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
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…
February 23, 2009 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Here’s an interesting development on the road to genetic medicine. In England last month, the press heralded the birth of what it has dubbed the “cancer-free” baby. It turns out the parents had the embryo screened for the BRCA-1 gene before implantation—and this was the first example known in…
When Does Cost Cutting Affect a Lab’s Quality?
CEO SUMMARY: Many lab professionals note the irony that a laboratory so publicly committed to Six Sigma quality management methods is now identified with the single largest episode of systemic failure in lab test accuracy. Looking in from the outside, some pathologists suggest th…
Laboratory Industry Has “Elephant in the Room”
CEO SUMMARY: In almost every laboratory across the United States and in several countries around the globe, one much-discussed topic in recent weeks has been the Vitamin D testing program deficiencies at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Yet, even as rank and file laboratorians act…
Quest’s Deficiencies Trigger QA/QC Questions
CEO SUMMARY: Experts in laboratory QA/QC and proficiency testing (PT) are following the news that Quest Diagnostics admitted to an 18-month problem with lab test accuracy in its home brew Vitamin 25(OH) D assay. It is recognized as a major failure in the existing system of labora…
Got a Lab Test Question? Call an ASCLS Lab Guru!
CEO SUMMARY: Each year since its launch in 2001, the ASCLS Consumer Response Team serves increasing numbers of patients and physicians. Clinical Laboratory Scientist volunteers from the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science provide answers and help patients understand …
Staunch Laboratory Advocate Retires After 31 Years of Service
LAST MONTH, THE LABORATORY INDUSTRY lost one its most dedicated, full-time advocates. With his retirement in January, Joe Boone, Ph.D., ended a 31-year career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Boone started with the CDC in 1977. In 1992, he …
Denver’s UniPath Sells Its Histo Labs to APP
CEO SUMMARY: UniPath ended a long search for a business partner with ample capital and resources to help it continue its aggressive rates of growth in specimen volume, market share, and revenue. UniPath announced the sale of its technical laboratories to American Pathology Partne…
Did CMS Err in Issuing New Anti-Markup Rules?
CEO SUMMARY: In the latest anti-markup rules that took effect on January 1, CMS may have unintentionally stated that the anti-markup rule doesn’t apply when a pathologist is reviewing histology slides. While the rule itself is unclear, the commentary that accompanies the rule s…
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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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