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
Actions of Ex-Employees Can Breach Lab Security
CEO SUMMARY: Lab managers should take steps to protect patient data and proprietary information. This includes customer lists, payer contracts, customer-specific pricing, sales force compensation information, lab testing intellectual property, and protected health information. Te…
Specimen Volume Declines Reported By Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp
IN REPORTING SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS, there was enough difference in the numbers announced by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and Laboratory Corporation of America to catch the attention of financial analysts. Revenue at LabCorp was up for the quarter while revenue a…
AAB’s Suit Prevails over NY State Following 11 Years of Litigation
SCORE A BIG WIN FOR THE GOOD GUYS! An appeals court in New York state has upheld a lower court ruling that the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) intentionally overcharged clinical laboratories for the costs of regulating clinical laboratories and blood banks, possibly goin…
August 2, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
It was a productive second quarter for MED-TOX Scientific, Inc., of St. Paul, Minnesota. Total revenue climbed 18.1%, to $25.2 million, compared to $21.3 million for the same period in 2009. Operating income grew to $1.5 million, an increase of 176%. Known as a drugs of abuse testing…
In South Carolina, TC/PC May Be “Misconduct”
CEO SUMMARY: Last month, the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners advised all physicians in the state that certain arrangements for technical component/professional component (TC/PC) services between referring physicians and pathologists may be in violation of state law. The…
SC Pathologists Question Legality of TC/PC in State
CEO SUMMARY: Recently the South Carolina Society of Pathologists (SCSP) requested that the state’s Board of Medical Examiners review the legality, under state law, of certain technical component/professional component (TC/PC) arrangements between referring physicians and pathol…
New Criticisms in Ireland About Cervical Screening
CEO SUMMARY: Pathologists worldwide are witnessing how a government health service can erode its nation’s pathology capabilities in cytology. Ireland’s experiment in off-shoring all its Pap testing even as it requires women to register in a national database in order to get f…
Patient Privacy Laws Create Legal Risk for Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Before the nation’s healthcare system can achieve the integrated universal EHR, it must fix the crazy contradictions in state and federal laws governing patient privacy. There is discordance between federal law and state law that defines the role and responsibility…
Better Blood Utilization Reduces Costs by 29%
CEO SUMMARY: Use of an innovative two-pronged approach helped University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital rein in runaway cost increases in blood products. Not only did it achieve annual savings of $3.5 million in three years—a 29% reduction—but it increased blood donations …
July 12, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Point-of-care testing (POCT) continues to gather momentum and grow at much faster rates than routine clinical laboratory testing. That’s the finding of analysts at Frost & Sullivan. In the United States, POCT product sales totaled $2.1 billion in 2009. Frost & Sullivan predicts that …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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