Becker's Healthcare October 22, 2025
Relative value units have been the standard for measuring physicians’ productivity, determining compensation and other metrics for years. But as healthcare shifts to value-based metrics, the future of the RVU is increasingly seen as uncertain.
History of the compensation system
Physicians’ productivity levels are measured in relative value units per full-time employee. According to the American Association of Physician Leaders, RVUs are made up of three components: work, practice expense and malpractice. Of these components, the most prominent is work-only RVUs, which represent over 50% of the total RVU value, according to AAPL.
RVUs – especially wRVUs — are traditionally converted into a compensation total via the conversion factor. This formula also applies to the reimbursement structure, though it is...
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