HIDA scan cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 16 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $756.27 to $3,870.00, with a median of $1,438.58. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $682.31 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $1,438.58 at 36 hospitals.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 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 Dec 1, 2025 and Sep 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC NM HEPATOBILI SYS IMG WOW GB IMG | $756.27 | $2,801.00 | $245.93–$2,704.51 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 NM Hepatobili Sys Img Wow Gb Img | $756.27 | $2,801.00 | $815.09–$966.35 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 NM Hepatobili Sys Img Wow Gb Img | $756.27 | $2,801.00 | $815.09–$966.35 | 73% | — source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $204.72–$2,589.44 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte, NC HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $409.87–$2,646.98 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $374.03–$2,733.29 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $287.72–$2,646.98 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $287.72–$2,790.84 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $353.03–$2,733.29 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $204.72–$2,589.44 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $204.72–$2,646.98 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $546.66–$2,877.15 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Belmont, NC HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $409.87–$2,646.98 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $389.82–$2,733.29 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER | $1,438.58 | $2,877.15 | $324.54–$2,733.29 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB HEPATOBILIARY SYS IMAGING | $1,683.00 | $3,366.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 HCHG NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $2,561.00 | $2,561.00 | $385.43–$2,432.95 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC HCHG NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $2,561.00 | $2,561.00 | $385.43–$2,432.95 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC HCHG NM HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM | $2,561.00 | $2,561.00 | $385.43–$2,432.95 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill, SC HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG | $2,937.00 | $3,916.00 | $1.00–$2,976.16 | 25% | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill, SC HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM IMG | $2,937.00 | $3,916.00 | $1.00–$2,976.16 | 25% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB HEPATOBILIARY SYS IMAGING | $3,870.00 | $7,740.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $756.27, median $1,438.58, highest $3,870.00 — a 5.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $1,438.58. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 11 of 14 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
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).