Ask the expert: What are relative value units?

Relative value units (RVU) are the standard measures of physician services or the procedures physicians perform. An RVU designates a work value mapped to International Classification of Disease (ICD-9) codes. Payments can be determined on a dollars-per-RVU basis, and physicians typically believe RVU payments to be fair because they account for differences across specialties. RVUs can be used through the entire course of patient care, from the ED through inpatient services and outpatient follow-up, even if multiple providers or episodes of care are involved.

This week’s question and answer are adapted from Emergency Department On-Call Strategies: From Team Management to Compensation Plans by Kimberly Mobley; Richard Sheff, MD; and Bradley Zlotnick, MD, FACEP.