‘The future of healthcare is digital’, according to the World Health Organization. From wearable sensors, virtual care clinics, to AI-driven diagnostics, digital tools can now monitor heart rates, track medication schedules, and connect patients to doctors thousands of miles away. But so are the questions it raises: Who actually benefits from these technologies? What happens to the vast amounts of personal data they collect? And who should ultimately be accountable for the medical decisions that follow?
These are the questions that have driven Lujia Sun, PhD candidate at the Health Law Section of Erasmus School of Law. She conducted her research Access to Mobile Health: Shifting Rights, Responsibilities, and Relationships, under the supervision of Martin Buijsen, Ageeth Klaassen and André den Exter. On 10 July 2026, she will defend her dissertation.
From practice to research
Sun did not arrive at this topic through theory alone. Before starting her PhD, she had observed the rapid growth of mobile health in practice and a gap between ambition and reality. "I became aware of unclear legal and regulatory challenges surrounding their implementation," she explains. "I also noticed that many patients experienced difficulties using digital health." Those early observations led her to ask: how can mobile health be more genuinely centred on patients' needs?
That question is deceptively simple. Answering it requires navigating law, ethics, technology, and healthcare policy all at once; a challenge that Sun addressed through a research design that includes case studies from China and broader analyses of digital health across different legal and social contexts.
The right to health in a digital world
At the heart of Sun's research lies the right to health, a fundamental right recognised under international human rights law. That right does not simply mean access to a hospital when you are ill. It means that everyone, regardless of where they live, how much they earn, or how familiar they are with technology, should be able to access necessary healthcare. Mobile health, in principle, could help realise that right on a broader scale than ever before. In practice, it does not always work out that way.
"Digital health holds promise for universal health coverage. However, real challenges remain in its development and implementation, particularly in meeting the fundamental healthcare needs of vulnerable groups," she says.
Who is most at risk of being left behind?
Throughout her research, Sun returns repeatedly to the question of justice. Digital health technologies are not neutral: their benefits and burdens are distributed unevenly. Older adults, people living in rural or remote areas, and patients with chronic diseases are among those most likely to need the kind of accessible, flexible care that mobile health can, in theory, provide. They are also among those most likely to struggle with the barriers it can create, from the cost of devices and services to the complexity of interfaces, to the growing responsibilities that they may not always be equipped to manage.
“Expanding digital services alone is insufficient, as social determinants of health shape individuals' ability to benefit from these technologies." Her call to action for policymakers is clear: health laws and policies must pay greater attention to people's actual ability to use mobile health, not simply their theoretical access to it.
When healthcare becomes a consumer product
Another striking thread in Sun's analysis concerns what she calls "healthcare consumerism." As virtual care expands, consultations by app, self-monitoring by wearable device, and AI-assisted diagnosis, health is increasingly framed as something individuals manage themselves, rather than something that happens in a relationship between patient and doctor.
Sun argues that this shift carries real risks. When individuals are expected to take ever-greater responsibility for their own health through digital tools, the shared nature of healthcare, the relationship between patient, physician, and the broader system, can erode. "The individualistic interpretation of mobile health reflects the modern concept of health shifting towards self-adaptation," she acknowledges. But her research argues against taking this too far. Instead, she calls for "a move from an individualistic perspective towards a more relational understanding of mobile health, in order to better address responsibilities and relationships in evolving digital health environments."
In practice, this means asking harder questions about shared decision-making. A patient using a medical AI app to manage a chronic illness is not simply a consumer choosing a product. According to her, “healthcare is not a fast-moving business; achieving shared-decision making in virtual care should emphasize patients’ needs, continuity of care and medical professionalism.”
Societal relevance: a challenge for everyone
Sun is clear about who her research is aimed at. Its relevance extends beyond academics and legal scholars to policymakers shaping digital health regulation, technology developers designing the platforms and apps people rely on, clinicians whose relationships with patients are changing, and patients and caregivers navigating an increasingly digital healthcare system. Her dissertation advocates a collective approach, encouraging these stakeholders to recognise their roles in this changing landscape.
Rejection emails and the Erasmian spirit
Like many researchers before her, Sun found the PhD journey to be as much a personal experience as an intellectual one. Her most memorable lesson came from an unexpected place: her inbox. "The article that collected the most rejection emails ended up becoming my most-cited publication so far," she recalls. "So if your inbox currently contains reviewers' negative comments, you may simply be in 'the early stages of success'."
That spirit of persistence, combined with the curiosity and openness fostered during the PhD, is something she hopes to pass on to those just beginning their research journey. "A PhD was a unique journey that allowed me to connect with inspiring minds from around the world. So do explore, exchange and experiment." It is, she adds with a nod to the university that shaped her, closely aligned with the Erasmian spirit.
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