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    Jay Whitten

    The MGMA RVU Calculator is a free data tool for MGMA members designed to calculate the work RVUs, practice expense RVUs, malpractice RVUs and total RVUs associated with a procedure. Using the CMS Physician Fee Schedule, CPT codes, modifiers and frequencies, the tool can calculate RVUs based on a provider's CPT coding profile.

    The MGMA RVU Calculator can be found under the Data tab on the MGMA website. Navigate to the Data Tools section in the top nav to access the tool.

    How does the tool work? Let’s walk through the steps.

    1. Start by downloading the RVU Upload Template.
      • On the CPT_Data tab, the three fields needed to calculate the RVUs will be the Provider ID; CPT Code and Frequency. Although not required to calculate RVUs, modifiers can be entered to calculate RVUs values decreased/increased based on the modifier usage*.

    1. After completing the template, return to the tool to enter the practice name and time period (start and end dates). 
    2. Find your template saved to your computer and submit the file for upload.


    Now that we have entered in our data, we can view the results. The MGMA RVU Calculator Tool will contain six reports (displayed as tabs).

    • Summary – An average and total of procedures, work RVUs, practice expense RVUs, malpractice RVUs and total RVUs, per provider.
    • Practice Details – An average and total of procedures, work RVUs, practice expense RVUs, malpractice RVUs and total RVUs, by CPT code for the practice.

    [click to enlarge]

    • Compare Physicians – Side by side comparison of total procedures, work RVUs, practice expense RVUs, malpractice RVUs and total RVUs, per provider and by CPT code.
    • Unmapped CPT Codes – A listing of all uploaded CPT codes not recognized by the CMS Physician Fee Schedule.
    • Compare Schedule – A comparison between Physician Fee Schedule years dating back to the 2003 CMS Physician Fee Schedule.

    [click to enlarge]

    • CPT Level – A pie chart with the coding distribution based on CPT code chapters (i.e. Medicine chapter, E/M chapter, etc.)

    To add further value to the MGMA RVU Calculator Tool, users can also apply filters such as the year of the Physician Fee Schedule, the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI), and place of service (facility vs. non-facility).

    *If benchmarking against MGMA Data, participants in the MGMA surveys are instructed to report RVUs "including any adjustments made because of modifier usage."
    **If benchmarking against MGMA data, participants in the MGMA surveys are instructed to report their RVUs based on the fee schedule of the year of the reported data (e.g., 2019 report based on 2018 data used the fee schedule effective January 1st, 2018 and a GPCI of Neutral [1.000].)

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    Written By

    Jay Whitten



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