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
2000’s Movers & Shakers Represent Strong Leaders
CEO SUMMARY: Its time again for THE DARK REPORT to make its yearly selection of the lab industry’s Movers & Shakers. Individuals chosen for 2000 represent a cross section of laboratory companies. Their successes demonstrate that leadership and vision continue to make a difference, d…
Pap Technology Wars Expected to Intensify
CEO SUMMARY: With patience and persistence, Digene, Inc. is developing the effectiveness of its DNA-based HPV assay. Publication of recently-completed clinical trials provides evidence that Digene’s Hybrid Capture II ® HPV test, with further improvement, might become a relevant tool in…
Honolulu Lab Pursuing Pacific Rim Business
CEO SUMMARY: With one laboratory already operating in Guam, Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. (DLS) is poised to expand its services in the Pacific Rim area. Now a major competitor within Hawaii, DLS sees the island archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean as a natural extension of its existi…
Independent California Lab Decides to Exit Business
CEO SUMMARY: Market forces in California continue to put independent laboratories under sustained financial stress. One laboratory owner decided it was an auspicious time to sell his lab. That sale, of POISONLAB to Laboratory Corporation of America, was announced earlier this month. There…
Bio-Reference Labs, CARESIDE, United Healthcare, MetLife, Foundation Health
BIO-REFERENCE LABS MOVES TO START PATIENT-DOCTOR MESSAGING ONE OF THE NATION’S MORE AGGRESSIVE efforts to refocus the clinical laboratory organization can be found at Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc., located in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Bio-Reference wants to use its bas…
“March 27, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Will lab information system services be a value- added selling point for the national reference labs? Developments at American Medical Laboratories (AML) and Specialty Laboratories would indicate yes. First, AML entered a strategic alliance with Park City Solutions t…
NH Rural Hospital Labs Connecting Via Internet
CEO SUMMARY: Expect the Internet to be a tool for leveling the competitive playing field. Ten rural hospital labs in New Hampshire are now connecting their labs and their outreach physician office clients with a Web-based lab test ordering and results reporting system. The goal is to incr…
Academic Hospital Lab Raises Competitive Bar
CEO SUMMARY: Few academic center laboratories are as swift-moving as the UMASS Health System Laboratory. In the next 90 days, it will move into a brand new off-site core laboratory. During this same 90 days, it is implementing its first web-based laboratory test ordering and results repor…
WellPoint Health Networks Offers To Buy Aetna For $10.5 Billion
TAKING ADVANTAGE of a weak share price for Aetna, Inc., two major corporations sent an unsolicited tender offer to the Aetna board. The joint bid was submitted by WellPoint Health Insurance Networks Inc. of Thousand Oaks, California, and ING Group NV, a Dutch insura…
AmeriPath Pursues Ambitious Strategy Of Rapid Expansion
CEO SUMMARY: As the pathology profession’s only publicly-traded physician practice management company, AmeriPath is the spear point of far-reaching changes now transforming pathology. With an annual revenue run rate of $270 million and an ample war chest of growth capital, AmeriPath int…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXIII, No. 4 – March 23, 2026
A federal court ruling has established a safe harbor for clinical labs when they run tests ordered by physicians. Lab leaders should examine this briefing for pitfalls. Also, it turns out that providers may be ordering inappropriate vitamin D tests, according to one expert.
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