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
The Dark Report Announces Top 10 Clinical Laboratory Stories of 2022
There are valuable insights to be gleaned from The Dark Report’s “Top 10 Clinical Laboratory Stories for 2022.” Several of this year’s story picks involve external forces reshaping healthcare in the United States in profound ways. Other story picks for 2022 illustrat…
Analytics Lets Labs Offset Staffing Woes
CEO SUMMARY: For hospital laboratories confronting worker shortages, data analytics can be useful for improving workflows and determining effective staffing levels. This information can also induce changes that may improve employee morale. Two experts discuss three analytics reports…
Top Public IVD Companies Report Q3/Q4 2022 Earnings
IT WAS A MIXED BAG OF THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS for the nation’s largest in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturers, with COVID-19 testing volume a contributing factor. Fluctuating demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing proved perplexing, as some IV…
December 12, 2022, Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
Is it time to allow consumers to do at-home testing for influenza? Given the already-raging influenza season—flu-related hospitalizations doubled the week of Nov. 20 compared to a week earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the STAT medical news site ra…
Babson Diagnostics’ Eric Olson Outlines Company’s Innovative Blood Draw Model
Healthcare technology company Babson Diagnostics is pursuing a new hybrid model for blood draws that it believes brings together the best of clinical laboratories and retail pharmacies, and founder and COO Eric Olson explains the innovations unfolding at his company in an exclusive i…
Use This Five-Step Process to Implement a New LIS
CEO SUMMARY: Rolling out a new laboratory information system (LIS) is a costly, time-consuming project. One expert outlines five steps that clinical labs can take to alleviate pressures while ensuring the right people are onboard to help the endeavor move forward. Among the steps is…
Babson Diagnostics’ Hybrid Model Combines Quality, Convenience
CEO SUMMARY: Responding to its own data about consumer preferences, healthcare technology company Babson Diagnostics is pursuing a new hybrid model for blood draws that it believes brings together the best of clinical laboratories and retail pharmacies. Laboratory managers and patho…
November 21, 2022, Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
In yet another employment ripple from the pandemic, a group of more than 75 pathologists penned a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to retain the option for remote diagnostic work. In the letter, which appeared in the Oct. 20 issue of Nature, the pathologists wrote, “During the COVID-19 pa…
The Dark Report Interviews the CDC’s Reynolds Salerno, PhD
Reynolds Salerno, PhD, had a front row view into the federal government’s response, both to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the recent monkeypox outbreak. As Director of the Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
October 31, 2022, Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
Clinical laboratories may soon face increasing pressure to test for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) now that the public has become aware of the pathogen. Over the past month, there has been an onslaught of media attention on RSV. The coverage has often focused on how this common virus could tag…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
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