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
Rapid Genome Sequencing Predicted by Mid-2009
CEO SUMMARY: In the same way that the Human Genome Project was disrupted by the entry of C. Craig Venter and Perkin-Elmer in what was then a 15-year, $3 billion project, now Complete Genetics of Mountain View, California, is disrupting the race to the $1,000 human genome sequence. Develop…
ICD-10 Conversion Costs Underestimated by HHS
CEO SUMMARY: Criticism of the October 1, 2011 implementation date for ICD-10 is building. Last week, a new study was released that highlights how federal officials underestimated the costs and time required to implement the complex new codes for ICD-10. One large national laboratory compa…
Hospital Labs Have New Options for Molecular Dx
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratories that offer molecular assays continue to see strong growth in four areas: oncology, hematopathology, infectious diseases, and personalized medicine. Further, a new generation of molecular testing systems and analyzers is coming to market which will make it easier …
LabCorp’s Ovarian Cancer Test Generates FDA Warning Letter
WHEN THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) sent Laboratory Corporation of America a letter in September declaring its marketing of the Ovasure test for ovarian cancer was a violation of the law, the news was widely reported. Because Ovasure is a test that is being …
Siemens, BioImagene, Clarient University of Pennsylvania, Mayo Clinic
SIEMENS INVESTS IN DIGITAL PATHOLOGY, BUYS STAKE IN BIOIMAGENE IMAGING AND RADIOLOGY GIANT SIEMENS just made an interesting investment in digital pathology systems. On October 16, Siemens Venture Capital (SVC) revealed that it had purchased…
Pathology Boot Camp to Address Three Trends
CEO SUMMARY: Anatomic pathology groups across the nation must develop effective strategies to address challenges in pricing, intensifying competition, and expensive new technologies. That’s the assertion of three pathology practice administrators who have organized a boot camp in Dallas…
October 20, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Once again, laboratory test unbundling is on the radar screen of federal regulators. Included in the 2009 work plan for the federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a review of laboratory test unbundling and a review of the extent of variation in laboratory test payment rates amo…
iTunes Business Model For Digital Path Scans
CEO SUMMARY: If BioImagene’s CEO is to be believed, the company is ready to deliver a digital pathology system that is robust and affordable, even in settings with just two or three pathologists. One key to the BioImagene strategy is “per scan” pricing that avoids the need for upfro…
Current Review of CLIA Standards Intended to Address Laboratory PT
EFFORTS ARE UNDER WAY TO REVIEW existing requirements for laboratory certification under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA). CLIA legislation was a response by Congress to widely-publicized failings in the quality and performance of certain cytology and office laboratories during …
Phlebotomy Automation Likely To Be Next Trend
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s a prediction that automation of work processes for phlebotomy, specimen collection, and specimen transport may be the next trend. Unfolding developments in the United States are creating a situation parallel to what was seen in Japanese hospital laboratories more tha…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 10 – July 14, 2025
This issue is strong on different flavors of enforcement that clinical laboratories, whether they want to or not, will need to contend with. Lab stakeholders provide insights that medical labs need to brace for more action to counter pending test reimbursement rate cuts under PAMA. Also, this issue provides the legal and regulatory landscape for clinical labs’ use of AI and how it evolves with the technology. AI is creating legal uncertainty for clinical labs, especially around data privacy and FDA oversight of AI tools in diagnostics.
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