The basic tool of the PLAISIR^© system is the "FRAN^©" form which is described heading by heading in PLAISIR^© reference manual.  This form allows one to collect very detailed information about the client :  his bio-psycho-social profile and certain services he has received (first 3 pages of the form) and his profile of nursing care and assistance required over the last 7 days (the following 29 pages of the form) (an electronic version of the FRAN^© is now available).

The FRAN^© form is filled in by a nurse evaluator who will refer to :

• the client's chart;
  
  

• his care plan;
  
  

• the institution binder for treatment(s) or analysis(es);
  
  

• the institution binder for protocols;
  
  

• any other available pertinent data.

If need be, the evaluator will question nursing personnel responsible for the client, other health care professionals, the client and his family.  According to the complexity of the cases, an evaluator can fill 5 to 10 FRANs^©, (evaluations) per day.

The completed forms are sent to a data processing centre.  The FRAN^© is then entered on computer which is programmed to detect, any missing data, impossible, incoherent or improbable responses.  The computer then produces an output which is a compact yet exhaustive version of the contents of the FRANs^©, accompanied by messages signalling the data needing particular attention.  This compact version of the FRAN is called IMPFRAN^©.

The IMPFRANs^© are submitted to a nurse-desk-reviewer who specializes in verifying the FRANs^©.  She desk-reviews the IMPFRAN^© to detect any missing data, errors and incongruencies.  Following this desk-review, the nurse contacts the client institution, by telephone and questions the care-giver(s) or evaluator to complete and correct the IMPFRAN^© of the client.  According to the complexity of the cases, a nurse-desk-reviewer can process 2 to 8 IMPFRANs^© per hour.

Once this step is completed, the IMPFRAN^© is returned to the clerk entering the data who then makes the necessary changes in the data base.  The data is now ready for processing in order to produce the outputs of the PLAISIR^© system.