An estimated one in three adults worldwide experience symptoms of insomnia, yet only a fraction of those suffering have access to specialists trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI)—the gold standard in treatment.1,2
This unmet need has created a major bottleneck in behavioral sleep medicine, where demand far exceeds the capacity of available providers. NOCTEM Health is addressing this challenge not by replacing clinicians, but by empowering them with the tools they need to reach more patients effectively.
Founded by Anne Germain, PhD, NOCTEM Health is built on her decades of experience as a sleep researcher and clinical psychologist. After 25 years in academia, Germain recognized the limitations of research without scalable application. She launched NOCTEM to transform how clinicians manage insomnia at the point of care, making evidence-based treatment more accessible without compromising clinical quality.
Saving Time, Enhancing Treatment
NOCTEM’s flagship solution, COAST, is a remote patient monitoring platform designed to support clinicians in delivering CBTI. The system streamlines care by automating data collection, scoring patient-reported outcomes, and generating actionable insights that guide providers in delivering treatment aligned with best practices.
“We leverage technology to let technology do what it’s really good at—collecting data, synthesizing information, and presenting the information in a way that is easy for the provider to assess,” Germain says. “It saves them at least 20 minutes per patient per week, just by eliminating the paperwork.”
With this technology, a wider range of providers can use COAST to confidently deliver evidence-based insomnia care. This is especially true given that the platform integrates decision trees and algorithms based on guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians. The system also provides embedded clinical logic that helps to guide treatment decisions while keeping the clinician firmly in control of care.
Germain believes that pairing structured digital tools with the clinical judgment of providers creates a more scalable and effective model for treating insomnia. This balanced approach promotes consistent, guideline-driven care while preserving the flexibility for the provider to tailor decisions to each patient’s unique needs.
Not Either/Or, But Both
In the digital health space, tools for insomnia are often divided into either consumer-facing apps or traditional face-to-face therapy. Germain believes this binary framework is limiting. Thus, NOCTEM was built on the principle that meaningful care happens when humans and technology work together.
“Instead of thinking it’s either a human, a therapist, an expert, or technology, if we combine the human and technology, we can really scale,” Germain says.
She explains that, through COAST, providers maintain full visibility over their patients’ data and treatment engagement. They are notified of adherence issues, progress, side effects, or moments where intervention may be needed.
That connectivity creates a stronger bond between patient and provider, even when care is delivered remotely. Therefore, the patient experience becomes more dynamic and personalized.
“I’ve heard patients say the platform feels like having their sleep doctor in their pocket,” Germain says. “They get recommendations, reminders, and notifications, and they really feel like the provider is there with them supporting their insomnia care, even if they don’t see the provider.”
Solving Access Through Scalable Intervention
Today, more and more clinics are turning to COAST to manage the growing demand for CBTI. The platform enables earlier engagement, helping providers deliver timely support before the first scheduled visit.
“This accelerates access to the therapist and accelerates access to treatment, too, and prevents people from being on a waitlist without any kind of guidance or recommendations,” Germain says.
With COAST, clinicians can reallocate their time more efficiently. Some patients may only require brief touchpoints, while others may need longer sessions based on data collected through the platform.
Accountability That Drives Results
While many digital tools struggle to maintain user engagement, NOCTEM took a patient-centered approach from the beginning. It has asked real users what would keep them engaged and built those elements into the product.
“Tell me what to do, remind me to do it, and be very clear about what you expect me to do,” Germain recalls patients saying.
As a result, the platform consistently achieves patient engagement levels above 80 percent. According to Germain, this level of commitment is rare among remote behavioral tools and speaks to the platform’s design and accountability model.
She adds that patients are more likely to stay engaged when they know their clinician is reviewing their progress and acting on the data. That two-way relationship is key.
Germain shared results from a recent study conducted with Madigan Army Medical Center evaluating COAST alongside in-person CBTI. COAST not only matched traditional treatment but, in some cases, outperformed it.
Flexible Across Clinical Settings
Although initially adopted by sleep and behavioral health clinics, COAST is now increasingly being used in specialties like women’s health, chronic pain, and primary care. Germain notes that insomnia appears across a range of clinical populations.
This flexibility opens new pathways for integrating behavioral sleep medicine into care models that traditionally lacked access to these services. For practices that lack in-house behavioral sleep specialists, NOCTEM offers its CBTI+ program. The service matches patients with credentialed experts who provide care through the platform.
“CBTI+ is actually COAST plus clinical services,” explains Germain. “They deliver a six-week program entirely remotely, asynchronously through the platform.”
Designed with the Provider in Mind
Germain notes that COAST is not a one-size-fits-all product. The NOCTEM team collaborates directly with clinical teams to align the platform with their existing in-house workflows and technology systems.
“We designed the platform so that it would adapt to existing workflows, not the other way around,” explains Germain.
The platform is structured so that no function is more than one click away, and clinicians consistently report finding it easy to use and thoughtfully organized. “They say it saves them time, and they love how intuitive it is,” Germain says. “It’s very streamlined. There’s no black box in the technology.”
Built on Evidence, Guided by Outcomes
As the company continues to evaluate COAST’s effectiveness, it tracks both patient outcomes and provider usage—comparing real-world results against decades of behavioral sleep medicine research. This process ensures the platform meets, and often exceeds, established clinical benchmarks.
Patient progress is also monitored at the aggregate level to confirm consistent, high-quality results. Outcomes are assessed against clinical trial standards and historical norms to validate that treatment remains aligned with best practices.
“We compare to benchmarks. We need to be at least as good, if not better,” Germain stresses. “Patients are asked every week, ‘Do you think you’re doing better?’ That’s the best indicator.”
Above all, by combining proven methods, accessible design, and real-time provider oversight, NOCTEM Health has created a solution that reaches more patients without compromising clinical excellence. In Germain’s words, it is not about choosing between people or technology—it is truly about bringing both together for better outcomes.
Source: SleepWorld Magazine Jul/Aug 2025
Lindsey Nolen is a health care journalist based in Jacksonville, Fla.
References
- Cleveland Clinic. Insomnia. Cleveland Clinical Health Library. February 13, 2023. my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12119-insomnia. Accessed June 2, 2025.
- Newsom R. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I): an overview. Sleep Foundation. May 7, 2024. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia. Accessed June 24, 2025.
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