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
Why Is There Crime In the Lab Industry?
CEO SUMMARY: Since 1991, there have been criminal indictments or criminal convictions of four former CEOs of public lab companies. Given the limited number of public lab companies active in the market at any moment in time, this is a remarkably high rate of criminal behavior. Moreover, th…
“May 9, 2005 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Tight-lipped executives at Meridian Bioscience, Inc. have yet to speak in public on any aspect of how live H2N2 influenza virus found its way into the virology proficiency test kits it shipped to thousands of labs on behalf of four lab proficiency testing organizations. Meridian, bas…
Ex-IMPATH Executives Face Criminal Charges
CEO SUMMARY: With the announcement by Federal prosecutors of criminal and civil actions against a total of seven ex-IMPATH executives, IMPATH becomes the laboratory industry’s worst criminal scandal. Federal prosecutors contend these executives, during their employment at IMPATH, engine…
LabCorp Buys Esoterix For $150 Million in Cash
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory Corporation of America continues to display an appetite to grow by acquisition. However, its purchase of Esoterix, Inc. creates unique management problems for LabCorp, because Esoterix is itself a product of a lab acquisition strategy. Over the past ten years, Esot…
Victim of First HIPAA-Convicted Crime Tells Story & Offers Advice to Labs
“I figured the hospital would be subject to a multi-million dollar HIPAA lawsuit if my hospital records were proven breached—which is exactly what happened.” —Eric Drew, cancer patient and patient identity theft victim CEO SUMMARY: Eric Dre…
Avoid Patient ID Theft With Proactive Steps
CEO SUMMARY: Identity theft is one of America’s fastest- growing crimes. Not only that, it is simple to commit and can be done by anyone. Few laboratories and pathology group practices are prepared to deal with the crime of patient identity theft. Labs should proactively move to impleme…
“April 18, 2005 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
This may be one of the laboratory industry’s biggest “oops” ever! As part of a laboratory proficiency testing pro- gram, 4,000 laboratories in 18 countries were sent live samples of the H2N2 flu virus. In 1957, H2N2 is believed to have caused between one and four million deaths. Last week, the …
Phlebotomist Convicted For Theft of Patient ID
CEO SUMMARY: Patient identity theft by a phlebotomist, prosecuted and convicted under HIPAA. This is a story whose true dimensions went unreported within the laboratory industry—until now! THE DARK REPORT is first to alert its clients to the possibility that every laboratory and patholo…
Privacy Officer Shares Lessons on ID Theft
CEO SUMMARY: “Nothing teaches like experience.” That adage aptly describes the lessons learned at a Seattle hospital after a case of patient identity theft surfaced. Laboratories and pathology groups must be just as alert to the potential for patient identity theft as they are to inap…
Phlebotomist Gibson Steals Patient’s Identity
CEO SUMMARY: It was a case of a well-liked lab worker acting in rogue fashion to steal and use the identity of a patient to commit financial fraud. Within laboratories, employees in phlebotomy, accessioning, data entry, coding, billing, and collections often have access to sensitive patie…
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.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
Lab leaders rely on THE DARK REPORT for actionable intelligence on important developments in the business of laboratory testing. Maximize the money you make-and the money you keep! Best of all, it is released every three weeks!
Sign up for TDR Insider
Join the Dark Intelligence Group FREE and get TDR Insider FREE!
Never miss a single update on the issues that matter to you and your business.