Patent ID: 8882663

Claim:
A method of preserving patient vital sign data in a health care facility, comprising the procedure of: defining, in a recording medium in a memory module, an addressable memory space for recording data representing vital sign information from a patient; based on the size of the defined addressable memory space, determining a minimum period of time that a monitor unit may be operated to continuously and repeatedly gather data representative of vital sign information from one or more patients and to record the repeatedly-gathered data in the defined addressable memory space, when the memory module is communicatively connected to the monitor unit, without exceeding the capacity of the defined addressable memory space; defining a minimum period of time for recorded vital sign data to be semi-permanently retained after operation of the monitor unit is discontinued, the defined minimum being at least as great as the determined minimum period of time; initiating a new operational period, the operational period being no more than the determined minimum period of time; with the memory module communicatively connected to the monitor unit, operating the monitor unit to continuously and repeatedly gather data representative of vital sign information from one or more patients and to record the repeatedly-gathered data in the defined addressable memory space, wherein operating the monitor unit to record the repeatedly-gathered data includes preventing the data recorded previously during the operational period from being overwritten, wherein the beginning of the continuously and repeatedly gathering data step defines the beginning of the operational period; by the end of the determined minimum period of time, discontinuing the continuously and repeatedly gathering step, wherein the discontinuance defines the end of the operational period; and after the discontinuing step, semi-permanently retaining, for at least the defined period of semi-permanent retention, substantially all of the vital sign data that has been gathered and stored in the recording medium since the beginning of the operational period; and thereafter, repeating the initiating, operating, discontinuing and retaining steps.