China launched the first real-world study on COVID-19 listed drugs on Friday in Beijing.

Data from nearly 40,000 COVID-19 patients at more than 100 large hospitals and grassroots medical institutes across the nation’s 30 provinces and cities will be included in the study.

The study will focus on doctors’ diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients, inputting their data and performing follow-up visits to realize whole-process management of the patients on digitalized platforms.

The study will offer more sound support to the safety and efficiency of COVID-19 drugs by including significant amounts of patient data, and will help verify the clinical applications of these drugs.

Also, the study will help conclude which treatment is most economical, both in clinical and pharmaceutical terms, by calculating the expenses incurred by treating these patients.

Zhou Wenting in Shanghai contributed to this story.