Patient support apparatus having vital signs monitoring and alerting

A patient support apparatus comprising,

• a controller, the controller coupled to memory which stores a specific serial number for the particular patient support apparatus,
• a replaceable component, the replaceable component including memory which stores a specific serial number for the particular replaceable component, and
• a user interface,
• wherein the controller is operable to verify that the patient support apparatus is properly authorized to execute functionality of the replaceable component by detecting the presence of the replaceable component, evaluating the serial number of the patient support apparatus, determining an authorization for the use of the functionality of the replaceable component, and, if the functionality of the replaceable component is properly authorized, enabling operation of the replacement component.