A patient care system, comprising: a plurality of patient care devices (44, 46, 48), where one or more of the patient care devices is capable of operating in one of several selectable modes, each of the patient care devices having a memory for storing a configuration dataset and a first processor configured to operate the patient care device in accordance with the configuration dataset, wherein the first processor is configured to receive selection of a specific configuration dataset defining a particular operating behavior for a first patient care device of said plurality of patient care devices; a configuration database containing multiple elements for a plurality of patient care devices including medical treatment guidelines and device operating characteristics associated with a plurality of device behaviors, the elements defining behavior; a second processor operatively connected to the configuration database and configured to construct a device-specific configuration dataset for the device behavior from the configuration database and to load, the configuration dataset into the memory of the first patient care device to control the first patient care device in accordance with the device behavior; characterized in that: the configuration database further contains device communication information comprising communication protocols and data structures for a plurality of types of patient care devices (44, 46, 48); and the second processor is further configured to load the device communication information into the memory of the first patient care device to enable communication between the first patient care device and other patient care devices representing different device types than the first patient care device; and the patient care system further comprises a network operatively connecting each of the plurality of patient care devices to the second processor. a plurality of patient care devices (44, 46, 48), where one or more of the patient care devices is capable of operating in one of several selectable modes, each of the patient care devices having a memory for storing a configuration dataset and a first processor configured to operate the patient care device in accordance with the configuration dataset, wherein the first processor is configured to receive selection of a specific configuration dataset defining a particular operating behavior for a first patient care device of said plurality of patient care devices; a configuration database containing multiple elements for a plurality of patient care devices including medical treatment guidelines and device operating characteristics associated with a plurality of device behaviors, the elements defining behavior; a second processor operatively connected to the configuration database and configured to construct a device-specific configuration dataset for the device behavior from the configuration database and to load, the configuration dataset into the memory of the first patient care device to control the first patient care device in accordance with the device behavior; characterized in that: the configuration database further contains device communication information comprising communication protocols and data structures for a plurality of types of patient care devices (44, 46, 48); and the second processor is further configured to load the device communication information into the memory of the first patient care device to enable communication between the first patient care device and other patient care devices representing different device types than the first patient care device; and the patient care system further comprises a network operatively connecting each of the plurality of patient care devices to the second processor. the configuration database further contains device communication information comprising communication protocols and data structures for a plurality of types of patient care devices (44, 46, 48); and the second processor is further configured to load the device communication information into the memory of the first patient care device to enable communication between the first patient care device and other patient care devices representing different device types than the first patient care device; and the patient care system further comprises a network operatively connecting each of the plurality of patient care devices to the second processor.