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
“December 13, 1999 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Pathology Consultants of America, Inc. announced a promotion and a new hire. Bill McDowell was promoted to Vice President and Chief Development Officer. The new member to PCA’s management team is Edward D. Dooling. Dooling will be Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Managed Care…
Point-Of-Care Chemistry Ready To Transform Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Following on the heels of our prediction about web-based test ordering/results reporting, here’s another equally revolutionary development. CARESIDE, Inc. is ready to launch a point-of-care instrument suite for routine, high-volume chemistry and hematology tests. Early peek…
“Distributed” Lab Model Soon to Become Reality
CEO SUMMARY: During the 1990s, laboratory automation was expected to have the greatest impact upon the structure and organization of laboratories. However, like the famous race between the tortoise and the hare, it’s our prediction that point-of-care testing technology, quietly advancin…
CARESIDE POC Solution in entirety, the traditional way of performing tests in the To Alter Lab Organization
CEO SUMMARY: CARESIDE’s point-of-care testing system gives laboratory executives a new tool for bringing value-added laboratory services to clinicians. In this exclusive interview, W. Vickery Stoughton, Chairman and CEO of CARESIDE, Inc., shares his perspectives on the clinical laborato…
Abbott Runs Into FDA Buzzsaw, Faces Major Marketplace Crisis
BY NOW, MOST OF THE clinical laboratory industry knows that Abbott Laboratories, Inc. signed a consent decree with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 2, 1999. Under terms of the consent decree, Abbott paid a $100 million fine and will pull a number o…
HBOC, Abaton.com, Quest, Unilab, LabOne, Epitope
MCKESSON HBOC ACQUIRES ABATON.COM IN MOVE TO WEB SERVICES IT WAS VALIDATION OF A PREDICTION made just weeks ago in THE DARK REPORT that web-based information management systems is the next major battleground in both healthcare and the clinical lab industry. McKesson HBOC an…
“November 22, 1999 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
UroCor, Inc. of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is losing its long-time Chairman and CEO. Effective December 31, 1999, William A. Hagstrom will leave the company to pursue “new business start-up activities.” Hagstrom joined UroCor back in 1989, and helped it emerge from a Chapter 11 bank…
Internet-Based Lab Info Racing Into Marketplace
CEO SUMMARY: It’s another roller coaster ride for clinical laboratories and pathology practices. Within 24 months, virtually all physician offices will be using web-based technology to order lab tests and receive test results. Web-based ordering/reporting of laboratory testing will driv…
Physicians Demand Web Solutions From Clinical Labs
CEO SUMMARY: As physicians gain personal familiarity with the Internet and its potential to enhance their medical practice, they logically begin to want their clinical laboratory to offer web-based solutions. Physicians are driving this impending marketplace shift away from proprietary PC…
New Internet Companies Target Clinical Lab Services
CEO SUMMARY: During the coming transition from proprietary PC-based to web-based lab test ordering/reporting systems, it will be Internet start-up companies that have the competitive jump over traditional LIS vendors. There are many reasons why this is true. Here is a first look at the ma…
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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