OBJECTIVE To provide reference for improving the disease diagnosis related groups （DRG） payment reform， promoting refined hospital operation and management and rational drug use. METHODS Taking the orthopedic department of our hospital （the Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University） as the research object， based on evidence-based medicine， a medication clinical pathway （hereinafter referred to as medication pathway） for DRG diseases in this department was constructed and implemented. All patients who met the DRG disease were included in the medication path management， and the patients in the same DRG disease group were treated with the same treatment method. Segmented regression model （SRM） was adopted to analyze the effects of medication pathway on the medical service capacity， efficiency and quality of our hospital. RESULTS During the implementation of medication pathway， significant decreases were observed in average length of hospital stay， cost per hospitalization， the proportion of medication expenses， medication cost per hospitalization and defined daily dose； the proportion of medical service revenue and the qualified rate of medical orders significantly increased （P＜0.05）. After the implementation of medication pathway， the average length of hospital stay and defined daily dose continued to decrease， and the qualified rate of medical orders also continued to significantly increase （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The implementation of medication pathway enhances the quality of medical services， improves operational efficiency， reduces medical expenses， and contributes to the development of a refined hospital management system.