Doctor Fined $36,500 for Demeaning Patient Photos and Notes

An Australian specialist doctor has been fined A$30,000, approximately $36,500, for the publication of a self-published book containing medical images of patients taken without their consent. Dr. Lachlan Rathie, 56, used photographs and notes from his time as an anaesthetist at Toowoomba Base Hospital to create the work, which included demeaning commentary regarding the patients’ physical appearances and medical conditions.

The book, titled The Anaesthetic Picture Book, was self-published in September 2023. According to reporting by the NZ Herald, the publication depicted Rathie’s professional life through images he captured or sourced using a mobile phone while working at the regional hospital in Queensland.

Contents of the Publication

The disciplinary action followed the revelation of the book’s contents, which included sensitive medical imagery and derogatory remarks. Among the materials identified were photographs of a child’s genitalia showing testes twisted around the spermatic cord, as well as inappropriate commentary concerning a foreign object located in a patient’s rectum.

The publication also contained notes accompanying the unnamed medical charts of patients. In one instance, Rathie wrote that the over 200kg club are almost always ‘easy’ intubations, referencing the weight of the patients.

In the introduction of the book, Rathie described the intent behind the collection, stating that it was created for the purposes of amusement and bemusement.

You may well learn a thing or three about subjects that were otherwise unlikely to become lodged in your hippocampus. Contained herein is a compilation of images collected over the last year or two during my work as an anaesthetist in a busy regional hospital in Queensland, Australia.

The Anaesthetic Picture Book

Tribunal and Disciplinary Action

The legal proceedings began after the Health Ombudsman referred Dr. Rathie to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for disciplinary action. This referral took place by 2025.

The tribunal reviewed the elements of the book and determined that the publication of patient images without consent and the accompanying inappropriate commentary warranted a financial penalty. The tribunal subsequently issued the A$30,000 fine.

As a result of the disciplinary findings and the nature of the content, the book has since been recalled.