RVU (Relative Value Unit)
Relative Value Unit
The basic unit of measure used in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, composed of work, practice expense, and malpractice components.
1 min read · Last reviewed May 23, 2026
At a glance
- Category
- Billing
- Acronym for
- Relative Value Unit
- Primary sources
- 2
- Workspace handoff
- revenue audit →
Where this comes up
This shows up in revenue-cycle work — claim scrubbing, charge entry, posting, A/R follow-up, and month-end close. Billers and practice managers hit this term when reconciling a payment, working a denial queue, or auditing why a claim aged past 60 days.
Full definition
What it is in practice
CMS PFS multiplies total RVUs by a Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) and a Conversion Factor (CF) to set the Medicare-allowable fee. The PFS Relative Value Files publish the underlying components annually.
How it shows up in your practice
RVUs drive most physician compensation models and inform commercial-payer negotiations. Track work-RVU productivity and watch for code-specific RVU changes in the annual PFS final rule.
Sources
- CMS — Physician Fee Schedule (PFS)https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-schedules/physician
- CMS — PFS Relative Value Fileshttps://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-schedules/physician/pfs-relative-value-files
Track RVU production in Revenue Audit
Open revenue audit →Related terms
- BillingPhysician Fee Schedule (PFS)The CMS Medicare reimbursement schedule for physician and certain non-physician practitioner services, published annually.
- BillingConversion FactorThe dollar value multiplied by the geographically-adjusted Relative Value Unit to determine the Medicare-allowable amount for a service.
- BillingwRVUs (Work RVUs)The work component of the Relative Value Unit, reflecting the time, technical skill, mental effort, and stress required to perform a service.
- BillingGeographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI)Geographic adjusters applied to each RVU component to reflect local cost variation in physician work, practice expense, and malpractice.
D3rx is a healthcare-billing and compliance research aid maintained by D3rx Inc. Articles are drafted by an LLM (Anthropic Claude) against primary HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and state-regulator publications, and reviewed for restraint and source fidelity by the D3rx team.
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Related across the archive
- GlossaryConversion FactorThe dollar value multiplied by the geographically-adjusted Relative Value Unit to determine the Medicare-allowable amount for a service.
- GlossaryGeographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI)Geographic adjusters applied to each RVU component to reflect local cost variation in physician work, practice expense, and malpractice.
- GlossaryPhysician Fee Schedule (PFS)The CMS Medicare reimbursement schedule for physician and certain non-physician practitioner services, published annually.
- GlossarywRVUs (Work RVUs)The work component of the Relative Value Unit, reflecting the time, technical skill, mental effort, and stress required to perform a service.
- GlossaryCardiac Stress Test (93015-93018)CPT codes for cardiac stress testing, with separate codes for the global service, supervision, and interpretation.
- GlossaryCharge CaptureThe process of identifying and recording every billable service furnished during a patient encounter.
- GlossaryClean Claim RatePercentage of claims accepted by the payer on first submission without edits or rejections.
- BillingAWV + Problem Visit Same Day: How to Bill CorrectlyYes, you can bill AWV and a problem visit the same day. Here's how to do it correctly with modifier -25.
This glossary entry is a research aid for billing and compliance staff. It does not provide legal, medical, or financial advice and does not replace counsel. References cited link to primary sources at HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and the relevant payer or industry body.