Seven common mistakes when delivering OT in community aged care, and what to do instead
Community aged care can be rewarding work. But a referral, an agreed hourly rate and a gap in your diary aren’t always enough to get started.
Whether you’re adding aged care to your practice or reviewing how your service operates, these seven common mistakes are worth checking.
1. Accepting before confirming funding, hours and goals
A referral arrives asking for an “OT assessment”. You accept, then discover the available funding won’t cover the assessment, travel, report and follow up, or that everyone has a different understanding of what you’re there to do.
What do to instead: Clarify the funding source, authorised scope, available budget and referral purpose before booking. Confirm what your fee covers and how additional work will be agreed. If the scope isn’t realistic, address that early.
2. Treating the item requested as the referral question
“Please assess for a shower chair” tells you what someone thinks might help. It doesn’t explain the difficulty the person is experiencing, what matters to them or whether that item is the most appropriate response.
What do to instead: Start with the occupational problem. What is the person finding difficult? What would they like to do more safely or independently? Use the requested item as a starting point for assessment, while keeping the agreed scope clear.
3. Pricing on what ‘feels fair’
Setting a rate based on what you would feel comfortable paying, or what another OT charges, can leave you with a full diary and a service that barely covers its costs.
What do to instead: Understand the cost of delivering the work. Include travel, documentation, liaison, cancellations, administration, supervision and business overheads. Build your pricing around a sustainable service, and explain clearly what is included.
4. Signing an agreement without reading the terms
The hourly rate might look reasonable, but the agreement may also contain expectations about unpaid meetings, report turnaround, travel, payment, cancellations or responsibilities that extend beyond your intended role.
What do to instead: Read the whole agreement. Check that the terms match how your service actually operates, clarify anything ambiguous and seek advice where needed. Resolve differences before accepting work.
5. Absorbing care management work unpaid
A quick phone call becomes several follow-ups. You’re chasing funding, coordinating other services and updating everyone involved, without a clear agreement about who is responsible or how your time will be paid.
What do to instead: Distinguish the clinical liaison needed to deliver your OT service from broader care management. Agree on responsibilities, include necessary liaison in your scope and flag additional work before it accumulates.
6. Recommending piece by piece
Addressing each request separately can create repeated assessments, disconnected recommendations and extra costs. It can also make it harder for the person and their care partner to understand the overall plan.
What do to instead: Take a coordinated view of the person’s needs within the agreed assessment scope. Explain how recommendations work together, identify priorities and outline what can be staged. Where further assessment is needed, make that visible rather than leaving gaps for others to discover.
7. Relying on one provider
One provider can keep you busy. It can also leave your business exposed if referrals slow, staff change, payment is delayed or the provider changes its service model.
What do to instead: Build relationships across several referral sources and monitor how much of your income comes from each. Make time for this while work is steady, so you have options when circumstances change.
A useful place to start
Look at your last three referrals. Was the scope clear? Did the fee cover the work involved? Were responsibilities understood? Did your recommendations give everyone a clear way forward?
You don’t need to overhaul your whole service at once. Start with the gap that is creating the most rework, uncertainty or unpaid time.
Want support to put these foundations in place?
Starting in Community Aged Care: Systems and Setup for Your OT Service explores the practical foundations for accepting referrals and establishing your aged care OT service.
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