1. A system comprising: a processor; and a computer-readable medium operably coupled to the processor, the computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to (a) receive values for a plurality of physiological characteristics of a patient; (b) compare the received values to a complex alert rule associated with a medical condition, wherein the complex alert rule comprises a plurality of alert rules, wherein each alert rule comprises an indicator of a physiological characteristic of a patient associated with the alert rule and a condition priority associated with an urgency of the alert rule, and further wherein the complex alert rule comprises a trigger rule, wherein the trigger rule includes a plurality of rules wherein each rule includes a number of satisfied alert rules for each value of the condition priority; (c) determine a number of alert rules of the plurality of alert rules that are satisfied for each condition priority of the complex alert rule based on the comparison; and (d) generate a complex alert if the determined number of alert rules for a condition priority satisfies the trigger rule of the complex alert rule.