Australian doctors must turn over patient records.

• Position: PRIVACY - Brief article

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In Australia, doctors will have to turn over private patient records to auditors as part of a government crackdown on doctors who overcharge Medicare for their services.

The measure is part of a new policy to audit 2,500 doctors annually to make sure they are claiming the correct Medicare payments. The government said it is expected to save taxpayers $148.7 million over four years.

But doctors are opposing the policy, and patients whose medical privacy will be compromised are likely to object, too. Australian Medical Association chief Rosanna Capolingua said the proposed laws would represent a major breach of patient confidentiality.

"As far as I'm concerned it's a breach of my duty to show Medicare clerks my patient notes, they will have to come in with a court order," she told The Daily Telegraph.

Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis said she has no major concerns about the new laws. Her office said Medicare was "one of the...