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
Federal Judge Rules Against Idaho Hospital in Antitrust Case
LAST MONTH, A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED that St. Luke’s Health System of Boise, Idaho, violated antitrust laws when, in 2012, it acquired Saltzer Medical Group, the largest independent medical practice in the state. In ruling against the merger of a hospital and physici…
February 24, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Maybe the tough financial environment here in the United States is causing Sonic Healthcare Ltd., one of this nation’s bigger lab players, to be more interested in overseas lab testing opportunities. On February 18, its CEO, Colin Goldschmidt, M.D., told investors that “We contin…
Quality Assurance Regs to Tighten for UK Labs
CEO SUMMARY: In the United Kingdom, a window of opportunity has opened for improving the quality assurance activities of pathology and histopathology laboratories. Last week, at the Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine conference, the newly-published “Pathology Quality Assurance Review” w…
Once Again, Revenue Declines at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
FIRST TO REPORT its fourth quarter and full year earnings for 2013 was Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. It more than other potential buyers to released its earnings report last Thursday. For fourth quarter 2013, Quest Diagnostics generated revenue of $1.76 billion, c…
February 3, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Last month, it was announced that Solstas Lab Partners of Greensboro, North Carolina, had agreed to be sold to Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. The sales price is $570 million and financial analysts on Wall Street estimate that the annual revenue at Solstas Lab Partne…
Genetic Testing Creates New Legal Risks for Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Last month, in Seattle, Washington, a jury ordered Laboratory Corporation of America and Valley Medical Center each to pay $25 million following a lawsuit about a ‘wrongful’ birth. At issue was how genetic tests were ordered, performed, and reported. This court case is th…
CMS Cuts BRCA Price by 49% in Response to Competition
IN THE FINAL WEEKS OF 2013, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would reduce the price it pays for the BRCA genetic test by 49%, to $1,438, effective on January 1, 2014. For Myriad Genetics, Inc., this wa…
January 13, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Currently there are 119 operational health information exchanges (HIEs) in the United States. This number is 58% greater than the 75 HIEs that were operational in 2010. These numbers were reported in Health Affairs. The study was authored by researchers at the University of Michigan. Th…
2013’s Top Ten Lab Stories Point to Tougher Times
CEO SUMMARY: For 2013, the big story was money—or, more accurately, less money for providers. This was not limited to clinical labs and pathology groups, but was equally true of hospitals and physicians. In THE DARK REPORT’S annual lookback at the year’s 10…
LabCorp, Bio-Reference Labs, Epic, OHSU, Alberta Health
LABCORP, BRLI ISSUE REVISED GUIDANCE OF LOWER EARNINGS IN RECENT WEEKS, at least two public lab companies have issued downward earnings guidance for 2014. These changes are based, in part, on expected reimbursement reductions from the Medicare program. It was December 10 wh…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 15 – October 27, 2025
The Dark Report examines the momentous decision by the VA to switch accreditors from The Joint Commission to CAP. Also, we analyze retractions in pathology journals to gain insight into scientific fraud.
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