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
Abaton’s Web Solution In Use at Allina, Centrex
CEO SUMMARY: Abaton.com was among the first companies to actually have Web-based information products linking hospital labs and physician offices. As early as 1997, the Allina Health System was working with Abaton.com to implement a laboratory test requisition/test results system using We…
Single-Specialty Path PPMs Posting Strong Growth, Profits
CEO SUMMARY: Although the financial travails of the physician practice management (PPM) industry are widely known, there is little recognition that a number of single-specialty PPMs are doing well. This is true of pathology, where at least six pathology-based PPMs still remain in business…
Client Bill Pricing Policy Rises To Medicare Level
CEO SUMMARY: Within the laboratory industry, there has been a decade-long debate over whether offering discount prices in client bill states could violate some Medicare regulations. UroCor, Inc. decided that an OIG opinion issued in December to a pathology company signaled a potential cha…
“February 14, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Interesting things are afoot at Dynacare’s joint venture in Houston, Texas with Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. Bill Pesci, Chief Operating Officer of Dynacare Hermann Laboratories, resigned in January to take a new position on the east coast. …
Pathology Profession Facing New Directions
CEO SUMMARY: Big changes ahead during the next decade. Among the predictions: the number of two and three-pathologist group practices will radically diminish; pathology centers of excellence will achieve new market dominance; and…ever more intense competition for anatomic pathology spec…
Park City Solutions Acquires Chi Lab Systems of Ann Arbor
THERE’S A NEW PLAYER in healthcare and laboratory consulting. Park City Solutions, Inc. of Midway, Utah wants to become a recognized name in the lab industry. As one step toward this goal, it announced the purchase of Chi Laboratory Systems, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mic…
Digene Corp’s HPV Test Attracts More Attention
CEO SUMMARY: Evidence accumulates that HPV testing may be an effective way to identify women at risk for cervical cancer. Both Laboratory Corporation of America and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated recently added Digene’s Hybrid Capture® II HPV test to their menu. The intent is to offer …
NY Labs Achieve Repeal Of Onerous Surcharge
CEO SUMMARY: Clinical laboratories in the state of New York demonstrated that the lab industry can effectively influence legislation when the state legislature finally repealed the onerous laboratory test surcharge first enacted in 1997. Lab industry leaders should apply the lessons learn…
Epitope, LabOne, CARESIDE, Quest, Structural Bioinformatics, UroCor
EPITOPE RAIDS LABONE FOR NEW PRESIDENT/CEO; READIES DRUGS OF ABUSE MARKET LAUNCH DURING THE YEAR 2000, Epitope, Inc., based in Portland, Oregon, plans to introduce a drugs of abuse test based on its patented OraSure® oral collection technology. To aid in this new product l…
“January 24, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Financial progress at Tenet Health Corp. provides a glimpse at how the hospital industry is faring. Tenet announced a 7.2% increase in revenues for fiscal second quarter, fueled primarily by an increase in patient admissions at its 113 hospitals. Tenet also reported an average increa…
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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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