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
Problems In PPM lndustry Affect Pathology Practices
DURING 1998, THE FINANCIAL WOES of many physician practice management (PPM) companies caught healthcare experts, investors, and financial experts by surprise. Problems with the PPM industry could not come at a worse time for the pathology profession. At the very moment that several pathology-based P…
September 8, 1998 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
If any one individual was to be credited with creating the modern commercial laboratory organization, it would be Paul Brown, M.D., founder and former Chairman of MetPath, Inc. (now Quest Diagnostics Incorporated). Where is he now? For ten years, he served as a Direc…
United Health’s Big Losses Derail Merger With Humana
CEO SUMMARY: Considered the darling of the managed care industry by investors, United Healthcare’s huge write-down makes it the latest healthcare behemoth to post an immense loss. Laboratory executives should see this as a sign that even big healthcare companies are struggling to develop fiscal sta…
“Corporatized” Healthcare Encountering Big Losses
CEO SUMMARY: When the clinical laboratory industry found itself losing hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, few people imagined that billion-dollar HMO and PPM companies would soon experience similar losses. Current trends in the managed care marketplace indicate that problems…
AACC Convention Exhibits Point To New Lab Trends
CEO SUMMARY: This year the interesting trend at the AACC’s exhibit hall was modular laboratory automation. That’s a big change from the total laboratory automation solutions touted in past years. But watch out! The economics of this equipment have yet to be validated. It was also clea…
Blunt Talk From HMO Blue’s Ancillary Contracts Manager
CEO SUMMARY: By now, most clinical laboratory executives and pathologists have discovered a new fact of life: provider status with managed care organizations is a critical success factor. Without provider status, the laboratory is denied access to patients and the reimbursement associated…
AccuMed, AutoCyte, Cytyc, MorphoMetrix, Neuromedical, NeoPath
Automated Cytology Update As predicted by THE DARK REPORT, the field of automated cytology has become a boiling pot, filled with controversy and change. Profits are meager. As we expected, the major issue revolves around the cost of this enhanced technology versus the measurable…
“August 17, 1998 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
THE DARK REPORT wants to thank those companies at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry convention in Chicago who invited us to special business briefings and other functions. It was an opportunity to meet both executives and the innovative customers of these companies who a…
Nichols Institute Earns ISO 9001 Certification
CEO SUMMARY: Although it’s the first ISO 9001-certified clinical laboratory in North America, Quest Diagnostics’ Nichols Institute is a late-comer to the party. Most major diagnostics companies already have ISO 9001 certification. This issue of THE DARK REPORT explores why Nichols’ …
Expect ISO 9000 To Alter Clinical Lab Management
CEO SUMMARY: Perceptive laboratory executives and pathologists should welcome the impending arrival of ISO 9000 into the clinical laboratory industry. It promises to solve many problems of laboratory management. The diagnostics industry, responsible for manufacturing instruments and suppl…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 12 – August 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview, a laboratory industry M&A specialist discusses what’s driving lab outreach sales to national lab companies. Also, The Dark Report analyzes ways in which pathology and clinical labs can profitably partner with pharmaceutical companies.
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