METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING SAFE PATIENT MONITORING IN AN ELECTRONIC MEDICAL DEVICE WHILE SERVING AS A GENERAL-PURPOSE WINDOWED DISPLAY

A method and system for providing safe patient monitoring in an electronic medical device while serving as a general-purpose windowed display is provided. In a preferred embodiment, an electronic medical device is capable of providing services to executing programs in response to requests for services from executing programs. These requests for services each specify a service to be provided. The electronic medical device ensures the integrity of an executing patient monitoring program while simultaneously providing services to a non-patient monitoring program that is executing. The electronic medical device provides the service specified by each request for services from the executing patient monitoring program and declines to provide services as they are specified by requests for services from the executing nonpatient monitoring program if provision of the service as specified would interfere with the executing patient monitoring program. In one embodiment, the electronic medical device omits to provide any service in response to a request for services from the executing non-patient monitoring program that specifies a service that would interfere with the executing patient monitoring program. In one embodiment, the electronic medical device provides a service specified by the executing non-patient monitoring program in a manner different from that specified in the request for services, where the service provided in the different manner does not interfere with the executing patient monitoring program.