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
Med Tech Finds “Grace†Aboard Lab of Mercy Ship
CEO SUMMARY: One intrepid medical technologist has spent almost two decades in volunteer service working in the clinical laboratories of hospital ships operated by Mercy Ships International. As the world’s largest hospital ship, the Africa Mercy contains six operating rooms, a 78-bed IC…
October 29, 2012 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
OURLab and its parent company, Prost Data, Inc., of Nashville, Tennessee, entered into an agreement to be sold to Opko Health Inc., of Miami, Florida. The purchase price of $40 million will be paid as $9.4 million in cash and $30.6 million in stock. …
Process Improvement Coming to Healthcare
CEO SUMMARY: One new byword coming to healthcare in the United States is the “continuously-learning healthcare system.†At the upcoming Lab Quality Confab in San Antonio next month, lab managers and pathologists can learn more about how to achieve and sustain continuous improvement in…
Ampersand Buys Calloway Labs, Enters Pain Management Market
URINE DRUG TESTING for pain management may be a challenging business for clinical labs given that compliance officers in the states and in the federal government have successfully pursued lab compliance abuses in this line of business in recent years. Now comes news that private equity firm …
October 8, 2012 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Definiens AG, one of the major players in the fast-growing market for digital pathology, raised $12.8 million in additional capital funding. The company, based in Munich, Germany, manufacturers systems for digital image analysis. Definiens stated that the new funds will be used for â…
Competitive Bidding: Once Again, It’s Back!
CEO SUMMARY: For the clinical lab industry, the concept of competitive bidding for Medicare Part B Clinical Lab Testing may be like the movie “Groundhog Day.†The hero, Bill Murray, kept reliving the same day over and over. So it seems to be with competitive bidding. In the latest rep…
Sonic Healthcare, Bio-Reference Report Financial Performance
IN RECENT WEEKS, two of the nation’s larger public laboratory companies issued their earnings reports. In both cases, revenue growth was strong, a distinct difference from the recent financial performance of their two largest lab public company competitors. It was on August 21, 2012, when …
September 17, 2012 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Exome sequencing testing for cancer patients is now offered by the Cancer Genetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas. This clinical testing will be performed using next-generation gene sequencing technology. Pathologists at Baylor are among the first in…
Narrower Provider Networks Topic during Quest Conference Call
SINCE MAY 1, 2012, the nation’s largest clinical laboratory company has had a new CEO, who is Stephen H. Rusckowski. The company’s second quarter conference call provided an opportunity to learn more about how he views Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Conducted on July 19, the fi…
Leica, Aperio, Myriad, AMP, Hologic, Gen-Probe
LEICA BIOSYSTEMS TO ACQUIRE APERIO FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY YEARS, a global leader in histology systems and products has announced that it will acquire one of the leading digital pathology companies. This time it is Leica Biosystems of Nussloch, German…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 14 – October 6, 2025
The Dark Report examines increasing healthcare costs for employers and how clinical labs can help those employers. Also, an in-depth case study shows how one hospital system regained its outreach program after originally ceding it to a national lab company, adding millions to the system’s bottom line.
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