Manual recording of physiological data in patients receiving anesthesia or intensive care infrequently meets medical requirements or legal documentation standards. Automated recording allows the generation of reliable data that can be integrated into the patient's medical record. Such a system is beginning to function at University Hospital at Stony Brook, New York. Bedside medical devices (pulse oximeters, non-invasive blood pressure monitors, capnographs, infusion pumps and physiological monitors) from 18 operating rooms and 16 beds in the Anesthesia Intensive Care Unit are connected to a baseband Ethernet system. Data from the above devices are stored in a MicroVAX computer system. Data compression and interpretation, computation of derived values, statistical analysis of data from two related parameters are done by the bedside graphical microcomputer workstation. The MicroVAX computer and the workstation are also connected to the Ethernet system. The overall architecture of the automatic record system conforms to emerging standards for information exchange between bedside monitors and computer systems. Health care recipients and providers are likely to reap the benefits.