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.