Cash-pay · Telepsychiatry
Psychiatry,
Hormones,
Metabolism
Telepsychiatry for adults anywhere in North Carolina, working up thyroid, testosterone, and metabolic markers alongside mood.
Telepsychiatry in North Carolina
I'm Dr. Shantanu Baghel, DO, board certified in Psychiatry and in Forensic Psychiatry. I see every patient on the panel myself. A flat $350 a month covers up to two visits, and I don't bill insurance. You start with a free 15-minute consultation.
How I Run the Practice
A 60-Minute First Evaluation
That’s long enough to take a full history and read the labs. Follow-ups run about 30 minutes, and that’s where I change the plan when it needs changing.
Board-certified at every visit
Every visit is with me, and I'm board-certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. The doctor who starts your care follows it through.
Psychiatry, hormones & metabolism
Thyroid, testosterone, and metabolic markers get worked up alongside mood. They often drive what looks like a psychiatric symptom.
A reply within 1 to 2 business days
After your free consultation, I book your evaluation on my next open date.
Five Lines of Care, One Physician
Every line of care starts with the same workup, and I manage each one myself at every visit.
Comprehensive psychiatry
Depression, anxiety, ADHD, treatment-resistant depression, and supervised antidepressant tapering.
iiTestosterone therapy
TRT with full hormone and metabolic workup, monitored alongside mood and energy.
iiiMedical weight loss
Physician-managed metabolic care, including labs and pharmacotherapy where appropriate.
ivPeptide therapy
Peptides are now offered, including BPC-157, Semax, and topical GHK-Cu.
vForensic psychiatry
Evaluations and expert opinion, board-certified in Forensic Psychiatry.
One Flat Fee, and That's the Whole Price List
The fee covers your appointments, messaging between visits, and ordering and interpreting your labs.
Labs and medications are paid separately. You pay the laboratory and the pharmacy at their price, and I don't charge extra for ordering or interpreting them.
Schedule a free consultationOne Fee, and What It Covers
If a dose change or a taper step needs a second visit that month, the fee stays $350.
- Up to two appointments a monthThe first evaluation runs about 60 minutes, long enough to take a full history and read your labs line by line. Follow-ups run about 30 minutes. I review how the medication is working, check side effects, and set or revise the plan.
- Messaging between visitsIf a side effect shows up on day nine, you write to me on day nine.
- Labs ordered and interpretedThere is no extra charge for this, including for labs ordered mid-course when something needs rechecking.
Labs and medications themselves are billed separately, by the laboratory and the pharmacy, at their price. You can request a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges before scheduling, which is your right as a self-pay patient.
North Carolina, Statewide
Telepsychiatry means the visit happens by video. The evaluation is the same one I would do in a room with you.
In 2024, 25 North Carolina counties had no psychiatrist reporting a primary practice location in the county. Licensure ties me to North Carolina, so you'll need to be in the state at each visit.
- 01Charlotte
- 02Raleigh
- 03Durham
- 04Greensboro
- 05Winston-Salem
- 06Asheville
- 07Wilmington
- 08Fayetteville
- 09Jacksonville
- 10Cary
- 11Chapel Hill
- 12Greenville
- 13Wherever you are in NC
01Can I see a psychiatrist without insurance?
02How many appointments do I get for $350?
03Do you treat ADHD?
04Can a psychiatrist prescribe weight-loss medication?
05How do I get started?
06Do I have to live in North Carolina?
07Can you taper my antidepressant?
Why I Don’t Take Insurance
When a plan is involved, a share of every week goes to prior authorizations, formulary substitutions, and denied claims. I’d rather put that time into appointments.
You pay the practice directly, and the plan we make at the visit is what gets prescribed. I don’t bill insurance, so no plan receives a claim from this practice.
I answer messages within 1 to 2 business days.
Self-pay protects some information and not other information. I’ve written the long version: what cash-pay psychiatry costs in North Carolina and what stays private.
What’s Outside My Scope
A few things are worth knowing before you book. I treat adults, so children and adolescents are outside my scope.
This is outpatient care. If you’re in crisis right now, call or text 988, or go to your nearest emergency department.
I do medication management and diagnostic work. For therapy, I coordinate with a therapist you already see, or help you find one.
Forensic Psychiatry and Legal Evaluations
I’m board certified in forensic psychiatry as well as psychiatry, both through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
For attorneys, that covers competency evaluations, criminal and civil forensic opinions, and expert testimony. For individuals, it most often means a psychiatric evaluation supporting a firearm-rights restoration petition after a psychiatric hold.
Forensic work is priced and scheduled separately from clinical care, and the forensic psychiatry page covers how it runs.
That work taught me to document in a way that survives cross-examination and to keep a claim inside what the evidence supports.
What Happens at a First Appointment
You start with a free consultation with me. It’s a short conversation about whether this practice fits what you need. It isn’t a clinical evaluation, so no diagnosis is made and nothing is prescribed. You decide before any money moves.
The first full appointment runs about 60 minutes. I take your history, review any records or labs you bring, and order what’s missing. In most cases that includes thyroid function, a metabolic panel, and for men, morning total and free testosterone.
I usually wait on prescribing until the labs are back. A thyroid problem and a depressive episode can present the same way at intake, and the bloodwork helps tell them apart.
You’ll leave with a plan and a timeline, and you can message me between visits.
Begin