November 27, 2024
To Our Patients
Until recently, Zachary C. Rich was a physician assistant at our practice. He no longer works here. Here’s what we can tell you:
In September of this year, an investigator from the Ohio State Medical Board contacted us and asked basic questions about Mr. Rich. The investigator did NOT tell us what the investigation was about and told us to not disclose the fact that an investigation of Mr. Rich was under way.
We followed the directions of the Medical Board and didn’t disclose the investigation to anyone, including Mr. Rich.
This month, the Medical Board made public an action they took to suspend Mr. Rich’s license. The Board posted that letter on its website, and you can review the letter here. This was the first time we grasped what the Medical Board was investigating.
The letter indicates Medical Board is investigating allegations that Mr. Rich was involved in serious sexual misconduct against a child.
IMPORTANT: While the letter states that the child has been seen in our office over the years for routine care, The letter does NOT allege that any misconduct occurred anywhere in our practice.
Even if the misconduct occurred outside of our practice, these are very troubling allegations.
Without an active license, Mr. Rich is unable to practice medicine. We have terminated his employment.
We take patient safety very seriously and this is especially important for the children we treat. Even though the Medical Board has NOT alleged that this misconduct happened at our practice, we want you to know some of the safeguards we take to protect our patients:
Every one of our medical professionals is licensed by the State of Ohio.
We have policies and protocols that require our staff to protect patient privacy and safety. We train and require our staff to follow these policies and protocols. We hold accountable anyone who does not do so.
One of these protocols is particularly protective of children – no care provider is permitted to be in an exam room with a child unless that child’s parent or guardian is present. We have NO information that Mr. Rich ever violated that protocol.
There’s much more we want to know about this case, but our information is largely limited to what the Medical Board put in its letter. We will continue to fully cooperate with the Medical Board and any other agency involved in reviewing this matter.
If you have any information about any medical misconduct by Mr. Rich (or any other medical professional) we urge you to contact the Medical Board at 614-466-3934 or contact@med.ohio.gov.
We chose medicine as a profession because we want to heal people and keep them well. That’s why allegations like this are so troubling. If you want to speak to any of us about this matter, please call the office and we can arrange a time.
Sincerely,
Patrick Goggin, MD
Mark Goggin, MD
Doug Rush, MD
Partners, Medical Associates of Cambridge
