Kalihi Palama Health Center
Achieving measurable financial results with Advisory Services
Nov. 03, 2026Dedicated RCM support helped accelerate held claims and reduce aging A/R
11-provider FQHC Honolulu, Hawaii athenaOne® customer since 2023
- Claims in Hold and Manager Holds were not being worked quickly enough
- Limited capacity made it difficult to give held claims consistent attention
- Delays contributed to elevated days in A/R and aging receivables
- Need for dependable RCM support without adding the workload back to its existing team
- athenahealth Advisory Services Managed Services
Results*
Kalihi Palama Health Center received more than $1.8M in payments on claims worked, while improving key performance measures.
Consistent management of Holds and Manager Holds helped reduce aging A/R and shorten the amount of time claims remained unresolved.
25x
Return on managed services fees
71%
Improvement in A/R over 90 days
84%
Improvement in Manager Hold days in accounts receivable
As Kalihi Palama Health Center (KPHC) worked to keep pace with a demanding revenue cycle environment, certain tasks required more consistent attention. The organization felt they needed additional support to help those claims move more quickly and reduce the downstream impact of delays.
To create that additional capacity, KPHC partnered with athenahealth Advisory Services in April 2025. The engagement added one full-time revenue cycle management resource dedicated to managing those tasks, giving the organization focused support in an area where timely follow-up was especially important.
Building consistency into the day-to-day work
KPHC’s engagement with Advisory Services centered on adding dedicated capacity to the areas that needed it most. One full-time RCM resource was assigned to manage the organization’s Holds and Manager Holds queues on an ongoing basis, creating a more consistent rhythm for addressing claims that required additional attention.
That dedicated ownership gave KPHC a resource focused specifically on keeping this work moving rather than allowing it to compete with the organization’s broader revenue cycle priorities. The goal was to provide the steady attention these queues required so claims could be worked more promptly and spend less time waiting for resolution.
Helping claims move through the revenue cycle faster
Through this engagement, KPHC saw improvement across several measures tied to the pace of revenue cycle work.
Overall days in A/R decreased from 45.6 days in July 2025 to 31.2 days in June 2026, a reported 31% improvement*. Manager Hold DAR declined even more sharply, moving from 15.1 days to 2.4 days, an 84% improvement*. Hold DAR also decreased, from 3.0 days to 2.5 days*.
These changes reflect the value of adding consistent attention to work that can otherwise require repeated follow-up. For KPHC, the goal was not simply to address individual claims, but to create additional momentum across the queues that depended on timely action.
Client DAR also decreased from 20.2 days in July 2025 to 5.3 days in June 2026, a 74% improvement*.
Reducing the share of aging receivables
The impact also became visible in KPHC’s aging A/R.
In July 2025, 48% of A/R was more than 90 days old – by June 2026, that figure had decreased to 14%, representing a reported 71% improvement*.
This improvement demonstrates how added capacity in a focused part of the revenue cycle can contribute to broader financial performance. By helping claims receive timely attention, KPHC was able to reduce the proportion of receivables remaining outstanding for extended periods.
Turning additional support into measurable value
As of the end of June 2026, KPHC had received more than $1.8 million in payments on claims worked through the engagement*. Over 14 months of managed services, the organization saw a 25x return on the engagement*.
For KPHC, the value came from matching a specific operational need with dedicated capacity: giving important revenue cycle work the consistent attention it required, helping claims move more efficiently, and supporting stronger financial outcomes over time.
Extend your revenue cycle team with focused support
Learn how athenahealth Advisory Services can help provide targeted operational support to help organizations manage revenue cycle priorities and keep critical work moving.
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Research and news
*These results reflect the experience of one particular organization and are not necessarily what every athenahealth client should expect.
Source: athenaOne data as of July 2026
