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
LabCorp Buys MDS Labs In New York and Georgia
CEO SUMMARY: It’s the final chapter of the “Canadian Invasion” of the U.S. laboratory testing market. In the mid-1990s, both MDS and Dynacare built a sizeable presence in the United States as they both worked to develop joint ventures with hospital laboratories. Dynacare was acquire…
Seattle Hospital Lab JVs Involve Quest & LabCorp
CEO SUMMARY: Joint ventures and collaborative business relationships between hospital laboratories and commercial laboratories continue to be a difficult business model. Recent events in Seattle demonstrate the challenges and frustrations of establishing such ventures, then making them su…
Welsh Carson Pays $1.14 Billion To Acquire U.S. Oncology, Inc.
EVEN AS THE LAST ISSUE of THE DARK REPORT was reaching clients with news of Genzyme Corp.’s offer to buy IMPATH Inc., another big oncology deal was announced. On March 22, 2004, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe announced an offer of $15.05 per …
AmeriPath Reports on 2003, Its First Year as a Private Firm
WILL BUSINESS BE BETTER for AmeriPath, Inc. as a private company than it was as a publicly-traded firm? Its 2003 financial report indicates some interesting challenges, many common to all laboratories. First, a look at basic numbers. AmeriPath’s net revenues grew from $478.8 milli…
“April 5, 2004 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
There’s a new national lab company ready to compete. This week American Esoterix Laboratories, Inc. (AEL) announced it was open and ready for business. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, it has already completed two lab acquisitions (ThromboCare Laboratories and …
IMPATH Has a Buyer: Genzyme Pays $215 Mil
CEO SUMMARY: Two unexpected things happened in IMPATH’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy action. First, it attracted a buyer willing to pay the premium price of $215 million for its assets. Second, the buyer was not another laboratory company. Rather, it is a new entrant into the oncology diagnost…
New Competitors Line Up In Oncology Marketplace
CEO SUMMARY: Local pathology groups are advised to more closely track developments in the national market for oncology testing. Not only is big money targeting cancer testing, but a number of nimble, entrepreneurial start-up companies have begun to compete for specimens. Genzyme’s acqui…
HCA, Tenet Healthcare, CMS, Abbott Labs, I-Stat, TheraSense
UNINSURED PATIENT HOSPITAL CHARGES REDUCED AT HCA & TENET For-profit hospital ompanies moved swiftly to announce and publicize new policies for billing uninsured patients. These patients will see charges reduced to levels that are closer to what hospitals accept from HMOs and Medicare/Me…
Side-by-Side Comparison: U.S. Lab Versus British Lab
CEO SUMMARY: Do clinical laboratories in any of the world’s most developed countries have a performance advantage that makes them “best of breed?” Recently, a laboratory in the United States and a laboratory in the United Kingdom had the opportunity to evaluate their financial, prod…
Public Labs’ Year-End Earnings Demonstrate Continued Growth
BECAUSE OF ACQUISITIONS, there remain only four public laboratory companies which do substantial business in testing referred by physicians’ offices. As public companies, their quarterly financial reports provide useful insights into the competitive marketplace for lab testing services. That is t…
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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