This article applies to Valant IO 

When using Valant it is necessary to download files to open documents with other programs (like Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, etc). Working in healthcare it is important to remain diligent in protecting PHI and remaining HIPAA compliant. Best practices involve downloading files to a specific location on the computer and making sure not to store any PHI in a place where there is not controlled access. 

If using Google Chrome or Firefox, and no changes have been made to the browser settings then the download locations will normally default to the following: 

• Windows 10, 8, 7: \Users\<username>\Downloads 
• Mac: /Users/<username>/Downloads 

The download location can be changed, however there is no way to prevent a download in Chrome. If this issue is a major concern to your practice users may consider switching to Mozilla Firefox which will allow users to put files in a temp folder. The instructions from Firefox can make PDFs open such that they are only in temporary storage, but most other filetypes, the user still will need to regularly delete downloaded items. Chrome users should regularly delete too. 

Please be aware that downloaded documents are stored on your local hard drive. To conform with best practices, we advise that you empty your downloaded documents folder and delete your temporary internet files after logging out of Valant.