BOSTON – The director of the Center for Connected Health urged an audience of healthcare innovators on Tuesday to continue to innovate even in tough economic times.

"It's really a call to action, said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, the founder and director of the center, a division of Partners HealthCare in Boston. Kvedar spoke at the center's annual symposium in Boston.

The center's stated mission is to develop and employ remote-monitoring technology, sensors and online communications and intelligence to improve patient adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes. Recently the center received funding from the Microsoft HealthVault Be Well Fund to develop a home-based glucose monitoring system for patients with diabetes.

"We are in an unprecedented economic slowdown," Kvedar said. At such times, he said, most people tend to "hunker down, stick with the status quo."

"My plea to all of you is to continue to innovate," he said. "Each one of us now has to start looking to where we're going to add unique value. All players need to sharpen their focus as the future unfolds. The challenge and the excitement is to pick an area where you can add exceptional value."

Kvedar may have been preaching to the choir. This year's symposium - the fifth annual - drew more than 1,000 attendees, up from 300 the first year and 900 last year. It attracts innovators and aspiring innovators and is also eliciting growing attention, it seems, from the movers and shakers in all facets of healthcare.