Nuclear stress test cost in Nashville, TN — inpatient
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for nuclear stress test imaging (SPECT), rest and stress studies as an inpatient: from $500.25 to $2,450.22, with a median of $1,690.85. The lowest listed price is at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital — $1,190.60 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $744.81 at 42 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 78452, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital lowest Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $500.25 | $1,725.00 | $285.23–$1,725.00 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 MYOCARDIAL SPECT MULTIPLE STUDIES | $931.50 | $1,725.00 | $285.23–$1,725.00 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC NM MYOCARD PERF MULTI SPECT | $1,992.01 | $6,869.00 | $635.40–$5,495.20 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 NM REST & STRESS W/WM W/EF | $2,450.19 | $8,167.30 | $217.02–$2,035.50 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 NM REST & STRESS W/WM W/EF | $2,450.22 | $8,167.40 | $217.02–$2,035.50 | 70% | — source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC NM MYOCARD PERF MULTI SPECT | $3,709.26 | $6,869.00 | $630.49–$5,495.20 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $500.25, median $1,690.85, highest $2,450.22 — a 4.9× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $1,690.85 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 4 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
This is the imaging part of a nuclear stress test. A small amount of radioactive tracer is injected, and a special camera takes pictures of blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and after exercise or a stress medicine. It is used to look for blocked heart arteries.
What the price covers
The code covers the camera images and their processing. The radioactive tracer, the stress test itself (with ECG monitoring), any stress medicine and the physician's interpretation are often billed separately.