Doctor visits and therapy CPT 97161 Outpatient

PT evaluation, low complexity cost in Little Rock, AR

In Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR, 3 hospitals list a cash price for physical therapy evaluation, low complexity (typically about 20 minutes): from $142.40 to $261.60, with a median of $147.93. The lowest listed price is at Arkansas Heart Hospital — $5.53 less than the median here. Across Arkansas, the median is $111.85 at 14 hospitals.

Cash prices at 3 facilities for code 97161, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 21, 2025 and Nov 21, 2025.

Lowest$142.40Arkansas Heart Hospital
Median$147.93half pay less
Highest$261.60in this market
Difference1.8×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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR.

median
Lowest $142.40Highest $261.60

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Arkansas Heart Hospital lowest Little Rock, AR · (501) 219-7000 PT Evaluation Units, Low Complexity $142.40 $178.00 $95.00–$207.85 20% Nov 21, 2025
source file
Arkansas Childrens Hospital Little Rock, AR · (501) 364-1100 PT EVAL LOW COMPLEX 20 MIN $147.93 $164.37 $91.20–$164.37 10% —
source file
Arkansas Childrens Hospital Little Rock, AR · (501) 364-1100 EVALUATION FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY; TYPICALLY 20 MINUTES $179.06 $198.95 $91.20–$198.95 10% —
source file
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR · (501) 686-5000 EVALUATION FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY; TYPICALLY 20 MINUTES $261.60 $436.00 $88.46–$887.00 40% —
source file

Outpatient: lowest $142.40, median $147.93, highest $261.60 — a 1.8× difference within the same market.

Cash or insurance?

At 3 of 3 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 a first physical therapy evaluation of low complexity, typically about 20 minutes face to face. It is used for a stable problem with few other health factors, and ends with a plan of care.

What the price covers

The price covers the evaluation, billed once per evaluation rather than in time units. Treatment on the same day, such as therapeutic exercise or manual therapy, is billed separately in 15-minute units.