HIDA scan cost in Charleston, SC — inpatient
In Charleston-North Charleston, SC, 5 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder as an inpatient: from $613.00 to $2,237.30, with a median of $2,237.30. The lowest listed price is at MUSC Medical Center — $1,624.30 less than the median here. Across South Carolina, the median is $1,751.40 at 18 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 3 cities for code 78226, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . 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 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MUSC Medical Center lowest Charleston, SC · (843) 792-2300 HB HEPATOBILIARY SYS IMAGING | $613.00 | $1,226.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Roper St Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital Mount Pleasant, SC HC NM Hepatobiliary Imaging WO Pharm | $2,237.30 | $3,442.00 | — | 35% | — source file |
| Roper St Francis Hospital Berkeley Summerville, SC · (854) 529-3002 HC NM Hepatobiliary Imaging WO Pharm | $2,237.30 | $3,442.00 | — | 35% | — source file |
| Bon Secours St Francis Xavier Hospital Charleston, SC · (843) 402-1006 HC NM Hepatobiliary Imaging WO Pharm | $2,237.30 | $3,442.00 | — | 35% | — source file |
| Roper Hospital Charleston, SC · (843) 724-2800 HC NM Hepatobiliary Imaging WO Pharm | $2,237.30 | $3,442.00 | — | 35% | — source file |
Inpatient: lowest $613.00, median $2,237.30, highest $2,237.30 — a 3.6× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $2,237.30 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
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).