Are Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Being Adequately Compensated for Treating Nonunions of the Femoral Shaft?: An Analysis of Relative Value Units

Introduction: We evaluated differences in reimbursement rates between native femoral shaft fractures treated with an intramedullary nail versus those undergoing repair of nonunion of femoral shaft fractures.

Methods: The 2016 to 2017 American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried using International Classification of Diseases 10th Edition diagnosis codes and Current Procedural Terminology codes to identify patients undergoing surgery for native femoral shaft fractures and/or repair of nonunion of femoral shaft fracture with/without grafts.

Results: The mean total relative value unit (RVU) and surgical time for each group were as follows: (1) native (RVU = 19.70, surgical time = 97.4 minutes), (2) nonunion w/out graft (RVU = 17.23, surgical time = 135.8 minutes), (3) nonunion w/graft (RVU = 18.88, surgical time = 164.5 minutes). Reimbursement rates decreased notably as complexity of case grew (native = $8.74/min versus nonunion w/graft = $6.07/min versus nonunion w/graft = $5.27/min; P < 0.001). The average reimbursement/case was $707 for native femoral shaft fracture, $618 for repair of nonunion w/out graft, and $678 for repair of nonunion with bone graft.

Discussion: The study highlights the need for a change in the RVUs assigned to nonunions of the femoral shaft to ensure that the value of physician intensity is retained in future RVU evaluations.