Security is the Right Medicine

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• Mar 01, 2017

A few years ago, Adam Runsdorf had this idea of starting a third-party pharmaceuticals logistics company, specializing in healthcare. He started the company, Woodfield Distribution LLC (WDSrx), after obtaining multiple licenses to comply with federal, state and other government and regulatory authorities, which included facility security.

Located in Boca Raton, Fla., the facility looks just like any other warehouse, on warehouse row. If you’ve never been inside, you would never know what’s there. If you have never been invited inside, you probably shouldn’t be there anyway.

It is a tightly regulated facility, and knock on wood, there has never been a break in or theft. Loss prevention has stood the test of time, and employees at WDSrx are “part of the family.”

“The entire facility is under video surveillance,” Runsdorf said. “We have dual access control solutions to sign in at the vault and at our cages. The employees are cognizant that we handle valuable medications that must move efficiently to reach their destination.”

As far as security is concerned, WDSrx  invests significant resources when it comes to security to meet regulatory requirements. There are 14 truck bays for shipping and receiving, and as soon as a truck arrives, it becomes part of the security solution via monitoring. WDSrx has employed a chain of custody as part of the physical security, deploying everything that Tyco IS provides, plus upgrades.

WDSrx handles a wide range of controlled substances (schedules III-V), and while they are under constant surveillance, it is the Schedule 2 drugs (CII) that require multiple access control points and storage in a vault.

Security is so critical to WDSrx because they must file multiple reports electronically on a regular basis with governmental and authorized business partners, including the Federal Drug enforcement Agency (DEA) about the movement of certain controlled substances.

“Security is what helps us bring these products to the market,” Runsdorf said. “When, or if, we must destroy a product, it is done with witnesses and under surveillance. We are constantly checking our inventory until the day it ships to the final destination. We work with only known-name carriers because of what we’re shipping.”

The company has deployed cameras at the shipping docks and throughout the facility; every door has an access control solution for enhanced security. WDSrx has three facilities in Florida and one facility in Sugar Land, Texas.

This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Security Today.