Systems and methods described herein use pairing to associate a wireless sensor with a patient monitoring device such as a bedside patient monitor or a mobile device. A signal emitted by a patient monitoring device can be detected by a wireless sensor. The wireless sensor can be associated with the detected signal and pair the wireless sensor with the patient monitoring device. The wireless sensor can be configured to enter into a patient parameter sensing mode of operation after the association of the wireless sensor with the patient monitoring device.
