Society of Hospital Medicine Board Member Rob Zipper, MD, MMM, SFHM, Elected to American Medical Association/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC)

First Hospitalist to Be Elected, Will Bring Hospital Medicine Perspective to Discussions Impacting Valuation of Physician Services

Today, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) announces that Rob Zipper, MD, MMM, SFHM, a member of SHM’s Board of Directors, was recently elected to the American Medical Association/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) for a two-year term and is the first hospitalist to hold a seat. The RUC is a volunteer committee of 32 physicians and other healthcare professionals that creates recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the values of services billed by all clinicians, including hospitalists.

“Having someone with Dr. Zipper’s expertise in this role is crucial to ensure the nuances of hospital medicine are considered in these important deliberations, especially as the specialty continues to grow,” says Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM, Chief Executive Officer of SHM. “While serving as SHM’s RUC advisor for the past three years, Dr. Zipper has built important relationships and ensured hospitalists’ voices have been heard, and we are grateful that he now has an official seat at the table.”

During his tenure as SHM’s RUC advisor, Dr. Zipper actively shared the hospitalist perspective during deliberations that advised the RUC’s recommendations to CMS to review and revalue inpatient evaluation and management (E&M) codes, among the most common used by hospitalists.

“An overwhelming majority of RUC recommendations are accepted by CMS, making the work of the RUC integral to the healthcare payment system,” explains Dr. Zipper. “It is vital that the perspective hospitalists bring be a part of these discussions and deliberations.”

Dr. Zipper has been on SHM’s Board of Directors since 2021 and is the Board liaison to its Public Policy Committee. He also serves as Chief Medical Officer, Physician Advisory & Health Policy, for Sound Physicians in Bend, OR.