Ragsdale v. State

In Ragsdale v. State, 245 Ark. 296, 432 S.W.2d 11 (1968), the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the results of a blood-alcohol test administered to a criminal defendant for the purpose of prescribing and treating his injuries were privileged. The relevant Arkansas statute provided "that no doctor or nurse shall be compelled to disclose any information which is acquired from his patient to enable him to prescribe." 245 Ark. at 298, 432 S.W.2d at 12. The Arkansas physician-patient privilege was subsequently revised by the legislature to cover "confidential communications."