Gargantuan electronic health record vendor Extormity has announced the availability of a new module focused on helping patients select an end-of-life care protocol.

"While the talk about death panels was revealed to be alarmist rhetoric, the overwhelming response indicated an opportunity for Extormity to profit from the anguish surrounding this topic," said Extormity CEO Brantley Whittington. "We talked to physicians who complained that absent meaningful reimbursement for end-of-life counseling, taking the time to guide patients through this difficult decision making process makes little economic sense."

The new Extormity module serves as a virtual death panel modeled after an online slot machine. During an encounter, patients are able to click on a "Play" button in the EHR that will randomly select an end-of-life plan and generate applicable documentation — saving the physician valuable time and shifting responsibility to patients.

For example, one of the plans launches a Simon Cowell avatar who announces (in a British accent) "I hope you go somewhere nice in the afterlife, because you are definitely not going to Hollywood." The Extormity EHR then prints out a Do Not Resuscitate order.

"Extormity has taken electronic patient engagement to the next level, capitalizing on the popularity of online and electronic gaming applications," added Whittington. "And for those patients who are intimidated by technology, we are also offering end-of-life scratch-off cards."

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