An Honest Perspective with Joseph Gorz, DO of Neighborhood Primary Care
For Dr. Joseph (Joe) Gorz, a board-certified family medicine practitioner based in southeastern Michigan, medicine runs in the family. Inspired by his grandfather, mother, and uncle — all healthcare professionals — he knew early on that caring for others would be his path. After a year of shadowing his grandfather in his local practice, his commitment to family medicine was clear.
Today, Dr. Gorz leads Neighborhood Primary Care just a few miles from where he grew up. Tucked in the heart of Lake Orion — a small town known for its close-knit community, historic downtown, and lakeside charm — his practice reflects the values of the people he serves. He regularly sees former teachers, childhood neighbors, and longtime family friends. For him, care isn’t transactional — it’s personal, grounded in relationships that span generations.
Access that supports relationships and results
Neighborhood Primary Care has long prioritized access and convenience. The team introduced same-day appointments every afternoon to meet immediate needs and adopted telemedicine even before the pandemic — a move that helped expand connection to his patients while keeping care consistent.
This patient-first model supports timely interventions and ongoing engagement.
“We want to make it easy for people to get care when and how they need it,” says Dr. Gorz. “That’s how you keep people healthy.”
Navigating complexity in the community
Located in a region with five different health systems, care coordination can be challenging — especially when patients see multiple specialists or get lost across a fragmented network. Honest Health helps practices like Dr. Gorz’s cut through the noise with actionable data and a clearer view across the continuum.
“It’s not about which hospital is better — it’s about what’s best for the patient,” he says. “With Honest, we can see where the highest-quality care is being delivered, regardless of affiliation. That shifts the conversation and leads to better outcomes.”
The insights that are delivered to my practice help fill gaps in care, identify missed screenings, and support more proactive planning with patients — even when records are incomplete. And when patients are hesitant to travel for specialty care, the data gives providers like Dr. Gorz the ability to guide those decisions more confidently.
“Sometimes the best care isn’t down the street,” he explains. “We use the data to have real conversations about why that 45-minute drive might make all the difference.”
A local approach to a national challenge
Like many primary care providers, Dr. Gorz sees the challenges of today’s healthcare system up close — especially when it comes to prescription costs and barriers for older adults.
“Patients tell me they can’t afford their inhalers,” he says. “It’s heartbreaking — and it’s a real struggle to help them navigate it.”
That’s where local practices can make a difference. By staying embedded in the community and connected to their patients, they play a critical role in:
- Reducing isolation in older populations
- Helping patients access affordable resources
- Coordinating care in a fragmented system
While large-scale reform takes time, the impact of local providers like Dr. Gorz is both immediate and meaningful.
The value in value-based care
The transition to value-based care was a natural evolution for Dr. Gorz, who already focused on long-term patient relationships and outcomes. With the right support, that transition has made it possible to do more for his patients — and his practice.
“I love having access to analytics that show the impact we’re making,” he says. “It’s not just about managing disease — it’s about preventing hospitalizations, catching issues earlier, and helping people live longer, better lives.”
That visibility recently helped Dr. Gorz identify a critical gap in a patient’s medical history. Through pre-visit insights, the coordinated care team surfaced a prior melanoma diagnosis that hadn’t been documented in the patient’s current chart. Without that insight, the condition could have easily gone unnoticed and undocumented during routine visits.
Because of the data, Dr. Gorz was able to flag the issue, re-engage the patient in follow-up care, and coordinate the necessary screenings to monitor for recurrence. That kind of proactive intervention can make all the difference — especially in cases where early detection is key.
By leveraging collaborative tools and integrated data, Dr. Gorz can focus on delivering more complete, more informed, higher quality care. And because it’s done within a sustainable value-based model, the practice benefits too — staying viable while improving the health of the community it serves.
A sustainable future for small practices
With the added support of a care manager, Dr. Gorz has more time to focus on patients without sacrificing operational needs. That added capacity — made possible through proven value-based programs — helps ensure the practice can continue delivering high-quality care.
As a member of Great Lakes Physician Organization (GLPO), Dr. Gorz benefits from an independent, physician-led network that provides clinical and administrative support to help practices thrive in value-based care. GLPO has long focused on advancing population health and sustaining independent practices across Michigan. Since 2022, its partnership with Honest Health has expanded those efforts — delivering added resources, financial protections, and actionable insights to practices like Neighborhood Primary Care. Together, both organizations are helping physicians improve outcomes, reduce costs, and stay focused on what matters most: their patients.
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