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
Pre-authorization Coming For Pricey Molecular Tests
CEO SUMMARY: In response to the steep ramp-up in the utilization of genetic and molecular testing, the nation’s largest health insurers are preparing to institute new guidelines for coverage and reimbursement. These will include pre-authorization by physicians, a more effective genetic …
ISO 15189 Accreditation Requires Specific Steps For Global Recognition
CEO SUMMARY: This intelligence briefing is the third in an ongoing series about quality management systems (QMS) and their role in advancing the performance of clinical laboratories and improving the quality of the testing services they provide. ISO 15189 is a set of standards for medical…
Two Years Later, CMS Still Holds Labs’ Competitive Bid Documents
IF ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, then the federal government sends a clear message by its repeated refusal to return bidding documents to laboratories involved with the now-defunct Medicare Clinical Laboratory Services Competitive Bidding Demonstration project. That’s because, more than two yea…
Errors in Surgical Pathology Surface in the United Kingdom
ERRORS IN SURGICAL PATHOLOGY DIAGNOSES made the newspapers in the United Kingdom earlier this month. The accuracy of histopathology results at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) in Bristol, England was the subject of a news story in The Sunday Telegraph on April 10. Under the headlin…
April 19, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Laboratory testing in India continues to attract the attention and investment dollars of western companies. News reports indicate that Apax Partners is negotiating to buy a stake in Metropolis Healthcare of Mumbai, India. Metropolis Healthcare has business activities…
March 8, 2010 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
On March 1, Omnyx, LLC, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, licensed certain virtual microscopy and digital pathology patents from Olympus America, Inc. Omnyx is a joint venture between GE Healthcare and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center …
2.3% Medical Device Tax Hits Clinical Labs in 2013
CEO SUMMARY: One aspect of the massive new health bill is that medical device companies will pay a 2.3% tax, effective January 1, 2013. Students of economics know that it is customers who invariably end up paying such direct taxes. Thus, clinical laboratories in the United States should p…
Business Advantages From Whole Slide Imaging
CEO SUMMARY: Whole slide imaging (WSI) is a niche product today, but it offers the potential to redefine the practice of pathology. That’s the opinion of pathologists presenting at a digital pathology workshop last month. One pathologist explained how WSI significantly improves collabor…
Use of Point-of-Care Testing Reduces Mortality by 50%
CEO Summary: In a thinly-populated region the size of Texas and New Mexico combined, an integrated clinical care program based on point-of- care testing (POCT) has delivered impressive gains in health outcomes. For rural residents, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease have fallen b…
Serious Problems Plague Newfoundland Laboratory
CEO SUMMARY: Newfoundland’s St. John laboratory was rocked by revelations in February that its cyclosporine testing was flawed, exposing patients to the harmful affects from inappropriately high doses of the immunosuppressant drug. Within weeks of this news, the Chief of Laboratory Medi…
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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