Joe Wozny

• Master of Public Health
• The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Objective: The role of statins in the management of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains controversial. We evaluated the association between post-ICH statin continuation and the development of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a cohort of Medicare fee-for-service ICH survivors. Methods: We identified Medicare-insured patients discharg...

Background: The post-acute journey for stroke patients is highly variable. We evaluated patient and health-system factors that contribute to the variability in 1-year home time (HT) by employing unsupervised learning (cluster analyses) among Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) patients. Methods: Texas statewide medical claims data on post-stroke care trans...

Background: Maximizing long-term home time (HT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients has patient-centered and health-system benefits. We evaluated the influence of early (30-day) post-acute care (PAC) pathways on 1-year HT. Methods: We analyzed a cohort of Medicare AIS patients at a 7-hospital stroke certified health system (2016 to 2020). Clin...

Background and objectives Studies measuring the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in therapeutic decision-making are rare in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study aimed to measure the association between MRI utilization and disease-modifying therapy (DMT) switches in pwMS. Methods This retrospective cohort study identified pwMS...

Background People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) are at risk of concurrently using multiple central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs, yet the prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy remains unmeasured in pwMS. Objective The objective is to measure the prevalence of CNS-active polypharmacy in pwMS. Methods This serial, cross-sectional study measure...

Background: Utilizing medical claims derived information, we evaluated temporal trends in post-acute care utilization pathways among patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: Data were retrieved from a CMS Qualified Entity housing healthcare utilization data for ≥80% of the Texas state population (100% of...

Objective To create and validate a methodology to assign a severity level to an episode of COVID-19 for retrospective analysis in claims data. Data Source Secondary data obtained by license agreement from Optum provided claims records nationally for 19,761,754 persons, of which, 692,094 persons had COVID-19 in 2020. Study Design The World Health...

Background: Although developments in computational big data methods have enhanced the ability to meaningfully extract information from hospital EMRs, there are inherent gaps in understanding care utilization and long-term patient outcomes outside of in-patient milieu, particularly across hospital systems. Methods: Utilizing registry data from a 7-h...

Importance The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted mental health outcomes. While the frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms has increased in the whole population, the relationship between COVID-19 and new psychiatric diagnoses remains unclear. Objective To compare the population incidence rate of emergence of d...

Research Objectives To build a predictive model and find demographic and clinical factors associated with functional improvement in acute stroke survivors using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML). Design Retrospective study of clinical and demographic factors and outcomes. Setting Acute stroke patients admitted to Memoria...

Research Objectives To describe geographic disparities in the number of Texas outpatient rehabilitation clinics (ORC) seeing adult stroke patients. Design We surveyed potential clinics by phone and asked if they offered physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), or speech therapy (SLP) to adult stroke patients in an outpatient setting and i...

Introduction: We sought to predict the course and rate of functional improvement and length of stay (LOS) in patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities(IRF). Aim: To study the course and associating factors affecting functional outcomes among a large cohort of stroke patients admitted to IRFs. Met...

Introduction: We examined patient characteristics associated with cognitive improvement during inpatient rehabilitation. Methods: This was a retrospective review of clinical data from inpatient stroke rehabilitation units collected from 9/2017- 8/2019. Multiple and logistic regressions were used to examine the relationship between demographics, vas...

Outpatient stroke rehabilitation centers (OSRC) play a vital role in providing post-discharge care essential for stroke survivors’ optimum recovery. However, with the ongoing pandemic, reduced access to outpatient stroke rehab has become a serious concern, particularly for stroke survivors residing in rural areas. Key aim: Examine access to OSRC ac...

Introduction: Inpatient rehabilitation (IPR) is crucial to recovery after stroke. COVID-19, however, has led to delays in post-stroke admission to IPR due to transmission concerns. Objective: We evaluated the effect of time from stroke onset to IPR admission on post-stroke recovery Design: A retrospective analysis of 680 patients with acute stroke...

Background: Good collateral flow has been shown to have better outcomes after acute ischemic stroke (AIS), including for patients receiving IV thrombolysis (IVT) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Hypothesis: In patients with AIS who undergo MT, good collateral flow is associated with better functional independence measure (FIM) change. Design/Metho...