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
September 21, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In Dover, Delaware, entrepreneur pathologist Ray Sukumar, M.D., earned a unique distinction. Earlier this summer, Sukumar was granted a patent for his unique design of a compact histopathology laboratory in a standard delivery van. That accomplishment earned recognition by the Delaware Econom…
Bostwick Builds New Lab Around 25 Ex-AFIP Paths
CEO SUMMARY: In an opportunistic business move, Bostwick Laboratories is recruiting up to 25 pathologists and a similar number of staff members from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP). AFIP is scheduled to close in 2011, at which time it will transit…
New Lab Company Is Launched By Geisinger Health System
WITH A SIMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT last month, Geisinger Health System of Danville, Pennsylvania, launched a new laboratory outreach company, called Proven Diagnostics. From a facility located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Proven Diagnostics intends to compete for lab testing…
Irish Labs Appeal to Keep Pap Smear Expertise
CEO SUMMARY: In Ireland, pathologists are asking the government to return enough Pap tests back to the country to support and sustain medical training programs in gynecologic cytology. It was 2008 when the Irish government outsourced all Pap testing to a U.S. lab company. That forced Irel…
Using Lean to Cut Pap Test TAT Pays Off At Baystate Medical
USE OF LEAN METHODS HAS UNLOCKED major improvements at Baystate Health’s Department of Pathology in Springfield, Massachusetts. One Lean project cut average Pap test turnaround time by more than 50%. Another Lean project attacked errors with Advanced Beneficiary No…
Third Laboratory Earns ISO 15189 Accreditation
CEO SUMMARY: In June, the laboratory at Blanchard Valley Hospital became third in the nation to be accredited to ISO 15189:2007. The 150-bed acute facility in Findlay, Ohio, is the only hospital laboratory of its size to achieve accreditation to the ISO 15189 standard. Implementi…
August 31, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
These days, you hear plenty about Web 2.0 and how it is revolutionizing the way people use the Internet. Pathologist Keith Kaplan, M.D., at the Mayo Clinic uses the term “Pathology 2.0” to describe how use of Web 2.0 technology will similarly transform the anatomic pathology prof…
Plain Talk about Current “Health Reform” Effort
CEO SUMMARY: It appears that a determined effort to reshape and restructure the entire American healthcare system is unfolding in Congress. Missing in public discourse about this vital topic is informed, intelligent discussion about the types of alternative healthcare de…
Using Lean at Henry Ford Transforms Pathology TAT
CEO SUMMARY: Long-standing work flow traditions in anatomic pathology provide fertile ground for improvement with Lean and similar process improvement methods. That was the case at Henry Ford Health System, where empowered teams in the pathology laboratory employed the principles…
Our Editor Gets His Vitamin D Test Results From 9 Different Labs
CEO Summary: Editor-In-Chief Robert L. Michel gave blood for the cause and it’s another laboratory industry first! To understand what doctors and patients see as national labs use different methodologies and reference ranges to report Vitamin 25(OH) D results, his blood was tes…
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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