Scans and imaging CPT 78226 Outpatient

HIDA scan cost in Columbus, NC

In Columbus, NC, 1 hospital lists a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $1,592.43 to $1,592.43, with a median of $1,592.43. Across North Carolina, the median is $1,438.58 at 36 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility 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.

Lowest$1,592.43AdventHealth Polk
Median$1,592.43half pay less
Highest$1,592.43in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
AdventHealth Polk Columbus, NC · (828) 894-3311 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER $1,592.43 $1,592.43 — — Apr 1, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $1,592.43, median $1,592.43, highest $1,592.43.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,592.43. 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).