Threatening health care workers at Kansas University Hospital and other hospitals in the Kansas City area with arrest may not be the best way for Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to gain their cooperation.

Kline announced last week that his office had adopted a new policy that would force hospital personnel to perform blood-alcohol tests on people involved in serious traffic accidents even if the patients refuse to give their permission. If the hospital workers refuse to draw the blood, Kline said, they could be arrested.

Some hospitals, including KU Hospital, are balking at the policy, which they say puts hospital workers at odds with federal regulations that protect the privacy of their patients. Without a judge’s warrant for the blood, the hospitals say, they are bound by a patient’s right to due process and the right to refuse medical treatment.

Kline said his office would try to get search warrants for the blood by contacting a judge by telephone, but that it was important for blood to be drawn within two hours of an accident if it is to be used as evidence. If a warrant cannot be obtained, in that time, he contends, the DA’s office should be able to order the tests based on other evidence such as the smell of alcohol on a suspect.

Of course, every effort should be made to prosecute those who are driving drunk, especially when they are involved in an accident, but it’s also important to respect the rights of patients – and hospital workers who are simply doing their jobs. Perhaps attorneys and police officers would never abuse the authority to order blood-alcohol tests, but forcing hospitals to perform those tests without at least a verbal order from a judge opens the door to potential violations of patient and civil rights.

Although Kline has decided to take a hard-line approach to this issue, other law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area reportedly have found ways to work with their hospital personnel. In almost all cases, it would seem possible to call a judge and get a verbal warrant. In fact, an assistant DA who leads Johnson County’s traffic unit told a Kansas City newspaper that a blood draw only becomes an issue once or twice a year. It hardly seems to justify threats to arrest hospital personnel.

Kline says his stand is supported by state statute, but some hospitals say their attorneys have a different view of the law. If Kline thinks this issue is so important that it warrants threats to hospital workers trying to do their jobs, perhaps he should clarify the statute by seeking an opinion from the state’s new attorney general.