Robert Michel
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.
Articles by Robert Michel
Joint Commission Will Not Accept COLA Accreditation
CEO SUMMARY: This may be a first in the 40-year history of CLIA accreditation of clinical laboratories. The Joint Commission (TJC) announced it will no longer recognize COLA’s laboratory accreditation program within “TJC-accredited facilities,” effective Jan 1, 2023. COLA-accredited labs …
Joint Commission Will No Longer Accept COLA Accreditation
The Dark Report reports on the provocative move by The Joint Commission (TJC) to no longer recognize COLA’s accreditation program for laboratories within TJC-accredited facilities. The decision was effective Jan 1, 2023. COLA-accredited la…
What’s Behind Joint Commission Move to Not Accept COLA Labs?
DURING THE NEXT TWO YEARS, a substantial number of hospitals and healthcare facilities will need to respond to The Joint Commission’s (TJC) decision to no longer recognize CLIA accreditations issued by COLA in “TJC-accredited facilities.” In the 30-year history of the current C…
National Lab Says It Will Help with Supply Chain Services
RECOGNIZING THAT SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES are troublesome to some of its clinical laboratory customers, one national lab company has announced it would like to help solve those issues. In September, Quest Diagnostics issued a press release describing …
Eight Macro Trends for Clinical Labs Will Shape Diagnostic Services in 2023 and Beyond
The Dark Report’s “Eight Macro Trends for Clinical Labs in 2023” delivers the insights that lab administrators and pathologists will want to study as they formulate their future business strategies. These include staffing shortages, factors threatening the stability of…
Eight Macro Trends for Clinical Labs in 2023
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory administrators and pathologists will want to carefully study eight important trends that will guide their business strategies in 2023. Many of these macro trends center on financial and operational difficulties and ways to steer around these obstacles. Anothe…
How Consumers Shape Modern Laboratory Outreach
CEO SUMMARY: Each of the different generations engaging with clinical laboratory outreach programs brings their own set of expectations to a blood draw. Innovative hospital lab outreach programs should serve these differences by offering multiple options to provide appointment conve…
The Dark Report Announces Top 10 Clinical Laboratory Stories of 2022
There are valuable insights to be gleaned from The Dark Report’s “Top 10 Clinical Laboratory Stories for 2022.” Several of this year’s story picks involve external forces reshaping healthcare in the United States in profound ways. Other story picks for 2022 illustrat…
2022’s Top 10 Lab Stories Confirm Challenging Times
CEO SUMMARY: There are valuable insights to be gleaned from The Dark Report’s “Top 10 Lab Industry Stories for 2022.” Several of this year’s story picks involve external forces reshaping healthcare in the United States in profound ways. Other story picks for 2022 illustrate …
Holmes, Balwani Get Lengthy Prison Terms for Theranos Fraud
SENTENCING OF ELIZABETH HOLMES AND RAMESH “SUNNY” BALWANI in federal court caps the strange, yet captivating, saga of Theranos and its flawed blood testing technology. For laboratory professionals, the four years of legal wranglings that surrounded the Theranos fraud case may be remembered …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXX No. 2 – January 23, 2023
The Dark Report explores the decision by The Joint Commission to no longer accept COLA-accredited facilities at its own accredited organizations, and reprints the letters sent by both TJC and COLA relative to the move. In other news, CLIA changes are coming and The Dark Report has an exclusive interview with a member of the committee studying those potential changes.
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