About me
Richard D. Zorowitz, MD, is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed an internship in internal medicine at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, IL. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and Brain Injury Medicine.
Dr. Zorowitz focuses his clinical activities on the rehabilitation of stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions. He specializes in the management of spasticity, including oral medications, botulinum toxin injections, and intrathecal baclofen. His research activities focus on stroke rehabilitation, including motor recovery, hemiplegic shoulder pain, dysphagia, spasticity, pseudobulbar affect, and functional outcomes.
Clinical areas of focus
- Botox For Spasticity
- Brain Injury
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Rehabilitation
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Spasticity
- Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Traumatic Brain Injury
Conditions and procedures
Procedures I perform
- Adaptive And Mobility Equipment Evaluation
- Balance Rehabilitation
- Botox For Spasticity
- Brain Injury Rehabilitation
- Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation
- Developmental Delays Therapies
- Gait Analysis
- Gait Therapies
- Joint Injection
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Rehabilitation
- Muscular Dystrophy Therapies
- Neuromuscular Therapies
- Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Telerehabilitation
Practice locations
Distance from Change LocationEnter your Location
3800 Reservoir Road Northwest Pasquerilla Healthcare Center 4th Fl Washington, DC, 20007
202-877-1621Fax 202-877-1998
Insurance
MedStar Health accepts most major health insurance plans. If you are uncertain as to whether your individual health insurance plan is accepted at MedStar Health, please call your insurance company.
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List of insurance plans we accept
- Blue Choice Advantage & Healthy Blue (HMO, POS)
- UnitedHealthcare and AARP Medicare Complete Plans/ UHC Group Medicare Advantage Plans HMO, POS, PPO
- United Healthcare Options (PPO) (includes Empire PPO, GEHA, Compass Rose)
- Kaiser PermanenteSelect-Added Choice
- Kaiser Virginia Premier
- Kaiser Permanente Flexible Choice POS
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare Adv/Special Needs Plans
- Kaiser MD Medicaid MCO
- CFBCBS Federal Employee Program (Std/Basic PPO/Blue Focus)
- Kaiser Permanente Signature
- Private Health Care Systems (PHCS) (PPO)
- Kaiser Permanente Select
- UHC Community Plan of MD
- CFBCBS EPO
- Medicare Fee for Service
- Kaiser Permanente Signature-Added Choice
- Aetna Better Health of Maryland
- Cigna HealthSpring Medicare Advantage
- Kaiser Permanente Medicare Plus (Medicare Supplemental Plan)
- Open POS II
- Innovation Health: Open POS Plus
- Aetna Elect Choice/ Open Access (POS)
- Aetna Innovations: HMO & EPO Plus
- PPO and PPO Plus
- United Healthcare Choice
- Aetna Open Choice (PPO)
- Choice Fund PPO
- Innovation Health: PPO
- Open HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice (PPO)
- Aetna Managed Choice Open Access (POS)
- Innovation Health: Indemnity
- Innovation Health: POS
- HealthyBlue PPO
- Network OA
- Aetna HMO
- CFBSBC Blue Preferred PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice (POS)
- CFBCBS Blue Choice Opt Out Open Access
- Select HMO/HealthFund/Health Network
- Innovation Health: Open Network Only Plus
- Open EPO Plus
- Innovation Health: POS Plus
- Opoen HMO Option
- BlueChoice Open Access
- CIGNA EPO
- Aetna HMO-Open Access/Select OA/HealthFund/Health Network Option OA
- POS OA & OA Plus
- CIGNA HMO Open Access (OA)
- Choice POS & Choice POS II
- Coventry Health Care National Network PPO
- Aetna Worker's Compensation Network
- Mamsi Life & Health (Indem./PPO)
- Optimum Choice Preferred (POS) & OCI Direct (HMO)
- M.D. IPA Preferred (POS)
- M.D. IPA (HMO)
- United Student Resources
- United Healthcare Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Select Plus (POS)
- United Healthcare Select HMO - EPO/NPP
- MedStar Select (MedStar Associates' Plan)
- MedStar Family Choice - Maryland Health Choice
- Tricare for Life (Medicare Supplemental Plan)
- Tricare Prime
- FIRST HEALTH
- First Health PPO
- Coventry of Delaware HMO/PPO
- Coventry Health Care of Virginia
- CIGNA Indemnity
- Great-West Healthcare POS/CIGNA
- CIGNA POS/Network POS
- CIGNA HMO & Network (HMO)
- CFBCBS (NCA) Indemnity
- CFBCBS Maryland Indemnity or PPO
- CFBCBS Maryland Point of Service Plan (MPOS)
- CFBCBS Blue Choice Opt Out Plus Open Access (POS)
- CFBCBS BlueChoice HMO
- Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO & PPO Plans
- Aetna Student Health Insurance
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (POS)
- Aetna Elect Choice/ EPO (Aetna Health Fund) Innovation Health: Network Only Plus
Education
Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brain Injury Medicine
Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Residency Program: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (1989)
Residency Program: Long Island Jewish Medical Center (1986)
Medical School: Tulane School of Medicine (1985)
Awards
- Visionary in Practice Society, National Stroke Association (2001)Central Nervous System Council Outstanding Service Award, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2011)
- Golden Goniometer Award, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2012)
- America’s Top Physicians, Consumer’s Research Council of America (2015) Outstanding Contributions in the Training and Education of the Resident Staff, MedStar National Rehabilitation Network/Georgetown (2016)
- John W. Goldschmidt Award, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (2022)
Hospital affiliations
News and publications
- Holloway RG, Arnold RM, Creutzfeldt CJ, Lewis EF, Lutz BJ, McCann RM, Rabinstein AA, Saposnik G, Sheth KN, Zahuranec DB, Zipfel GJ, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Council on Clinical Cardiology. Palliative and end-of-life care in stroke: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2014; 45: 1887-1916. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000015
- Veerakumara A, Cheng JJ, Sunshineb A, Yeb X, Zorowitz RD, Anderson WS. Baclofen dosage after traumatic spinal cord injury: A multi-decade retrospective analysis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2015: 129; 50–56.
- Ganapathy V, Graham GD, DiBonaventura MD, Gillard PJ, Goren, A, Zorowitz R. Caregiver burden, productivity loss, and indirect costs associated with caring for patients with post-stroke spasticity. Clin Interven Aging 2015; 10: 1793–1802. DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S91123. PMCID: PMC4644168.
- Coslick A, Zorowitz RD, Wright SM. Clinical Excellence in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Examples from the Published Literature. J Rehabil Med 2016; 48(3): 253-258. DOI:10.2340/16501977-2058.
- Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, Bates B, Cherney LR, Cramer SC, Deruyter F, Eng JJ, Fisher B, Harvey RL, Lang CE, MacKay-Lyons M, Ottenbacher KJ, Pugh S, Reeves MJ, Richards LG, Stiers W, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association [published online ahead of print May 4, 2016]. Stroke 2016; 47(6): e98-169.
- Hammond FM, Alexander DN, Cutler AJ, D'Amico S, Doody RS, Sauve W, Zorowitz RD, Davis CS, Shin P, Ledon F, Yonan C, Formella AE, Siffert J. PRISM II: An open-label study to assess effectiveness of dextromethorphan/ quinidine for pseudobulbar affect in patients with dementia, stroke or traumatic brain injury. BMC Neurology 2016; 16: 89.
- Zorowitz RD. Topics in practice management. ICU-acquired weakness: A rehabilitation perspective of diagnosis, treatment, and functional management. Chest 2016; 150(4): 966–971.
- Zorowitz RD, Wein TH, Dunning K, Deltombe T, Olver JH, Dave SJ, Dimyan MA, Kelemen J, Pagan FL, Evans CJ, Gillard P, Kissela BM. A screening tool to identify spasticity in need of treatment. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2017; 96(5): 315-320.
- Zorowitz RD, Alexander DN, Formella AE, Ledon F, Davis C, Siffert J. Dextromethorphan/quinidine for pseudobulbar affect following stroke: Safety and effectiveness in the PRISM II trial. PM&R 2019; 11(1): 17-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.06.003
- Berrigan WA, Whitehair C, Zorowitz R. Acute Spinal Epidural Hematoma as a Complication of Dry Needling: A Case Report. PM&R 2019; 11(3): 313-316. Published online July 20, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.07.009.
- Adeoye O, Nyström KV, Yavagal DR, Luciano J, Nogueira RG, Zorowitz RD, Khalessi AA, Bushnell C, Barsan WG, Panagos P, Alberts MJ, Tiner AC, Schwamm LH, Jauch EC. Recommendations for the Establishment of Stroke Systems of Care: A 2019 Update A Policy Statement From the American Stroke Association. Stroke 2019; 50: 00-00. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000173.
- Duncan PW, Bushnell C, Sissine M, Coleman S, Lutz BJ, Johnson AM, Radman M, Pvru Bettger J, Zorowitz RD, Stein J. Comprehensive Stroke Care and Outcomes: Time for a Paradigm Shift. Stroke 2021; 52(1): 385-393. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.029678. Epub 2020 Dec 22. PMID: 33349012.