Are Orthopaedic Surgeons Being Adequately Compensated for Ankle Fractures? An Analysis of Relative Value Units (RVUs)

CATEGORY: Ankle, Trauma INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Tri-malleolar fractures, as compared to simple uni-malleolar fractures, are technically more challenging cases, have longer operative times and require a higher effort. The current RVU-based system is built to reflect the varying presentation of ankle fractures (uni-malleolar vs. bi-malleolar vs. tri-malleolar) by assigning individual RVUs to different fracture complexities. However, no study has evaluated whether the current RVUs reflect an appropriate compensation per unit time following open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for uni-malleolar vs. bi-malleolar vs. tri-malleolar ankle fractures. METHODS: The 2012-2017 American College of Surgeons – National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) files were queried using CPT codes for patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for uni-malleolar (CPT-27766, CPT- 27769, CPT-27792), bi-malleolar (CPT-27814) and tri-malleolar (CPT-27822, CPT-27823) ankle fractures. A total of 7,830 (37.2%) uni-malleolar, 7,826 (37.2%) bi-malleolar and 5,391 (25.6%) tri-malleolar ankle fractures were retrieved. Total RVUs were calculated for each case. Mean RVU/minute was derived by dividing the total RVU of each case by the total operative time. Reimbursement rate ($/min) was calculated by multiplying the mean RVU/min of each procedure by a preset CMS-defined rate of $35.8887/RVU. Mean Reimbursement/case was calculated by multiplying the reimbursement rate by the operative time of each procedure. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare RVUs, operative time and reimbursements between the three fracture groups. RESULTS: The mean total RVU for each fracture type was as follows:- 1) Uni-malleolar: 9.99, 2) Bi-malleolar=11.71 and 3) Tri- malleolar=12.87 (p<0.001). A statistically significant difference was noted in mean operative time (uni-malleolar=63.2 vs. bi- malleolar=78.6 vs. tri-malleolar=95.5; p<0.001) between the two groups. Reimbursement rates ($/min) decreased significantly as fracture complexity increased (uni-malleolar=$7.21/min vs. bi-malleolar=$6.75/min vs. tri-malleolar=$6.10; p<0.001). The average reimbursement/case was $358, $420 and $462 for uni-malleolar, bi-malleolar and tri-malleolar fractures respectively. Based on a hypothetical scenario, an orthopaedic surgeon spent 190 minutes fixing two tri-malleolar fractures and earning $924 in the process. Within a total operative time of 190 minutes, three uni-malleolar ankle fractures and two bi-malleolar ankle fractures could be managed completely with an associated earning of $1,074 and $840 respectively. CONCLUSION: Orthopaedic surgeons are reimbursed at a higher rate ($/min) for treating a simple uni-malleolar fracture as compared to bi-malleolar and tri-malleolar fractures, despite the higher complexity and longer operative times seen in the latter. The study highlights the need of a change in the RVUs for bi-malleolar and tri-malleolar ankle fractures to ensure that surgeons are adequately reimbursed per unit time for treating a more complex fracture case.