How conveeeeeenient.

Athenahealth Inc., the medical- software company headed by a cousin of President George W. Bush, plans to go public, taking advantage of a U.S. government push to automate health-care records, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Jonathan Bush, 38, plans to file for Athenahealth’s initial public offering this month, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decision hasn’t been announced.

[snip]

Athenahealth and other medical-software companies are benefiting from August 2006 changes in federal rules that let hospitals subsidize computer programs for doctors’ offices. Such help had been prohibited to keep hospitals from trying to tie doctors to one facility.