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
Unprecedented Times Lie Ahead For Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s a lab industry first: insight and analysis about why hospital/health system laboratories are already feeling the financial pinch as their parent organizations scramble to conserve and accumulate cash. That’s bad news for IVD vendors and other lab industry …
Cleveland Clinic Unveils Plan For New National Esoteric Lab
DESPITE A WORSENING ECONOMY, the Cleveland Clinic will begin construction of a major new $25 million laboratory facility of 100,000 square feet this summer. The lab is expected to open by the end of 2010. During the past two years, Cleveland Clinic has quietly laid the groundwork to…
Olympus Diagnostics Unit Sold to Beckman Coulter
CEO SUMMARY: For Beckman Coulter, the opportunity to acquire the diagnostics business of Olympus Corporation was compelling for at least two reasons. One, the chemistry and automation products of both companies are quite complementary. Two, in a steadily-consolidating in vitro di…
Boston’s Beth Israel Scores Improvement Gains with Lean
CEO Summary: Lean methods are helping laboratories resolve aggravating problems that have been unresolvable for as long as 10 years. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, improvement teams involving the laboratory and ED staff addressed high rates of hemolyzed specim…
Competition in Rapid Tests Means Value to Labs
CEO SUMMARY: One of the hottest market segments in in vitro diagnostics (IVD) is rapid testing. However, because labs now often have multiple choices when selecting a rapid test, IVD manufacturers recognize the need to differentiate their products by adding additional features an…
Aperio, Cerner Interface Digital Path and Path LIS
CEO SUMMARY: For pathologists watching the market acceptance of digital imaging and digital pathology systems, another milestone has been reached. The nation’s largest health IT companies are beginning to develop interfaces between their anatomic pathology laboratory informatio…
March 16, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In the United Kingdom, there is an interesting development regarding anatomic pathology and clinical laboratory services. The trust which operates the famous 986-bed Guy’s Hospital and 957-bed St. Thomas’ Hospital has entered a joint venture with Serco Gr…
Ten Years Ago: Quest Diagnostics Agrees to Buy SmithKline Labs
IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH when a major event changed the competitive landscape for lab testing services. On February 9, 1999, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated signed an agreement to purchase SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories (SBCL). It was…
Local Labs Have Opportunities To Increase MC Patient Access
CEO SUMMARY: Although the nation’s two largest laboratory companies have achieved a dominant managed care position, opportunities remain for regional labs to do more business with managed care plans. Two experts provide an update of managed care pricing trends for labo…
Need Rigorous Validation For Home Brew Assays
CEO SUMMARY: National headlines about erroneous Vitamin D results are a reminder to the lab industry of the imprecision and risks associated with home brew testing. According to one laboratory expert, every laboratory-developed test (LDT) must meet two high standards. On…
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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