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
Our Top Ten Lab Stories Highlight Major Changes
CEO SUMMARY: What makes 2010 a watershed year for the laboratory testing industry is enactment of the 2,700-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Even if parts of this bill are repealed, the remaining parts of the massive legislation will trigger major changes …
FTC Opposes LabCorp’s Acquisition of Westcliff
CEO SUMMARY: On November 30, FTC commissioners filed an administrative complaint opposing Laboratory Corporation of America’s acquisition of Westcliff Medical Laboratories, Inc., on the grounds that it “violates antitrust laws and would lead to higher prices and lower quality…
Time for Labs to Use Web To Recruit Med Techs
CEO SUMMARY: On the Web, clinical laboratories have a chance to identify potential new hires weeks or months in advance and to interact with potential job candidates in ways that were not possible in the past. An experienced lab recruiter explains how labs can benefit from these …
10 Strategies to Boost Med Tech Recruiting
CEO SUMMARY: Headhunters regularly see the best and worst of clinical laboratories in the areas of medical technologist recruiting and retention. Based on her experience, veteran recruiter Peggy McKee offers 10 proven strategies that every laboratory can use to improve both its recruitmen…
December 6, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
With its announcement last month of an agreement to acquire US Oncology for $2.16 billion, McKesson Corporation has greatly expanded its presence in oncology. US Oncology provides practice management services in support of 1,392 oncologists who work at 517 locations …
Gauging the Prospects For Anatomic Pathology
CEO SUMMARY: More buyers are crowding into the lab testing industry and looking to acquire anatomic pathology testing companies. These buyers are willing to pay strong prices to acquire AP labs and companies which they determine to be a strategic fit. All of this acquisition acti…
GE Pulls Plug on Its LIS, No Support after July 2013
CEO SUMMARY: Not in recent memory has a laboratory information system (LIS) product been pulled from the market. That is why the announcement by GE Healthcare that it would no longer service or support its Centricity Ultra Laboratory product after July 23, 2013, has caused a stir…
Several Laboratory Companies On Road to Public Stock Offering
ONE OF THE FEW PUBLIC STOCK OFFERINGS involving a lab testing company was completed last Wednesday. Exact Sciences, Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin sold $69 million worth of new shares to the public. Exact Sciences has proprietary diagnostic technology that it describes as “for noninv…
Whole Genome Sequencing: Is It Ready for Prime Time?
CEO Summary: Pathologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, in a collaboration with GenomeQuest, Inc., will produce whole human genome sequences of patient tumors and other specimens. These whole genome sequences will be studied to learn what diagn…
Aetna Sues LabCorp Over Lab Marketing Practices
CEO SUMMARY: Aetna, Inc., sued Laboratory Corporation of America in federal court, seeking injuctive relief for actions taken once LabCorp became an out-of-network laboratory provider for Aetna in July 2007. LabCorp is also accused of a “malicious scheme to continue to receive …
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 12 – August 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview, a laboratory industry M&A specialist discusses what’s driving lab outreach sales to national lab companies. Also, The Dark Report analyzes ways in which pathology and clinical labs can profitably partner with pharmaceutical companies.
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