All consultations involving two sites are entirely private.
Only the people in the two rooms connected during the consultation can see or hear the consultation. However, patients often wonder if there are people in the room at the other end that are just out of camera range. Consultants should always let patients know who is in the room at the other end and keep these folks to a minimum. While many physicians are concerned that patients will perceive telemedicine consultations as cold and impersonal, study after study shows that not only are patient satisfaction ratings extremely high for telemedicine consultations, but in many instances, patients actually prefer them to live consultations. In consults where the family physician is present, patients feel that the two doctors are brainstorming about their problem and thus feel that they are receiving special attention.