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
Government Regulators Transforming Lab Industry
CEO SUMMARY: Medicare/Medicaid regulators get serious about laboratory billing and reimbursement practices. Industry observers say it represents a major shift and will have immense financial and operational impact on every clinical laboratory in the United States. FOLLOWING…
Cigna Buys HealthSource, Inc., Increases Managed Care Clout
CEO SUMMARY: Consolidation continues among managed care companies. Cigna’s acquisition is an effort to boost its managed care business. Healthsource’s market coverage complements areas where Cigna can use the additional market strength to negotiate more favorable contracts with provid…
Las Vegas Lab Gathering Debates Industry Trends
CEO SUMMARY: Always a good forum for discussion of laboratory industry trends, this year’s meeting in Las Vegas addressed government regulation, laboratory automation and everything in between. Here is a brief rundown on some of the more interesting insights and observations….
LabCorp Seeks $500 Million Through Public Stock Offering
CEO SUMMARY: After a financially difficult year in 1996, LabCorp enters 1997 with plans to raise $500 million. Despite the laboratory industry’s poor prospects, LabCorp will probably succeed in raising capital. After this infusion of capital, will LabCorp’s new management team have wi…
“March 10, 1997 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
The field of automated cytology is advancing quickly. Technology is rapidly pushing into the marketplace. Here’s a sampling of recent developments among cytology-based companies… Cytyc Corporation and Laboratory Corporation of America announced on March…
Unilab Pushes Insurers To Increase Cap Rates
CEO SUMMARY: California’s financially destructive capitation rates plunged two more laboratories into bankruptcy. Unilab’s actions indicate that even the largest laboratory company in the state can no longer survive without reimbursement relief. The question remains as to whether mana…
Differing Views About Capitation Rate Trends
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory executives in California believe that capitated rates for laboratory services in the state may soon increase. But no one knows for sure, and no documentation about specific capitation rates for newly signed laboratory services contracts has yet to become public….
New York Labs Sue State To Overturn Surcharge
CEO SUMMARY: With the new laboratory test surcharge in place since January 1, 1997, clinical laboratories already see negative financial effects. Administration and collection of the tax is a nightmare. Some managed care companies moved swiftly to reduce reimbursement to laboratories in o…
An Industrial Engineer Looks At Laboratory Automation And Robotics
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Last fall, Mark Smythe’s four-part DARK REPORT series about the thirteen “Perilous Parallels” common to commercial laboratory managers provoked widespread response among our clients and readers. We’ve invited him back to address management issues involving…
Second War College Set For New Orleans In May
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory consolidation and networking activity continues to intensify. This year’s War College faculty features exceptional stories about what works and what doesn’t. New Orleans is the place to be on May 20-21 for proactive laboratory administrators and p…
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?
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.