The co-founder of Athenahealth Inc., will have to sever his ties to the company after accepting an appointment as chief technology officer for the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, the federal agency that oversees Medicare.
Todd Park, who co-founded the Watertown, Mass.-based digital medical records provider alongside chairman and CEO Jonathan Bush 12 years ago, will resign his seat on Athenahealth’s board effective August 10 and sell his stake in the company and others that might pose a conflict of interest.
And Park will find himself recused from decisions affecting Athenahealth, which makes web-based software products for doctors’ offices and hospitals, as he helps decide how to spend the nearly $20 billion Congress allocated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to hasten the adoption of digital medical records technology.