The global supply chain continues to face scrutiny, with port backups and product shortages grabbing headlines. However, as Chuck Forsaith, Vice President and Founder of HDA’s Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition (PCSC), shared in a recent episode of the Pharmacy Crossroads podcast, there is another supply chain risk impacting trading partners throughout the healthcare distribution industry — which HDA’s PCSC has been diligently tracking and working to combat. Pharmacy Crossroads, hosted by pharmacy industry veteran Bruce Kneeland, provides an insider voice for the community pharmacy industry and is a member of the Pharmacy Podcast Network.

Texas-based Authentix, which provides authentication services to a range of sectors, launched in 2003 with a few dozen employees and a modest, but loyal customer base. These devoted customers, many of whom have worked with the company for nearly 20 years, are the foundation upon which this HDA-member service provider has grown into a global company with more than 400 staff and operations on five continents.

HDA recognizes the role healthcare distributors can play in minimizing the healthcare sector’s carbon footprint. Many members are already committing to sustainability initiatives — from adopting eco-friendly packaging to setting carbon neutrality goals.

For HDA member BluPax Pharma, an independently owned and operated distributor of generic pharmaceuticals, relationships are at the core of everything they do.

The World Health Organization has estimated that more than 13 million deaths around the globe are due to avoidable environmental causes stemming from climate change. Accordingly, this year’s World Health Day (April 7) theme is “Our Planet, Our Health,” which focuses on the political, social and commercial decisions that affect the environment as a factor in human health. The public and private sectors each can do their part on this front — and HDA believes that healthcare distributors have an important role to play in the health of the planet when it comes to delivering medications sustainably.