which may yield inequities in physician compensation.
Presented by: Solomon Hayon, MD, UNC School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Written by: Stephen B. Williams, MD, Medical Director for High Value Care; Chief of Urology, Associate Professor, Director of Urologic Oncology, Director Urologic Research, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, TX at the 2019 American College of Surgeons (ACS), #ACSCC19, October 27–31 in San Francisco, California