The Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX: DOC) share price has gained the attention of investors on Monday.
Earlier in the day, shares in the UK-based telehealth provider surged more than 9% higher to 47 cents apiece. However, upwards momentum quickly reverted back to downwards pressure. As a result, the company's share price is now down 1.1% to 42.5 cents.
Interestingly, the small-cap company has experienced an above-average amount of volume traded. At the time of writing, more than 357,000 Doctor Care Anywhere shares have exchanged hands today. This is the highest level of volume since the company endured a 9.7% fall one week ago.
So, what could be attracting heightened focus on the Doctor Care Anywhere share price today?
Telehealth is here to stay
Investors seem to be paying extra attention to telehealth companies such as Doctor Care Anywhere today. This follows a media release from the Australian Government Department of Health detailing a $308.6 million investment in the country's primary care health system.
According to the release, telehealth will become a permanent feature of primary health care. As such, $106 million of the $308.6 million in government spending will go towards telehealth for Australian patients. This investment will be spread across four years.
The government aims to ensure greater flexibility for patients and doctors by allowing medical personnel to continue to leverage online and phone consultations.
Furthermore, the release stated that since early March 2020, more than 86.3 million COVID-19 Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) services have been delivered to 16.1 million patients.
The government's backing of telehealth services along with this announcement has likely has put the Doctor Care Anywhere share price in focus today. Though, investors don't seem to be overly optimistic with the news as its shares come under pressure in afternoon trade.
Doctor Care Anywhere share price recap
While telehealth might have gained popularity in the last year due to ongoing conditions, the Doctor Care Anywhere share price hasn't benefitted from it.
In the last year, shares in the telehealth platform provider have sunk 65% in value. Meanwhile, the broader health care sector has gained 5.6% in value. The poor performance is hard to decipher considering the company reported a record quarter in October for the number of patients who had their first consultation using the platform.
Based on the current Doctor Care Anywhere share price, the company holds a market capitalisation of ~$78 million.
