HIDA scan cost in Birmingham, AL
In Birmingham, AL, 4 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $5,341.00 to $8,728.00, with a median of $5,341.00. The lowest listed price is at Baptist Health Princeton Hospital and 2 other hospitals. Across Alabama, the median is $2,064.00 at 11 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 78226, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Birmingham, AL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist Health Princeton Hospital lowest Birmingham, AL Hb Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - Nm Liver Function | $5,341.00 | $5,341.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Walker Hospital lowest Jasper, AL Hb Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - Nm Liver Function | $5,341.00 | $5,341.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Shelby Hospital lowest Alabaster, AL Hb Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - Nm Liver Function | $5,341.00 | $5,341.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital Birmingham, AL Hb Hepatobiliary Syst Imaging Including Gallbladder - Nm Liver Function | $8,728.00 | $8,728.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $5,341.00, median $5,341.00, highest $8,728.00 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $5,341.00. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
What it is
A HIDA scan follows a radioactive tracer as the liver takes it up and releases it into the bile ducts, gallbladder and bowel. It is used to look for gallbladder inflammation, a blocked bile duct or a bile leak.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the imaging. The tracer and the reading by a radiologist or nuclear medicine doctor are often billed separately. A scan that also measures how well the gallbladder empties after a medicine is given is billed under a different code (78227).