of this part and includes the plural of these terms

CMS stands for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services. Compliance date means the date by which a covered entity or business associate must comply with a standard, implementation specification, requirement, or modification adopted under this subchapter. Covered entity means: (1) A health plan. (2) A health care clearinghouse. (3) A health care provider who transmits any health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction covered by this subchapter. Disclosure means the release, transfer, provision of access to, or divulging in any manner of information outside the entity holding the information. EIN stands for the employer identification number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury. The EIN is the taxpayer identifying number of an individual or other entity (whether or not an employer) assigned under one of the following: (1) 26 U.S.C. 6011(b), which is the portion of the Internal Revenue Code dealing with identifying the taxpayer in tax returns and statements, or corresponding provisions of prior law. (2) 26 U.S.C. 6109, which is the portion of the Internal Revenue Code dealing with identifying numbers in tax returns, statements, and other required documents. Electronic media means: (1) Electronic storage material on which data is or may be recorded electronically, including, for example, devices in computers (hard drives) and any removable/transportable digital memory medium, such as magnetic tape or disk, optical disk, or digital memory card; (2) Transmission media used to exchange information already in electronic storage media. Transmission media include, for example, the Internet, extranet or intranet, leased lines, dial-up lines, private networks, and the physical movement of removable/transportable electronic storage media. Certain transmissions, including of paper, via facsimile, and of voice, via telephone, are not considered to be transmissions via electronic media if the information being exchanged did not exist in electronic form immediately before the transmission. Electronic protected health information means information that comes within paragraphs (1)(i) or (1)(ii) of the definition of protected health information as specified in this section. Employer is defined as it is in 26 U.S.C. 3401(d). Family member means, with respect to an individual: (1) A dependent (as such term is defined in 45 CFR 144.103), of the individual; or (2) Any other person who is a first-degree, second-degree, third-degree, or fourth-degree relative of the individual or of a dependent of the individual. Relatives by affinity (such as by marriage or adoption) are treated the same as relatives by consanguinity (that is, relatives who share a common biological ancestor). In determining the degree of the relationship, relatives by less than full consanguinity (such as half- siblings, who share only one HIPAA Administrative Simplification Regulation Text March 2013 13 parent) are treated the same as relatives by full consanguinity (such as siblings who share both parents). (i) First-degree relatives include parents, spouses, siblings, and children. (ii) Second-degree relatives include grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces. (iii) Third-degree relatives include great-grandparents, great-grandchildren, great aunts, great uncles, and first cousins. (iv) Fourth-degree relatives include great-great grandparents, great-great grandchildren, and children of first cousins. Genetic information means: (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of this definition, with respect to an individual, information about: (i) The individual's genetic tests; (ii) The genetic tests of family members of the individual; (iii) The manifestation of a disease or disorder in family members of such individual; or (iv) Any request for, or receipt of, genetic services, or participation in clinical research which includes genetic services, by the in