A national health service hotline is providing services to over two thirds of China's provincial regions, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Tuesday.

A commission statement said the hotline had received 3,449,000 calls as of the end of 2012. The public health service number, 12320, opened in 2006. There are 31 provincial regions in the mainland and 26 have access to the service hotline.

It handles various cases such as consulting and medical appointments, and reduces the difficulty in receiving medical treatment, according to the statement.

The hotline provides people information on health regulations and public health knowledge. It also takes public complaints and tip-offs.

The statement said the hotline has been building a comprehensive service platform consisting of phone, website, text message, and microblog service.

The hotline opened two official microblog accounts on Chinese portals Sina.com and Tencent.com last year. They have sent about 4,000 postings and attracted more than two million followers by the end of February, according to the statement.

Improvements to the service will be made with the building of a national data collection and releasing system for health information.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2013)