Page 28 - Security Today, March 2020

“If it is not stored properly, specialty and infusion drugs that experience out-of-range temperatures—even for a short period of time—may threaten the lives of patients.”
handled by the corporate security staff, including the monitor- ing of its facilities. As an independent organization, the company was faced with the reality of creating its own security program. Compounding the situation was the fact that its past growth was attributed, in large part, to acquisitions which resulted in no com- mon footprint for the security program it had in place.
Solution. Facing a deadline when its former parent company would no longer monitor the facilities, the company engaged us at ADT Commercial to help plan and implement a comprehen- sive, integrated security program.
Planning phase. As part of the planning phase, the company first commissioned in-depth surveys of its facilities to better un- derstand the current security situation and found, in many cases, that some facilities were operating with the bare minimum intru- sion detection systems.
Keeping in mind the strict regulatory compliance issues facing this industry, the proposal recommended:
• A security-only network that would segregate the security sys-
tems and information from the business networks.
• An integrated electronic access control and state-of-the-art in-
trusion system.
• IP-based video solutions coupled with remote monitoring ca-
pabilities.
The company elected to have all components of the security system hosted by a third party and housed off-site. In this case, we were able to accommodate this request through our Network Operations Center (NOC), part of our Integrated Solutions Group. The center employs a team of Cisco Certified, Meraki Certified and Sonicwall Certified professionals. This team also holds the Cisco Cloud and Managed Services Express Partner certification, making them one of the only security systems inte- grators to hold this designation and uniquely qualified to perform this type of work.
Integration. The three primary components of the new secu- rity platform are a premier electronic access control system, an intrusion system and IP video components.
At the heart of the new security program is the access control system. In this case, the company decided to adopt a managed solution where our team members acted as the administrators of the system and have been specially trained in the company’s poli- cies and procedures. The operators perform tasks that include:
• Issuing access control cards that include specific credentials based on the job responsibilities of the individual.
• Supplying PINs and keypad codes for arming and disarming the intrusion system.
• Running reports for audit and compliance.
• Accessing live or recorded video footage as required.
This remote network connectivity provides several significant benefits:
• It allows for independent oversight to the access control and
intrusion systems.
• It provides a more secure environment by isolating the com-
pany’s data network from the security network.
• It permits remote reporting and access of incidents regarding
personnel and drugs in protected areas.
• Importantly, it empowers the NOC to take action on the compa-
ny’s behalf in the event that a security incident occurs 24/7/365.
The NOC also monitors and adds or removes authorized company employees from the system based on criteria established by the company. The administration of the system and the cre- dentials are completed through a secure portal that only specific personnel have access to. Any changes made are approved by a company area vice president.
The access control system delivers a high level of security. It only allows authorized cardholders to enter protected areas of the facility and tracks who enters these areas and when. Integration with the burglar alarm, or intrusion detection system, allows only valid cardholders to arm or disarm the system. The system also keeps data on all activity for reporting and auditing purposes.
The burglar alarm system sends an alarm to the monitoring center if unauthorized access is attempted when the system is armed and is integrated with the electronic access control system. Authorized users are required to present a card to the reader and then enter a unique four-digit code on a keypad to disarm the sys- tem and gain access to the facility or to protected rooms within the facility. This same code is used to arm the system at the end of the day.
The dual authentication was a new practice for the facility, and was implemented for entering critical areas of the work- place, such as a prep room, clean room, anteroom or any area where drug or drug compounds are stored or handled. The pro- cess—presentation of an access card and entering of a PIN—al- lows the opportunity for the electronic access control system to help enforce the facility’s security procedures, such as a pharma- cist needing to be present for other employees to enter certain protected areas.
The IP video system serves many functions, including moni- toring sensitive areas within the facility. The monitoring center also has the ability to remotely access video to verify alarm status should a signal be received from the armed burglar alarm system.
Unique applications. To maintain compliance with strict regu- latory requirements, the facilities also deployed specialized servic- es to monitor temperatures in sensitive areas where drugs or drug components are stored and to identify when or where doors may have been propped or forced open. All this information is impor- tant to help keep the company compliant with current regulations and to be anticipatory of future regulations. The monitoring and associated reporting helps the company comply with strict audit- ing standards established for the industry.
Temperature monitoring is a critical function, as even the slightest deviation in temperature could cause potentially life- threatening situations should drugs or drug components be ad- versely affected. Furthermore, these drugs or drug components represent millions of dollars in inventory that could translate into significant losses to the company should there be an issue.
In the past, temperature sensors would send a signal to a call center indicating a change in temperature range, but did not pro- vide specific information. With advanced technology, an alarm
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0320 | SECURITY TODAY
HEALTHCARE SECURITY