The script sample below provides guidance for clinic team members who are handling phone calls with patients about CPAR conflicts. Not all responses will apply to every clinic, so scripts should be customized and approved by paneling providers to align with clinic processes.
In most cases, the team member’s role is to resolve conflicts when a patient clearly identifies one provider as their primary care provider. If a patient indicates they wish to remain attached to multiple providers, the team member should not try to persuade them to choose one. Instead, they should document the patient’s response in their chart and inform the paneling provider, who can discuss continuity of care with the patient later.
Additional Tips
- Practice ahead of time so that it sounds more natural
- Briefly review the patient chart before the call and note anything that might change your approach, e.g., patients with language barriers, impaired hearing, cognitive issues, notes about past attempts to resolve Conflicts, etc.
- If you decide to leave a voice mail, assure the patient that you’re reaching out about a non-urgent issue
Sample Script
Clinic Team Member:
“Good morning, may I speak with [Patient Name]?" - e.g., "Claire Brown"
Patient:
“Yes, this is Claire.”
Clinic Team Member:
“Hi Claire, this is [Your Name] calling from [Clinic Name] Clinic. I’m reaching out because [Conflicting Clinic] has listed you as a regular patient of Dr. [Conflicting Provider]. However, we still have you listed as a patient of Dr. [Name] here at our clinic. I just wanted to confirm—do you still consider Dr. [Name] to be your primary care provider?”
Use the table below to choose a response based on the patient’s answer:
| Patient Response | Clinic Team Member Response |
| “Yes, Dr. [Name] has been my doctor for many years.” | “Thank you for confirming that. We’ll make a note in your chart that Dr. [Name] is still your primary provider. Just to clarify, do you still plan to see Dr. [Conflicting Provider] or can we notify their clinic that you’re no longer a patient there?” |
| “No, I moved last year. I guess I forgot to let Dr. [Name] know that I switched doctors.” | “Thank you for confirming that. We’ll update your chart that show Dr. [Name] is no longer your primary provider.” |
| “Yes I still want Dr. [Name] to be my doctor, but I still like to see Dr. [Conflicting Provider] sometimes too.” |
“I understand. Dr. [Name] likes to know which patients they are most responsible for so that they can ensure that their care is well coordinated and nothing gets missed. On that note, would you mind telling me a bit about what you see Dr. [Conflicting Provider] for, and how often?” |
| Suggested responses based on the patient’s answer: | |
| Patient’s answer suggests they see the conflicting provider for episodic care only (e.g., occasional walk-in clinic visits). |
“Okay great, so it sounds like Dr. [Name] is looking after your overall care. I will let Dr. [Conflicting Provider]’s clinic know they can remove you from their panel so that Dr. [Name] is listed as your primary care provider. We encourage you to always try to book an appointment with our clinic first, so that Dr. [Name] can keep track of your overall health, but if you choose to see [Conflicting Clinic] occasionally, you can still do that.” |
| Patient’s answer suggests they are seeing the conflicting provider routinely and/or for more general primary care services. | “Okay, thank you for letting us know. I will make a note of that in your chart.” (*flag for the provider to discuss continuity of care with the patient) |
| Patient’s response suggests the conflicting provider is the most responsible. | “Okay, it sounds like Dr. [Conflicting Provider] is your main family physician now. We will take you off our panel of patients, so that Dr. [Name] is no longer listed as your family physician.” |
Patient:
“Okay, thanks for calling. Is that everything?"
Clinic Team Member:
“Yes that’s all I was calling about today. Thank you for your time, Claire. Have a great day!”
Call ends.