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
Hospital Labs Feel More Pressure to Lower Prices
CEO SUMMARY: It’s a new trend and gathering momentum. At managed care contract renewal time, more hospitals and health systems report much stronger pressure from health insurers to accept deep cuts to laboratory test prices. At the same time, managed care companies are getting smarter a…
Payer Trend in New Hampshire Is to Engage Lab Patients
CEO SUMMARY: A health insurer’s two-year-old effort to have patients choose low-cost laboratory testing options is causing patients to shift their lab work away from New Hampshire’s hospitals and instead use Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp, and ConVerge (a commercial lab company). This new…
LifeLabs, Gamma-Dynacare, Sonic Healthcare, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital
LIFELABS QUEBEC TO BE ACQUIRED BY GAMMA-DYNACARE LAST WEEK, IT WAS ANNOUNCED that Gamma-Dynacare Medical Laboratories had signed a definitive agreement with LifeLabs Limited Partnership to purchase LifeLabs Quebec. Both par…
April 2, 2012 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Like a tenacious bulldog, Roche Holding AG continues its determined effort to acquire Illumina, Inc., the company that makes gene sequencing systems. Last week, Roche increased its offer from $44.50 per share to $51 per share for Illumina stock. That raises the price…
Today’s Lab Test Model Won’t Survive Reforms
CEO SUMMARY: For more than three decades, independent lab companies have waxed fat by increasing their respective market share of lab test referrals from office-based physicians. This era is poised to end as growing numbers of office-based physicians begin to practice medicine within an a…
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp Report Q-4, Full Year Earnings
IN RECENT WEEKS, each of the nation’s two largest public laboratory companies reported earnings for fourth quarter 2011 and full year 2011. Organic growth at both lab companies continues at low single-digit rates. This continues the pattern of relatively modest growth that has been posted by each …
March 12, 2012 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
One of the nation’s more clever business models for hospital laboratories is co-tenancy. It is a proven way that lab administrators can reduce the cost of inpatient testing. It is for this reason that the Michigan Co-Tenancy Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan continues to grow. It a…
‘Pull Through’ Is Key Issue in Lab Whistleblower Suit
CEO SUMMARY: Now comes a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court with the claim that, in the 2007 contract between UnitedHealth Group and Laboratory Corporation of America, LabCorp’s discounted lab test prices were a kickback that violated Medicare law. LabCorp has denied the al…
Former Lab CEO Explains Why He Filed Lawsuit
CEO SUMMARY: It may be the first time that a former public laboratory CEO has turned whistleblower. Andrew Baker, formerly Chairman and CEO of Unilab Corporation in the 1990s, filed a qui tam case in federal court last year that centers on the practice of lab companies offering private he…
HIMSS Says 46% of Hospitals Are at Stage 3 EMR Usage
ADOPTION OF ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD (EMR) SYSTEMS by hospitals is occurring at a steady pace. That’s one recent finding by the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). In a statement made on February 17, HIMSS officials said that 46% of the nation’s hospitals…
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.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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