Reassessment of Relative Value in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery: Do Payment and Relative Value Units Reflect Reality?

ABSTRACT:

Backgroud

Many U.S. health care institutions have adopted compensation models based on work relative value units (wRVUs) to standardize payments and incentivize providers. A major determinant of payment and wRVU assignments is operative time. We sought to determine whether differences in estimated operative times between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) contribute to payment and wRVU misvaluation for the most common shoulder/elbow procedures.

Methods

We collected data on wRVUs, payments, and operative times from CMS for 29 types of isolated arthroscopic and open shoulder/elbow procedures. Using regression analysis, we compared relationships between these variables, in addition to median operative

SUBMITTER: Nayar SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7948050 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature