Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring and displaying the vital signs of a patient wearing an alpha-numeric identification bracelet, including a temperature sensing probe for making body contact with the patient, a portable, data-gathering acquisition unit and electronic anticipation circuitry disposed in the acquisition unit and coupled to the probe for sensing the change in patient temperature and predicting the stabilized temperature of the patient. There is a digital read-out coupled to the anticipated circuitry for indicating the predicted stabilized temperature of the patient, and an alpha-numeric sensor coupled to the acquisition unit and responsive to the alpha-numeric code for reading the code to identify the patient. The system also has a data storage memory coupled to the digital read-out and the anticipation circuitry for storing the predicted stabilized temperature and the indentification of the patient.