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
Two New Public Labs Launch Operations in FL
CEO SUMMARY: In 49 states, independent commercial laboratory companies are disappearing. But that’s not the case in Florida. In recent months, two new public laboratory companies completed organizational steps and now offer diagnostic testing services. Both companies are starting small,…
Specialty Progresses With CA Lab Regulators
CEO SUMMARY: Earlier this month California laboratory regulators found Specialty Laboratories, Inc. to be “in substantial compliance with California clinical laboratory law.” This is an important milestone in restoring the lab company to full compliance with both state and federal labor…
Two Major Hospital Systems First to Join Leapfrog Group
EXPERTS CONSIDER THE DECISION of two major hospital systems to join the Leapfrog Group to be a significant boost to the group’s effort to improve patient safety. HCA, Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee and Promina Health System of Atlanta are the first …
United Kingdom Soon to Tackle Consolidation of Hospital Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Consolidation and regionalization of hospital laboratory testing are not isolated phenomenons. Beginning in the late 1980s, individual provinces in Canada began to rationalize lab testing services by building core labs and consolidating lab services across multiple hospitals….
Aetna, AmeriPath, DIANON, IMPATH, JCAHO
AETNA RECOMMENDS PAYERS SUPPORT GENETIC SCREENING TESTS ALL LABORATORIANS SHOULD send a special note of thanks to Aetna Chairman and CEO John W. Rowe, M.D. for his recommendation that the health industry support the concept of genetic testing. He made these recommendations as part of speech…
“July 15, 2002 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In many states, pathologists were hit by substantial increases in the cost of malpractice. In some states, like Pennsylvania, the market for medical malpractice insurance has deteriorated substantially. In the case of AmeriPath, Inc., the nation’s largest operator of hospital-based…
Specialty Labs Struggles To Maintain Operations
CEO SUMMARY: In April, Specialty Laboratories, Inc. disclosed that state and federal regulators had placed sanctions on the esoteric testing company, including revocation of its CLIA-88 license, subject to legal appeal. One main source of concern is the fact that, over the past 10 weeks, …
Marketing Approved Kits Against “Home Brews”
CEO SUMMARY: In past years, it was customary for laboratories to shift away from performing or ordering “home brew” tests in favor of FDA-approved test kits as they became available. However, new marketing models for diagnostic testing are shifting this long-standing practice. HIV res…
Employers Ready To Push Hospitals, Docs On Quality
FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR, an influential group of large employers has publicly declared its intent to push hospitals and physicians to do more to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. On June 10, the Midwest Business Group declared that it was time for companies to “cra…
Military Labs Creating Global Lab Test Data Pool With LOINC
CEO SUMMARY: It’s a laboratory regionalization project without precedent because of its worldwide scale. Within the Armed Forces, laboratorians are working to seamlessly integrate laboratory test data generated by laboratories within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Veterans Administratio…
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.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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