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
New Competitive Forces Alter Market Status Quo
CEO SUMMARY: January was not kind to Quest Diagnostics, as the company disclosed that it was likely to lose all its UnitedHealth business by year end. It also found itself excluded from the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey program. By February 1, however, Quest Diagnostics had…
LabCorp Uses United as a “Growth Driver”
CEO SUMMARY: In the first six weeks since its exclusive national contract with UnitedHealth became effective, Laboratory Corporation of America has made major gains in several key markets. It has also begun to share the details of its three-phase strategic plan to maximize the leverage it…
UK Laboratories Pushed to Serve Primary Care
CEO SUMMARY: At the fifth annual Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine (FiLM) meeting in Birmingham, England, lab administrators and pathologists from the United Kingdom and the United States gathered to share knowledge about innovations in the management of clinical laboratories. The event so…
LIS As Productivity Tool Throughout the Laboratory
CEO SUMMARY: Is the classic laboratory information system (LIS) morphing into a different information technology product? That’s the observation of one laboratory IT expert, who says that “best of breed” LIS products are becoming productivity tools that support improved clinical per…
Whooping Cough Cases Reveal Test Deficiencies
CEO SUMMARY: Doctors rely on labs for the definitive diagnosis of the bacterium that causes whooping cough. Yet in several recent cases, the use of a molecular test for a definitive diagnosis led to questions about the effectiveness of the test. Molecular pathologists recommend labs may n…
New Rules to Boost Cancer Test Accuracy
CEO SUMMARY: Recent developments in breast cancer testing are leading to changes in pathology. Oncologists and pathologists have issued new guidelines regarding HER2 testing and new research suggests changes may be coming for estrogen-receptor testing as well. For the first time, the new …
February 19, 2007 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Recently Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is closed that it was planning to acquire laboratories in other countries, particularly in South America and the Pacific Region. (See pages 5-6.) One potential acquisition candidate is Diagnósticos da América (DASA),…
IVD Stunner: GE to Acquire Abbott’s Diagnostics Unit
CEO SUMMARY: General Electric Corporation made a dramatic entrance into in vitro diagnostics (IVD) by acquiring almost all of Abbott Laboratories’ IVD business division. Once the sale is closed later this spring, GE will be the second major imaging vendor to buy its way into the IVD bus…
JVHL Signs a Contract with UnitedHealth Group
CEO SUMMARY: When UnitedHealth Group announced its exclusive national contract with Laboratory Corporation of America, Joint Venture Hospital Laboratories (JVHL) saw opportunity. That’s because LabCorp does not have a significant presence in Michigan. JVHL parlayed its statewide network…
Mayo Rolls Out RFID after only 5-Month Test
CEO SUMMARY: After running a test project for less than six months, The Mayo Clinic is preparing to expand its use of RFID tags and scanners, focusing on endoscopy specimens. By expanding the use of RFID, Mayo will implement the technology in 41 operating rooms, providing care to more tha…
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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