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
Despite the Recession, Many Local Labs Thrive
CEO SUMMARY: Each year, the Executive War College offers useful perspectives on the current lab testing marketplace. This year’s gathering took place as the recession deepened. Yet that didn’t dampen the optimism and energy of 60 speakers and more than 450 attendees from 12 c…
CMS Refuses to Return Competitive Bid Docs
CEO SUMMARY: The Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has refused the request of three San Diego-area labs for the return of their bid documents—even though the competitive bidding demonstration project was repealed by Congress last July. The HHS Acting Secretary…
Using Cellphones Like Microscopes To Help Lesser-Developed Countries
LAB PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE worked in regions like Africa know that the infrastructure in developing countries is limited or nonexistent. This makes it challenging to provide clinical laboratory testing services that are up to the standards common in developed countries. For example, it can be diffic…
ER/PR Testing in Canada Continues to Make News
CEO SUMMARY: In Canada, the story about inaccurate breast cancer testing just won’t go away. In March, the Cameron Report was made public with its assessment of lab testing failures in Newfoundland and Labrador. In April, the health system in those provinces admitted that it ne…
Biotech Start-Up Firms Hiring Lab Professionals
CEO SUMMARY: It may be a tough job market right now for laboratory professionals. But investors, lured by the potential of personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics, continue to pour investment capital into new companies. In turn, these companies are actively recruiting exp…
New Report: POC Market Will Grow 30% by 2013
CEO SUMMARY: It will be no surprise to lab directors and pathologists that Kalorama Information, in its latest report on point-of-care (POC) testing, estimates that glucose testing comprises 67% of this market segment. What is notable is Kalorama’s prediction that worldwide POC…
May 18, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Experts are watching hospital finances to see whether slumping economic activity and growing unemployment rates are having an impact. At for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corporation, same-hospital paying admissions declined by 1.3% from Q1-08 to Q1-09. Tenet also said that its bad debt ra…
San Diego Labs Pursue Return of Bids from Medicare Officials
HAVING WON a significant court ruling last spring that stopped the Medicare Laboratory Testing Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project dead in its tracks, three San Diego-area laboratories are scheduled to return to court today. Important legal issues still need resolution. At today’s scheduled …
Kaiser in Colorado Uses Lab Test Data to Improve Cardiac Care
CEO SUMMARY: Proud of a 73% reduction in mortality among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, clinical care teams there demonstrate how integrated care and more effective use of laboratory test data can lead to remarkable improvements in pati…
Why Wall Street Likes Histology Lab Business
CEO SUMMARY: Over the past two decades, investor-owned anatomic pathology companies captured significant market share from community hospital-based pathology groups while delivering profits to their owners. Despite the recent downturn in the economy, Wall Street believes histolog…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 12 – August 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview, a laboratory industry M&A specialist discusses what’s driving lab outreach sales to national lab companies. Also, The Dark Report analyzes ways in which pathology and clinical labs can profitably partner with pharmaceutical companies.
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