Plans by the Australian federal government to require broader access to physicians' records to fight fraud have been condemned as an assault on patient privacy.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said the government's intention, contained in draft legislation released April 9, is "Big Brother at its worst."

"Doctors take their oath of patient confidentiality extremely seriously, but this legislation forces is to break this oath or face a hefty fine," said Dr. Rosanna Capolingua, AMA president.

The Australian Privacy Foundation, a leading watchdog organization, also argued against the proposed law.

But the government claims the legislation is needed to maintain the viability of its Medicare universal health insurance program. It wants to increase the number of audits it carries out on physicians and health professionals who take payments through the system, claiming this could save the program almost $106 million (U.S.) over four years.

Medicare now pays out almost $9.4 billion (U.S.) a year.

Less than 1 percent of health professionals are audited, the government said, and it wants to boost that to about 4 percent. It also wants to expand the information it gets from them to ensure they can back up the claims for payment they submit.

Human Services Minister Joe Ludwig has called the reaction against the proposed law's language overblown. The government worked closely with the office of the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that patient privacy rights were considered, he said.

Nevertheless, according to the AMA, the draft legislation specifically empowers administrative officers to view personal details from the confidential patient record and that the record can then be used further in any resulting proceeding.

"Under this legislation patients don't even have the right to know that their records are being accessed," Capolingua said. "There is no compulsion to advise patients, let alone seek their permission."