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
Congress Holds Hearing On Hospital Lab Fiasco
CEO SUMMARY: Problems at the laboratory of Maryland General Hospital came under scrutiny at a recent Congressional hearing. There was plenty of criticism and embarrassment for several entities which should have detected the problems and reacted to the situation more effectively. Serious q…
CalPERS Drops 38 Hospitals From Its Preferred Network
IF CALPERS HAS ITS WAY, 38 hospitals and 17 physician groups will no longer be able to provide services to its healthcare network. On May 19, 2004, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced a list of providers that it was excluding from its provider n…
Pathologist Activities Evolve In VA’s “Paperless” Hospitals
“When a hospital or laboratory goes ‘paperless’, it’s no longer ‘business as usual’ for pathologists.” —Bruce Dunn, M.D. CEO SUMMARY: One outcome of the Veteran Administration’s (VA) ongoing effort to create a totally-integrated i…
Federal Government Leading March to Universal EMR
CEO SUMMARY: On April 26, 2004, President George W. Bush announced a new goal for the nation: an electronic medical record (EMR) for every patient within ten years. Last July, THE DARK REPORT predicted that the federal government would take the lead role in pushing healthcare to adopt a u…
“June 7, 2004 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Business Week Magazine placed Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. (BRLI) on its 2004 list of the Top 100 Hot Growth Stocks. BRLI, based in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, was ranked 16th. Business Week announced the list in its June 7, 2004 issue. With steady growth in reven…
California Medicaid Prepares To Issue Lab Contracts
CEO SUMMARY: California Medi-Cal officials may be creating more problems than they solve with their latest scheme to have independent laboratories sign contracts with their Medicaid program—while excluding hospital laboratory outreach programs and labs operated from physicians’ clinic…
Beckman Loses Auction To Buy Lab-InterLink
CEO SUMMARY: For laboratories with automation equipment from Lab-InterLink, the sale of the troubled company to Cardinal Health is good news. At the same time, interesting questions are triggered by this development. What plans does Cardinal Health have for the laboratory testing marketpl…
ASCP’s “Molecular Pathology” Certification Now Available
RECOGNIZING the growing importance of molecular pathology, the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) established a new certification program in this diagnostic specialty. Offered since June 2003, 18 people have passed the examination and can use the designation “MP (ASCP)….
Baltimore Hospital Lab Problems Put Spotlight On CAP Inspections
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s an exclusive peek into a three-year battle between medical technologists wanting to do the right thing and a laboratory manager—backed by hospital administration—who aggressively stifled well-justified dissent. It is an inside look at one of the most grievous fai…
Health Line Clinical Labs, ChromaVision, Cytyc, TriPath, Quest Diagnostics
HEALTH LINE CLINICAL LABS SIGNS $10 MILLION FRAUD SETTLEMENT WITH FEDS DESPITE THE EVIDENCE that packing unnecessary tests into test panels is not acceptable to Medicare and Medicaid authorities, some laboratories continue the practice. Health Line Clinical Laboratories, Inc…
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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