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
May 11, 2015 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Last month, TriCore Reference Laboratories of Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced that it had purchased the Rhodes Group, of Vernon, Connecticut. Rhodes Group provides data integration services for labs and other healthcare providers. TriCore had long been a customer of Rhodes Group. Tr…
April 20, 2015 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
It’s a lawsuit that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated can’t seem to make go away. Last week in California, a federal judge ruled Hunter Laboratories and Surgical Pathology Associates (SPA) can continue to pursue their antitrust lawsuit against Quest Diagnostics. …
What’s New at Theranos? Lab Firm Expands in AZ
CEO SUMMARY: Over the past 18 months, Theranos has taken steps to enter the clinical lab marketplace. Across Greater Phoenix, Theranos now has specimen collection centers in about 40 Walgreens pharmacies. It is opening a CLIA lab facility in Scottsdale. Now that it is delivering…
Theranos: Many Questions, but Very Few Answers
CEO SUMMARY: Winston Churchill famously said that “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” That description could apply to Theranos, the company that claims it is poised to disrupt the entire clinical laboratory testing industry. In Phoenix, where Theranos is r…
Will Federal Prosecutors Pursue HDL Lab Execs and Physicians?
WHERE WAS MUCH TO BE LEARNED when, on April 9, federal prosecutors announced settlements of multiple whistleblower lawsuits against Health Diagnostics Laboratory, Inc. of Richmond, Virginia, and Singulex Inc. of Alameda, California. First, the Department of Justice structured a…
Benchmarking with the Best To Be a World Class Laboratory
CEO SUMMARY: This fourth installment of this special series about the laboratory value pyramid introduces “Level Four: Use Benchmarks to Achieve Best-in-Class.” This is the highest level of the four level pyramid. When a lab organization performs at this level, it will be deliver…
LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics Both Say 2014 Revenue Was Up
BOTH OF THE NATION’S LARGEST clinical laboratory companies reported increased specimen volume as a result of the Accountable Care Act (ACA), as noted in their respective fourth quarter and full-year earnings reports. First to issue its earning statement was Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. On…
March 30, 2015 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Last Friday, at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, members of the health systems’s authority board were given tours of the new $63.4 million clinical laboratory facility. It is scheduled to open on May 4 and will feature the latest state-of-the art analyzers and lab automation system…
UnitedHealth Sets April 15 to Start Claims Impact of Lab Program
APRIL 15 IS THE DATE when UnitedHealthcare will begin denying laboratory claims in Florida that do not meet the requirements of its unpopular laboratory benefit management program. The health insurer sent out notices last month to alert physicians and laboratories that it will implement what it call…
March 9, 2015 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Many laboratory professionals are closely watching the development of Theranos, the lab testing company based in Palo Alto, California, that claims it has technology and a business model that will disrupt the clinical laboratory testing market. Recently Forbes announced its annual li…
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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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