Until Robert L. Michel came along and founded The Dark Intelligence Group (DIG) two decades ago, the clinical laboratory industry and the anatomic pathology profession lacked a trustworthy source for information about the management and operations of medical laboratories. From its inception in 1995, The Dark Report quickly became the “go to” source of industry intelligence, innovations in lab management, and strategic market analysis.
This excellence in reporting has earned recognition from his peers. For example, twice Michel and The Dark Report have won national awards for best investigative reporting by the Specialty Information Publishers Association. In 2005, the award was for Michel’s coverage about how the anatomic pathology condominium laboratories (pod labs) operated by urologists and gastroenterologists came to be, who operated them, and how these owners marketed the AP condo labs to other physician groups. In 2009, Michel’s award for best investigative reporting resulted from his published interviews with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated when the company admitted that, for a period of 18 months, it had been reported inaccurate Vitamin 25(OH) D results because of problems with its laboratory-developed test methodology. The Dark Report’s story was picked up by The New York Times and was in the national news cycle for several days.
In his role as Editor-in-Chief, Michel brought unique capabilities to DIG and The Dark Report. His management training and diverse business experience—along with his skills as a concise writer and analyst—proved to be a winning combination for readers of The Dark Report. For that reason, Michel’s story has many intriguing elements.
Immediately prior to founding DIG, he had served in several executive positions for Nichols Institute based in Portland, Oregon, and San Juan Capistrano, California. This was during the time that Nichols Institute was an independent public lab company with annual revenues of about $280 million (prior to its acquisition by MetPath, Inc., now Quest Diagnostics Incorporated). He traveled extensively to many of the clinical lab business units owned by Nichols Institute in different regions of the United States and played a role in formulating effective market strategies in response to the emergence of closed-panel HMOs, capitated pricing, and full-risk managed care contracts, among other successful management initiatives.
Prior to his service at Nichols Institute, Michel served at three different Fortune 100 companies. These were Procter & Gamble, Centex Corporation, and Financial Corp. of America. Each was an opportunity to master new management techniques and apply them in different industries. Between these positions, he gained experience as an entrepreneur, having founded a real estate development firm and a general contracting company in the Southeastern United States.
Robert Michel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played rugby, a sport he participated in for another 22 years. He is a native of California and grew up in Santa Ana.
From the Volume XXVII No. 1 – January 6, 2020 issue
On Dec. 19, Congress passed a year-end spending bill that included the Laboratory Access for Beneficiaries (LAB) Act. The bill went to the President for his signature. The bill mandates that the federal Centers or Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) delay by one year having labs report their private payer lab test data. This means no
From the Volume XXVI No. 17 – December 16, 2019 issue
John M. Mattsen, III, MD, one of the founders of ARUP Laboratories of Salt Lake City, died on November 9, at the age of 86. As a pathologist and an executive leader, he was at the forefront of laboratory medicine for many decades. A graduate of Brigham Young University (BS) and UCLA Medical School, Mattsen
From the Volume XXVI No. 17 – December 16, 2019 issue
CEO SUMMARY: There are both surprises and several valuable insights to be harvested from THE DARK REPORT’s “Top 10 Lab Industry Stories for 2019.” Financially, 2019 proved to be a tough year for both clinical labs and anatomic pathology groups in the United States. One reason is because Medicare and private payers continue to use
From the Volume XXVI No. 16 – November 25, 2019 issue
Medicare lab test price cuts mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) are eroding the finances of urology groups that do in-office clinical laboratory testing. In the November issue of Urology Times, urologist Robert A. Dowling, MD, wrote a news story that identified the cuts in Medicare Part B prices for the lab tests
From the Volume XXVI No. 14 – October 14, 2019 issue
Pharmacogenetic testing is gaining acceptance by a growing number of health insurers. On Oct. 1, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) began coverage of genetic tests that help physicians identify the anti-depressant drugs most likely to benefit their patients. UHC’s policy also extends coverage to multi-gene testing for antipsychotic drugs. In writing about this decision, www.clinicalomics.com said, “UnitedHealthcare’s policy
From the Volume XXVI No. 14 – October 14, 2019 issue
Two interesting partners are working on a project to map the human immune system with the goal of creating a knowledge base that can be used to develop diagnostic tests. Microsoft and Adaptive Biotechnologies of Seattle are collaborating on this project. “Google categorized the world’s information on the internet. What we’re essentially trying to do with
From the Volume XXVI No. 13 – September 23, 2019 issue
Spectra Laboratories, a division of the national dialysis company Fresenius Medical Care, will soon open a new 200,000 square foot laboratory facility in Memphis. The new lab will employ more than 300 people and will be located only 15 minutes from the Memphis International Airport and the Memphis world hub operated by FedEx Corporation. The
From the Volume XXVI No. 12 – September 3, 2019 issue
Two more clinical laboratory organizations that used American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) to handle their lab test claims announced in July that their patients’ data was breached. Inform Diagnostics of Irving, Texas, disclosed that the data of 173,716 patients was compromised. Within days of that announcement, CompuNet Clinical Laboratories of Moraine, Ohio, stated that about 110,000
From the Volume XXVI No. 11 – August 12, 2019 issue
Add eight more laboratories to the list of lab companies whose patient data were breached when the American Medical Collection Agency was hacked. According to HealthITSecurity, in recent weeks, these labs reported breaches of their patient records:
Natera
American Esoteric Labs
CBLPath
South Texas Dermatopathology
Seacoast Pathology
Arizona Dermatopathology
Laboratory of Dermatopathology ADX
MORE ON: Patient Data Breach
It
From the Volume XXVI No. 11 – August 12, 2019 issue
CEO SUMMARY: In 2017, an auditor for CMS alleged that True Health filed fraudulent claims and the federal Medicare program cut all payments to the lab company and one month later reduced the cut to 35% of the billed amount. Two months ago, CMS ended all payments again. These facts became public on July 2
