How Wesper Revolutionized Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Following the adoption of Wesper and a transition to a direct-to-patient, drop-ship testing model, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital expanded monthly patient volume by 290% and compressed turnaround times from close to a two-month backlog to one week or less.

 

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Executive Summary

RWJUH Somerset is one of New Jersey’s leading academic health systems, grounded in a mission of patient-centered care and clinical excellence. Demand for sleep apnea testing had steadily increased—but operational capacity had not kept pace. A limited number of devices, manual logistics, and repeat studies created a hard ceiling on throughput, resulting in a waiting list that stretched nearly two months.

After implementing Wesper and transitioning to a drop-ship home-testing model, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital increased monthly patient volume by 290%, reduced effective turnaround time from approximately a two-month waitlist to one week or less, eliminated its backlog, and unlocked entirely new clinical capabilities—including multi-night studies and at-home treatment titration.

What began as a workflow improvement became a structural shift in access.

“It was a huge difference when we first switched over.”
— Samer Gerges, RWJUH Somerset

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Sommerset 

RWJUH Somerset positions itself as an academic health system focused on delivering coordinated, equitable care closer to where patients live. Within that framework, sleep medicine plays an important role—particularly for patients with cardiometabolic conditions, pulmonary disease, and other high-risk comorbidities.

At the Somerset location, sleep services were in high demand. However, as referrals increased, operational bottlenecks within the home sleep testing (HSAT) workflow began limiting the number of patients that could be seen. The issue was not clinical demand—it was infrastructure.

The Challenge: When Capacity Is Dictated by Devices

Before implementing Wesper, RWJUH Somerset operated with eight HSAT devices in circulation. These devices had to be picked up in person, used at home, returned physically, cleaned, reset, and redeployed. Each study required coordination, and each delay reduced availability for the next patient.

In practice, this created several compounding challenges:

• Patients often waited up to two months for available testing slots.
• The average device cycle per patient extended to roughly two weeks.
• Any lost kit or delayed return immediately reduced total capacity.
• If one of eight devices was unavailable, effective capacity dropped by more than 12%.
• When two devices were delayed, throughput was cut by 25%.

As the team described it, “Eight quickly becomes six.”

Because each device was physically constrained, the hospital could not schedule more than approximately eight patients at a time without waiting for returns. Even when clinical demand supported higher volumes, the device count created a hard ceiling of roughly 30 patients per month.

Repeats, Support Burden, and Operational Drag

Like many traditional HSAT workflows, RWJUH Somerset also faced variability in patient setup and study quality. More than 10% of patients required follow-up or re-checks due to issues such as short sessions or incomplete data. Some patients received messages indicating that their session was too short, prompting additional calls and scheduling adjustments.

Patients would often call to ask about timing, device pickup, or insurance. Technicians spent significant time coordinating logistics rather than focusing on interpretation and care delivery.

In effect, staff effort was consumed by operational friction:

• Scheduling device pickups
• Managing returns
• Addressing short-session alerts
• Rebooking repeat studies
• Tracking inventory

The device—not the clinician—was dictating throughput.

Geographic Access Limitations

The in-person pickup and return requirement also restricted access for patients who lived further away. Patients residing one to two hours from Somerset were often unable or unwilling to travel solely to retrieve and return a device.

As a result, the addressable patient population was artificially constrained by geography rather than medical need.

Clinical Limitations of the Previous Model

Beyond logistics, the prior setup limited clinical capabilities.

Multi-night testing (2–3 night studies) was operationally impractical given device scarcity. Extending a device for multiple nights meant even fewer patients could be tested that month.

Additionally, at-home CPAP titration was not feasible within the existing framework. Patients requiring titration or advanced evaluation had to rely on alternative pathways, increasing delays and in-lab burden.

The team recognized that solving logistics could unlock clinical expansion.

Implementation: A Structural Shift to Dropship Testing

RWJUH transitioned to a dropship model using Wesper. Devices were shipped directly to patients, eliminating the need for in-office pickup and return coordination. The workflow was standardized, and a dedicated support team helped manage patient questions before they escalated to clinical staff.

Importantly, the partnership was iterative. As the RWJUH Somerset team provided feedback, adjustments were made quickly.

“Wesper moves fast and takes feedback seriously,” Samer Gerges noted. “When we say something, Wesper listens and implements quickly.”

This responsiveness accelerated adoption and workflow alignment.

Results

1. 290% Increase in Monthly Patient Volume

Within the first month of switching, patient volume surged. The clinic moved from approximately 30 patients per month to a sustained new baseline more than triple that level.

The two-month waiting list was eliminated.

Where devices had previously dictated volume, the system could now respond directly to referral demand.

2. Cycle Time Reduced from ~2 Weeks to 1 Week or Less

Under the previous model, each patient effectively consumed approximately two weeks of device cycle time. With dropship testing and reduced logistics handling, effective turnaround dropped to one week or less.

Today, insurance authorization—not device availability—represents roughly half of the remaining bottleneck time. The primary constraint shifted away from infrastructure and toward payer processes.

This represents a structural improvement in operational capacity.

3. Expanded Geographic Reach

Because devices are shipped directly to patients, individuals living two or more hours away can now complete testing without traveling to Somerset.

This expanded the clinic’s effective catchment area and increased access to care across a broader population.

4. Reduced Technician Burden

Technicians now spend less time on device logistics and more time on clinical review and patient care. The support team helps address patient questions about setup and app usage, reducing inbound complaint calls.

By removing the need for repeated in-office coordination, staff time is deployed more efficiently.

5. New Clinical Capabilities Unlocked

With Wesper, RWJUH can now:

• Conduct 2–3 night diagnostic studies routinely
• Perform at-home CPAP titration
• Evaluate complex populations (including Inspire and pacemaker patients) more efficiently

Previously, multi-night testing and titration were operationally constrained by device availability. Removing that constraint expanded the clinical toolkit.

What This Enabled

By eliminating device scarcity as the limiting factor, RWJUH Somerset transformed its sleep program from a capacity-constrained service to a scalable model aligned with patient demand.

The shift:

• Cleared a multi-month backlog
• Increased monthly patient volume by 290%
• Reduced time-to-diagnosis
• Expanded geographic equity
• Freed technician capacity
• Enabled new diagnostic and titration pathways
  
  

Most importantly, it allowed the hospital to serve more patients without increasing physical infrastructure or headcount.