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For the essential task of determining the baseline physical condition of a patient or to track changes in his condition; there is no more useful tool than the modern vital signs monitor. Patient monitors provide immediate and ongoing information regarding the patient's four vital signs that is fundamental to effective patient care. They provide critical indications to doctors and other medical staff that indicate acute or potential issues that can and often do save lives.

There are four commonly accepted vital signs. They are respiration rate which is usually expressed as the number of breaths the patient takes in one minute; pulse rate, blood pressure and body temperature. In today's new and refurbished patient monitors, these data are continuously displayed on a screen in such a way that the information can be quickly and easily obtained. Any vital sign monitor currently in use is one of the most effective patient care tools in a hospital room, emergency care situation or in the family doctor's examination room during a routine checkup. It was not always that way however.

Before the advent of modern digital display patient monitors, only one of the vital signs could be displayed at a time. Often it was necessary to have one vital sign monitor to record each of the patient's functions. There could be as many as four in the room. In addition, these machines, whether new or refurbished patient monitors, did not have numerical readouts so it was necessary for the doctor or nurse to interpret the information displayed on the screen. The displays from early patient monitors were also easily disrupted by electrical interference from other devices. They were also bulky and difficult to move.

A modern vital sign monitor is more dependable and easy to use, small and portable. The most significant development is the capability of these machines to display all four vital signs simultaneously which translates to continuous patient monitoring and immediate warning, by way of audible signals, if a meaningful change occurs to any one of them. It is this feature that is responsible for saving the lives of so many people in intensive care situations. Some patient monitors are capable of providing even more detailed information about heart and lung function such as blood oxygen content, blood flow volume and more. Because the information is shown not only numerically but also against a time line axis, it is possible to establish averages, peaks and low reading, all of which provide additional data that often proves helpful in effective overall patient care. Many Ambulances are equipped with patient monitors that incorporate defibrillators in case of a cardiac event during transport.

The vital sign monitor in use today is a remarkable machine. New and refurbished patient monitors provide an elevated state of patient care that was not previously possible. Many people are alive today because of the advanced technology that this medical marvel is capable of providing and the ease with which it can be used.