Correlation of Relative Value Units With Surgical Complexity and Physician Workload: A Contemporary Nationwide Analysis of Orthopaedic Procedures.

Introduction: Although previous studies have demonstrated inconsistencies between surgeon work and reimbursement, no previous study has calculated expected relative value units (RVUs) based on procedure-specific variables. Our study aimed to evaluate how measures of physician workload and surgical complexity correlate with the work RVUs (wRVUs) assigned to orthopaedic procedures and compare our predicted wRVUs with actual wRVUs.

Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was used to identify orthopaedic surgeries with the highest procedural volume in 2019.