Multi-Year Trends in Physician Compensation and Production Benchmarks
- August 22, 2023
Over the last several years, new challenges have complicated traditional approaches to provider compensation, particularly for those on productivity-based compensation arrangements. Healthcare organizations rely on provider compensation surveys to determine work relative value unit (wRVU) rates paid in these arrangements. Many contracts explicitly tie compensation rates directly to “current” survey benchmarks.
One significant challenge facing healthcare organizations that rely on survey data is the volume reductions experienced by most specialties in 2020 and to some extent in 2021. These reduced volumes from the pandemic lockdowns have led to volatile survey data. Additionally, annual changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) – mainly outpatient evaluation and management changes that took effect in 2021 – also impact survey data relevance.
