The promotion of standardized medical treatment in Anhui province has lowered medical costs for patients, according to the health chief of the province.

More than 20 percent of patients at 75 county-level public hospitals in Anhui in the first quarter of this year received care under the "clinical pathway management" system, which promotes standardized healthcare and reduces variability in clinical practices, Anhui Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission Director Yu Dezhi said at a news conference on Friday.

The patients' expenses decreased an average of 18.6 percent for supplementary medications and 4.28 percent for antibiotics, Yu told a news briefing organized by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the country's top health authority.

As a byproduct of the reduced costs, there were fewer disputes between patients and healthcare workers, he said.

The clinical pathway management system, which was adopted by all county-level public hospitals in Anhui province at the beginning of the year, covers 100 kinds of disease. Patients treated for these ailments receive standardized care even at different hospitals.

Certain accessory drugs and antibiotics are barred from use in these regimens.

The system will become the norm at all major public hospitals in the province by the end of the year, Yu said.

Jiang Yu, who researches China's medical reforms at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the clinical pathway management system aims to ensure the quality of medical care while controlling expenses by cutting unnecessary medications, tests and procedures.

"The system is an innovation of Anhui province, and will be adopted nationwide," he said.

"But it has limitations. Customized treatment remains necessary for some patients."

Anhui is one of the 11 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities that have been selected to pilot a national medical reform program to make healthcare more affordable and accessible, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The main goals of the reform are to establish a multitiered healthcare system to alleviate the burdens on big hospitals and improve healthcare for people at the grassroots; to reform the payment system of the government's medical insurance programs; control medical expenditures; and to give the market a more important role in the healthcare sector.

Because government funding does not fully cover costs, many public hospitals in China rely largely on medication sales and fees to sustain themselves, resulting in high medical expenses for both patients and the government.