Scans and imaging CPT 78815 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

PET/CT scan cost in Knoxville, TN — inpatient

In Knoxville, TN, 2 hospitals list a cash price for PET/CT scan from the base of the skull to mid-thigh as an inpatient: from $2,535.23 to $3,693.71, with a median of $3,114.47. The lowest listed price is at Physicians Regional Medical Center — $579.24 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $1,937.70 at 44 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 78815, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$2,535.23Physicians Regional Medical Center
Median$3,114.47half pay less
Highest$3,693.71in this market
Difference1.5×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Knoxville, TN.

median
Lowest $2,535.23Highest $3,693.71

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Physicians Regional Medical Center lowest Powell, TN · (865) 545-8000 PET-IMG /CT SKL-THI $2,535.23 $11,193.07 $2,171.46–$11,193.07 77% Apr 1, 2026
source file
Lafollette Medical Center Lafollette, TN · (423) 907-1200 PET-IMG /CT SKL-THI $3,693.71 $11,193.07 $1,947.59–$11,193.07 67% Apr 1, 2026
source file

Inpatient: lowest $2,535.23, median $3,114.47, highest $3,693.71 — a 1.5× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $2,778.68 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 2 of 2 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 PET/CT scan combines a PET scan, which shows how active cells are after a tracer is injected, with a CT scan that shows anatomy. This code covers the usual area from the base of the skull to mid-thigh. It is mostly used to find, stage and follow cancer.

What the price covers

The hospital price usually covers the combined scan. The radioactive tracer is often billed separately, as is the radiologist's or nuclear medicine doctor's reading.