Plast Reconstr Surg. 2022 Sep 6. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000009609. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Numerous studies in the medical and surgical literature have discussed the income gap between male and female physicians but none have adequately accounted for the disparity.
METHODS: This study was performed to determine whether gender-related billing and coding differences may be related to the income gap. A 10% minimum difference was set a priori as statistically significant. A cohort of 1036 candidates’ nine-month case lists for the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) over a five year span (2014-2018) was evaluated for relationships between surgeon gender and work RVUs, coding information, major and minor cases performed and work setting. Data was de-identified by the ABPS prior to evaluation. We hypothesized that wRVUS, average codes per case, major cases, and minor cases would be at least 10% higher for male than female physicians.
RESULTS: Significant differences were found between males and females in wRVUs billed, wRVUs billed per case, and the numbers of major cases performed. The average total wRVUs for male surgeons was 19.34% higher than female surgeons (3253.2 [3090.5, 3425.8] versus 2624.1 [2435.2, 2829.6]. Male surgeons performed 14.28% more major cases than females (77.6 [72.7, 82.7] vs 90.5 [86.3, 94.9], p = 0.0002).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the hypothesis that billing and coding practices can, in part, account for income differences between male and female plastic surgeons. Potential explanations include practices focusing on larger and more complex operative cases and differences in coding practices.
PMID:36067475 | DOI:10.1097/PRS.0000000000009609
