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
July 13, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
On July 9, eight national laboratory associations sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence to request that the White House Coronavirus Task Force take action to resolve major obstacles that constrain the ability of their member laboratories to perform molecular and serological tests for C…
FDA Says 8 of 11 Tests Fail in Serology Test Review
This is an excerpt of a 1,970-word article in the June 22, 2020 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: After introducing some 200 serological assays onto the market in March and April with little or no review,…
COVID-19 Serology Test Review: FDA Says 8 of 11 Tests Fail
CEO SUMMARY: After introducing some 200 serological assays onto the market in March and April with little or no review, as of this writing the FDA website lists only 77 serology tests. Of that number, 11 assays have been evaluated independently and eight of those 11 have been pulled from…
June 22, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
As they scramble to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials in multiple agencies are purchasing equipment and supplies from vendors with dubious credentials and little operating history. In recent days, Pro-Publica reported “a fledgling Texas company was paid $7.3 mil…
COVID-19 Pandemic Erodes Cash Flow at Clinical Labs
This is an excerpt of a 1,209-word article in the June 1, 2020 issue of THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: Every day, national news headlines scream about the shortage of SARS-CoV-2 lab tests needed to man…
COVID-19 Pandemic Erodes Cash Flow at Clinical Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Every day, national news headlines scream about the shortage of SARS-CoV-2 lab tests needed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, national news coverage has begun focusing on concerns about inaccurate or unreliable COVID-19 serology tests. But the story being…
June 1, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
Daily, national news headlines call attention to the lack of adequate testing for COVID-19. News reporters question why clinical labs are unable to meet the demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests. One major reason is the lack of adequate supplies labs need to collect specimens, transport them, and per…
MAY 11, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
Clinical laboratories in other countries have similar challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United Kingdom, the Independent reported last week that “Widespread testing for coronavirus has been suspended among staff and patients at hospitals and GP practices ser…
Lab, Path Finances Crash; Next Test Wave: Serology
CEO SUMMARY: For clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups, the day-by-day impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unfolding much like Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans in 2005. Every 24 hours, labs get unwelcome news, along with uncertainty about whether it will …
APRIL 20, 2020 Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
Not only did the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States show how unprepared the nation was for an event like this, but it exposed numerous problems and weaknesses in the federal agencies tasked with protecting the health and safety of the American public. One high-profile failure hap…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 10 – July 14, 2025
This issue is strong on different flavors of enforcement that clinical laboratories, whether they want to or not, will need to contend with. Lab stakeholders provide insights that medical labs need to brace for more action to counter pending test reimbursement rate cuts under PAMA. Also, this issue provides the legal and regulatory landscape for clinical labs’ use of AI and how it evolves with the technology. AI is creating legal uncertainty for clinical labs, especially around data privacy and FDA oversight of AI tools in diagnostics.
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