Documents: Oxford doctor accused of selling over 700 pills

An Oxford doctor facing multiple counts of drug trafficking is accused of selling more than 700 Oxycodone pills and other drugs from August 2015 to October 2016, according to court documents obtained by the Journal-News.

Dr. Rick Bucher, 60, is charged with seven counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and two counts of trafficking in drugs. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 22 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Bucher sold pills to a person while at his office, Ohio Family Practice on Morning Sun Road, according to court documents.

Bucher is accused off selling:

  • 60 hydrocodone on Aug. 24, 2015
  • 20 Oxycodone on Aug. 31, 2015
  • 90 Oxycodone pills on Sept. 30, 2015
  • 120 Oxycodone tablets on Sept. 23, 2015
  • 90 Alprazolam tablets on Oct. 19, 2015
  • 120 Oxycodone tablets on Oct. 19, 2015
  • 120 Oxycodone tablets on Nov. 18, 2015
  • 180 milliliters of promethazine with codeine on Dec. 3, 2015
  • 120 Oxycodone tablets on Dec. 15, 2015

Bucher waived his right to appear for arraignment and his attorney Christopher Pagan entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

The doctor was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to be in Butler County Common Pleas Court before Judge Greg Stephens on Nov. 14 for a pre-trial hearing.

Pagan declined comment about the case.

“The doctor allegedly was not practicing medicine according to (state law),” Assistant Butler County Prosecutor David Kash said.

The allegations were referred to the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office following an investigation by the Ohio State Medical Board.

Tessie Pollock, state medical board communications director, said via email that there is a public discipline action but that all complaint and investigation information is confidential until a citation is issued by the medical board.

Bucher, who has practiced medicine for 34 years, has a family medicine practice at Oxford Family Medicine and is affiliated with McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital-TriHealth as well as other area hospitals. He holds a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Also included in court documents is a letter from a patient of Bucher’s, stating he had been his family doctor for more that eight years “and we think he is a caring, dedicated doctor who has never stepped over the line when prescribing medication.”

According to the State Medical Board’s website, Bucher’s license is active through July 1, 2017.

This article contains previous reporting by staff writer Ed Richter.

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