An experienced anaesthetist who sold a book on Amazon containing images of patients taken without their consent has been fined $30,000 and will be reprimanded for his behaviour.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found earlier this month that the clinician’s actions amounted to professional misconduct. the limbic has chosen not to name the doctor or their hospital out of respect for the sensitivity of the material.

Judge Dearne Firth said the specialist had demonstrated a “profound failure of judgement” when he took photos of patients and their records over a two-year period and published these along with commentary that was “demeaning, insensitive and disrespectful”.

In 2022 the anaesthetist, who had been practising for more than two decades at a non-metropolitan hospital, decided to author a book about his day-to-day working life. He took photos of patients over the course of 2023 to use in the future publication.

The book, which was published on Amazon in September 2023, included these images along with comments on the unnamed patients’ weight, reasons for attendance and their medical conditions.

This included providing inappropriate commentary about an object removed from the rectum of a patient, and commentary suggesting one person regularly self-harmed, according to the tribunal judgment.

The book included allocated one photo a day from January 1 to December 31 and included commentary, including an introduction that said it was written for “the purposes of amusement and bemusement”

After self-publishing the book, the clinician purchased 15 copies, half of which were gifted to immediate family and colleagues at his workplace. A copy was placed in the hospital’s theatre room, while posters advertising the sale of the book were placed in the staff room.

Eight other copies of the book were sold, five in America and three in Australia.

In October 2023, after being informed of concerns by his employer about the contents of the book and being suspended from his role, the specialist removed the book from Amazon and attempted to recover sold copies.

Actions ‘naive and foolish’ 

The judge acknowledged that the anaesthetist had demonstrated “significant insight” into his conduct and shown genuine remorse.

After being issued with a show cause notice by his employer in 2023, he responded with a written submission acknowledging his actions and saying he was profoundly sorry for any harm caused.

He stated he was “naïve and incredibly foolish” to believe he was maintaining confidentiality by obscuring the details of patients and accepted “he had completely got the tone wrong” in the book.

He also promised to never write a medical book again. He resigned from his role in January 2024.

The QCAT judgment accepted the clinician took several steps to show his regret, including immediately acknowledging to the Office of the Health Ombudsman and his employer that his actions were unprofessional and offensive.

He had also voluntarily completed an eight hour education program on ethics and professionalism in medicine and sought help from his GP due to his “due to the extent of his shame and regret over his behaviour”.

General deterrence key 

Despite the practitioner’s cooperation and remorse, the tribunal said general deterrence was very important when confidential patient information had been misused.

“As avenues for personal publication continue to expand, including the increasing use of commercial platforms such as Amazon and the widespread dissemination of material through social media, it is necessary to state with clarity that the disclosure of patients’ personal information, by such means, without their consent is fundamentally incompatible with the obligations of a medical practitioner,” Judge Firth said in her decision.

This kind of conduct must attract disciplinary sanctions to mark the gravity of the breach and warn other practitioners against similar behaviour, she said.

The tribunal found the specialist had engaged in professional misconduct and should be reprimanded. He was ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 to the Office of the Health Ombudsman within 28 days.