The IT Nerd

If you have recently updated to macOS Catalina 10.15.4, you might have seen a prompt like this after the upgrade:

In my case, I got this for the software that drives my Logitech mouse as well as Sophos anti virus. I also got a few calls from clients about this asking what this means for them. Here’s a quick primer.

What this message is telling you is that in a future version of macOS, kernel extensions which are better known as system extensions which enhance the ability of macOS to function will no longer work. If you want to get into the nerdy details, you can get them here. But in short, this is something that dates back to the early days of OS X and then macOS. The problem is that Apple wants to make the operating system more secure. Steps like introducing APFS, and Gatekeeper are examples of how Apple is achieving that goal. And getting rid of system extensions are the next step.

For now you have nothing to worry about. But in a future version of macOS, likely macOS 10.16 this fall, the piece of software that is generating this message will stop working. Thus software vendors need to update their software, and you need to install those updates. In my case, Sophos has a statement about this on their website which states that you don’t need to take any action at this time and an update is coming. I was unable to find any info about what Logitech is doing. Thus I will be sending them an email to find out what their plans are.

I would recommend that you take a note of the software that generates these prompts and reach out to the software vendor in question to find out what their plans are to make them go away. Because if they delay coming out with a fix, the potential exists that software that you might depend upon may stop working as early as this fall. Thus reaching out to them to say that you are expecting a fix for this will put pressure on them  to do something about it now.

Finally, if you want Apple’s official word on this issue, you can find that here.

Last August I had a serious car accident. I was hit from behind by an inattentive driver at highway speed. It caused about $16000 damage to my Hyundai Tucson, which has since been fixed. But more importantly it injured my back. While I felt no symptoms in the immediate days after the accident, my first bike ride after the accident resulted in lower back pain about 35 kilometers into it. That’s when I knew I had a problem. I got assessed by a doctor and I had my local bike shop Chain Reaction readjust my position. But I never really felt that the core issues were resolved.

Fast forward to a month ago, a pitch from a Toronto based startup called Phyxable caught my attention. Phyxable promises the following:

You can have one on one video consultations with practitioners that are covered by your insurance. This can be done on your smartphone or tablet.

There are on demand video sessions that you can use on your smartphone or tablet. This allows you to get the help you need at a time and place of your choosing.

One handy thing that Phyxable has is that you can keep track of your progress with this dashboard. That’s important as I would want to see what my progress is.

But one really cool thing is that they use augmented reality (AR) to guide the posture of you the patient and how that posture can be corrected. Here is a video of it in action:

I spoke to Dr. Jim Feng who is the CEO of Phyxable and I found someone who is passionate about trying to help as many people as possible so that they can be helped with their pain issues. Our conversation covered everything from my personal situation, the plans of the company, and challenges in terms of gaining penetration in the US market. Not to mention how a Canadian startup like his is perceived. Finally, Dr. Feng did bring up the fact that Phyxable is a great add on for health and wellness programs that companies offer. I have to say that having something like Phyxable as part of a health and wellness offering can be a powerful recruitment and retention tool in an age where competing for talent is a concern for companies.

In short, I feel that Phyxable is a game changer. What this company offers is new and distinct and I would keep an eye on this company. If not take advantage of their services as they can really help people deal with pain an a way that works for the patient.

UPDATE 4/14/2020: Phyxable has let me know the following news:

• They are now all across Canada!
• They are perfecting and executing their 1-on-1 online sessions with patients at home while COIVID-19 has all clinics closed.
• They are researching and creating new solutions (i.e. Headaches, Post Partum.. etc).

GetOn Health, a product of GeneratorWorks, is a simple-to-use telehealth platform designed by doctors – for doctors. Today, GetOn Health has announced the addition of new features and a partnership with clinical algorithm platform SmartDocMD.

The new features and partnership are aimed specifically to support our healthcare professionals and their patients amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together, GetOn Health and SmartDocMD have released SecurePass, a digital COVID-19 risk stratification and screening survey. With bold and proactive steps, SecurePass creates a solution that effectively surveys patients and healthcare communities to identify possible COVID-19 risks. With this information at hand, physicians, healthcare facilities and public health officers can better inform and remotely support those showing possible high-risk indicators.

SecurePass is powered by SmartDocMD’s clinical algorithms that combine CDC and Health Canada Guidelines for risk assessment, patient symptoms, and medical comorbidities to identify and help segregate higher-risk patients.

The product identifies patient demographics, geolocation, risk factors, illness symptoms, severity and comorbid conditions that can be viewed in real-time and shared with GetOn Health platform, the physicians that use GetOn Health, as well as infectious disease teams, including the Chief Public Health Offices in Canada.

GetOn Health’s new feature has the ability to rapidly reach patients while enabling telehealth options to “schedule a telehealth visit with your doctor”. Furthermore, the patient can be asked to take the SecurePass survey to assist the doctor in prioritizing those patients who may need the most attention first.

For both doctors and administrators, GetOn Health offers easy and efficient virtual clinic operations that are cloud-based, simple to log-in and all data is securely stored in Canada. It includes prompted patient encounters, session tracking, simply video interaction, notes, interaction with your administration, group functions and overall guidance for reimbursable codes (including the new telehealth codes for COVID-19). The system will also complete reports for exporting billing of services related to codes and summarize performance.

For more information on SecurePass, visit GeneratorWorks.com. To connect with the SecurePass team, email info@generatorworks.com or call 216-273-8200.