Answers to common questions about wRVUs and the calculator.
Using the Calculator
How do I get started?
Select your specialty from the dropdown, then add CPT codes from the E&M or procedure panels. Set your weekly or monthly volume for each code using the stepper controls. The dashboard updates in real time with your projected wRVUs and compensation.
How does the reverse planner work?
If your projected annual wRVUs fall short of your target, the reverse planner calculates how many additional procedures per week you would need to close the gap. The clinic / OR mix slider controls how the gap is distributed between E&M visits and procedures. A 50/50 split divides the deficit evenly; sliding toward clinic or OR biases the recommendation accordingly.
Can I switch between weekly and monthly volumes?
Yes. Use the Weekly/Monthly toggle in the settings bar to switch all codes at once, or tap the /wk or /mo button on individual codes. When switching, volumes are converted using a 4-week month for clean numbers.
Can I save multiple scenarios?
Yes — this is a Pro feature. Click "Saved" in the header to save your current setup as a named snapshot. You can save unlimited scenarios, rename them, update them in place, delete them, and share them via URL. Saved calculations sync across devices automatically.
Can I compare two job offers side-by-side?
Yes. Save each offer as a named calculation, then use the Compare view in the Saved panel. Select two scenarios and the app shows a side-by-side breakdown of annual wRVUs, target, $/wRVU rate, total compensation, and a bottom-line summary. Advanced compensation (tiered rates, bonuses, stipends) is included when available.
Can I export my calculations?
Yes — this is a Pro feature. Click "Export" to generate a CSV or PDF report. Reports include the full code list, volumes, wRVU production, and compensation projection. You can also copy a shareable URL from the Share button.
What is the Advanced Compensation section?
A Pro feature that lets you model real-world contract structures beyond a flat $/wRVU rate. You can enter a base salary, define tiered wRVU rates (e.g., $50/wRVU for the first 6,000 wRVUs, then $65/wRVU above that), add quality bonuses, call pay, administrative stipends, and other components. The calculator combines all inputs to project total annual compensation.
Can I use codes from multiple specialties?
Yes. Each code you add carries its own specialty tag, so you can switch the specialty dropdown and add codes from a different specialty without losing your existing selections. This is useful for physicians who bill across multiple specialties.
Productivity Monitor
What is the Monitor?
The Monitor is a Pro feature for daily wRVU logging. Record the CPT codes and quantities you performed each day and get weekly, monthly, and year-to-date production summaries with pace tracking against your annual goal. It answers "how am I actually performing?" vs. the Calculator's "what if I do X per week?"
How do I log an entry?
Navigate to the Monitor page and use the week calendar at the top to select a date. Search for a CPT code by name or number, or use the quick-add buttons for your most frequently used codes. Tap a code to add it with a quantity of one, then adjust with the stepper. Entries save immediately and sync to the cloud.
Which specialties are supported?
Eighteen specialties are currently available: Urology, General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, ENT, OB/GYN, Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery, Interventional Cardiology, Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pulmonology / Critical Care, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Internal Medicine / Hospitalist, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, and Anesthesiology.
wRVU Terminology
What is a wRVU?
A Work Relative Value Unit (wRVU) measures the physician work component of a medical service — the time, technical skill, mental effort, judgment, and stress involved. Each CPT code has a wRVU value assigned annually by CMS as part of the Physician Fee Schedule. Higher-complexity services carry higher wRVU values.
How is wRVU different from total RVU?
A total RVU is the sum of three components: work RVU (wRVU), practice expense RVU (peRVU), and malpractice RVU (mpRVU). wRVU reflects physician effort and is the metric tied to most compensation formulas. This calculator focuses on wRVU because that is what drives physician pay.
What is the difference between E&M and procedure codes?
Evaluation and Management (E&M) codes cover clinic visits — new patient visits (99202–99205), established patient visits (99212–99215), and consultations. Procedure codes cover surgeries, endoscopies, and technical procedures. Most physicians produce wRVUs from a mix of both categories.
What is a "good" annual wRVU target?
It depends heavily on specialty. MGMA median benchmarks for 2026: family medicine ~4,800, urology ~7,500, cardiology ~9,400, orthopedic surgery ~9,200. The calculator pre-fills the MGMA median for your specialty as a starting target.
How do I convert wRVUs to dollars?
Most contracts pay a fixed dollar amount per wRVU. If your contract pays $55/wRVU and you produce 7,500 wRVUs, your compensation is $412,500. Enter your $/wRVU rate in the settings and the calculator projects annual compensation automatically. For complex contracts, use the Advanced Compensation section.
Compensation Benchmarks
What are compensation benchmarks?
A Pro feature that shows how your projected annual compensation compares to national percentiles for your specialty. The gauge displays your position relative to the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles so you can evaluate whether a contract offer is competitive.
Where does the benchmark data come from?
Benchmark data is compiled from publicly available sources: MGMA DataDive summary reports, Doximity and Medscape Physician Compensation Reports, and AMGA survey data. We cross-reference these to establish reliable percentile ranges. No raw MGMA DataDive access is required.
What is GPCI and how does locality adjustment work?
GPCI (Geographic Practice Cost Index) is published annually by CMS to reflect regional cost differences. The Work GPCI adjusts national benchmarks for your locality. For example, a Work GPCI of 1.10 means benchmarks are adjusted 10% higher. Select your state and locality in the benchmark card to see adjusted figures.
How accurate are the benchmarks?
Benchmarks are reference points from publicly available survey summaries, not raw data. They represent reasonable market approximations but actual compensation varies by practice setting, payer mix, and contract structure. Use them as one input alongside your contract negotiator or compensation consultant.
Contract Analyzer
What is the Contract Analyzer?
An AI-powered tool that reviews physician employment contracts. Upload a PDF and receive a detailed analysis including compensation benchmarks, wRVU threshold achievability, red flag detection, non-compete enforceability assessment, and negotiation suggestions — typically within 1-2 minutes.
How much does a contract analysis cost?
A single analysis is $99. Multi-packs are available: 2-pack for $169 and 3-pack for $229. Every purchase includes a Pro subscription, giving you full access to the productivity monitor, compensation benchmarks, exports, saved calculations, and all other Pro features.
Do I need a Pro subscription to use the Contract Analyzer?
No — every contract analysis purchase automatically includes a Pro subscription. If you already have Pro, your subscription is extended by one year. You get both the analysis and full Pro access in one purchase.
How does the two-AI-model verification work?
Your contract goes through a multi-step pipeline: (1) text extraction from the PDF, (2) structured field extraction using Claude Haiku for speed, (3) deep analysis using Claude Opus with specialty-specific benchmarks and state law reference data, and (4) a second AI model cross-verifies high-severity findings like red flags and non-compete assessments. This dual-model approach catches errors that a single model might miss and produces more reliable results.
What does the analysis include?
Every analysis is a detailed, section-by-section report — not a score or a simple checklist. It opens with an overall verdict (favorable, balanced, aggressive, or predatory) and a plain-English summary of the deal, then covers: a full compensation breakdown (base salary, $/wRVU rate, signing and production bonuses, CME allowance, PTO, and relocation), with recoverable-draw and clawback detection so you know whether your "guaranteed" base is really guaranteed; a 3-year income projection modeling your likely earnings at conservative, expected, and stretch production levels; wRVU threshold achievability for your specialty (is the target realistic, and what daily workload does it imply?); compensation benchmarking against national percentiles (25th / 50th / 75th); red-flag detection across non-compete, tail / malpractice coverage, termination, restrictive-covenant, IP-assignment, and compensation clauses — each rated by severity, quoted from your contract, explained in plain English, and paired with a specific negotiation ask; a state-specific non-compete enforceability assessment, including the radius and duration of the restriction; and a prioritized "what to do next" action plan. Results are delivered as both an interactive in-app report and a downloadable PDF you can share with an attorney or advisor.
Is this legal advice?
No. The Contract Analyzer provides informational analysis only and does not constitute legal advice. It helps you identify potential issues and questions to discuss with a qualified healthcare attorney. For high-stakes contract decisions, we recommend professional legal review.
What happens to my contract after analysis?
Privacy is a core priority. Your contract PDF is processed in memory and held only briefly in a private, access-controlled storage bucket during analysis. It is deleted as soon as the analysis finishes, and an automated job purges any leftover files within 24 hours. The raw contract text is never permanently stored or used to train AI models. Only the structured analysis results are retained so you can access your report later.
What if my contract is a scanned PDF?
The analyzer works best with text-based PDFs (the majority of employment contracts). If your PDF is a scanned image, text extraction may fail. In this case, ask your employer for a digital version or use OCR software first. Your analysis is not consumed if the extraction fails.
Do analyses expire?
Yes. Purchased analyses are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Your remaining count and expiration date are visible on the Settings page and the upload page.
Subscription & Billing
What is free and what requires Pro?
The wRVU calculator is completely free — select a specialty, add codes, adjust volumes, and see projected wRVUs and compensation without an account. Pro ($20/year) adds: productivity monitor, compensation benchmarks with GPCI, save & compare scenarios, export & share reports, advanced compensation modeling, and cross-device sync.
What if I purchase a contract analysis — do I also get Pro?
Yes. Every contract analysis purchase includes a Pro subscription at no additional cost. If you already have an active Pro subscription, it is extended by one year from your current expiration date.
How do payments work?
All payments are processed securely through Stripe. Pro subscriptions are billed annually at $20/year. Contract analyses are one-time purchases. You can pay with any major credit or debit card. We do not store your card details — Stripe handles all payment information.
Can I cancel my subscription?
Yes, you can cancel at any time from the Settings page. Your Pro features remain active until the end of your current billing period. After cancellation, your account reverts to the free tier but your saved data is never deleted.
Do you offer refunds?
If you are unsatisfied within the first 14 days of a new Pro subscription, contact us through the Support page and we will issue a full refund. For contract analyses, if the analysis fails due to a technical error your analysis is not consumed. For other concerns, contact support and we will review on a case-by-case basis.
Privacy & Security
Do I need an account to use the calculator?
No. The calculator is fully functional without an account. Creating an account is only needed for Pro features like saving calculations, exports, the productivity monitor, and contract analysis. Without an account, all data stays in your browser.
How is my data stored and protected?
Without an account, all data stays in your browser's local storage and never leaves your device. With an account, data syncs to a secure Supabase database with row-level security — only you can access your data. All connections use HTTPS encryption. We never sell or share your data with third parties.
What happens to contract PDFs I upload?
Contract PDFs are processed in memory and held only briefly in a private, access-controlled storage bucket during analysis. The file is deleted as soon as the analysis finishes, and an automated job purges any leftover files within 24 hours. The raw text of your contract is never permanently stored or used for AI model training. Only the structured analysis output (compensation data, red flags, suggestions) is retained so you can revisit your report.
Where can I find your privacy policy and terms?
Our Privacy Policy is at rvupulse.com/privacy and Terms of Service at rvupulse.com/terms. You can also learn more about who operates RVU Pulse on our About page at rvupulse.com/about.
Data & Sources
Where does the wRVU data come from?
All wRVU values come directly from the CMS 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule published on cms.gov. Specialty median benchmarks are compiled from publicly available MGMA, SullivanCotter, and AMGA summary data. RVU Pulse is not affiliated with CMS, MGMA, or any professional society.
How often is the data updated?
wRVU values are updated annually when CMS publishes a new Physician Fee Schedule (typically November, effective January 1). The calculator currently uses 2026 CMS data. Compensation benchmarks are updated when new survey data is published, typically once per year.
Accessibility & Install
What accessibility features does RVU Pulse offer?
RVU Pulse includes a dark/light/system theme toggle, full keyboard navigation, screen reader support with ARIA labels and live regions, and respects your device's reduced-motion preference. All interactive elements meet minimum touch target sizes.
Can I install RVU Pulse as an app on my phone?
Yes. On Android (Chrome): tap the three-dot menu and select "Add to Home screen." On iPhone (Safari): tap the Share button and select "Add to Home Screen." The app opens in its own window without browser toolbars and supports both light and dark themes.
Is RVU Pulse keyboard accessible?
Yes. All interactive elements are reachable and operable via keyboard. Modals trap focus and close with Escape. Summary cards and the progress bar announce changes to screen readers as you adjust codes.