Ohio doctor sentenced for overprescribing painkillers, fraud

A doctor in Ohio who denied doing any harm to his patients after being convicted of overprescribing painkillers has been sentenced to five years in prison.

A federal judge on Thursday also ordered Dr. William Bauer of Port Clinton to pay $460,000 in restitution.

Bauer, 85, was convicted last summer on charges of distributing controlled substances at his office in Bellevue and healthcare fraud.

Federal prosecutors said he prescribed dangerous drug combinations and high doses of addictive narcotics that weren’t medically necessary.

Bauer’s attorney has said he’ll appeal the verdict. Bauer had testified that the medication allowed patients to resume their normal activities. He also said he closely monitored his patients to watch for any signs of drug abuse.

Bauer, a neurologist who specialized in pain management, criticized the crackdown on opioid pills for chronic pain patients, saying they were being hurt by moves to stop them from receiving opioid pain pills.

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