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
“July 10, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
When it comes to laboratory information services, the Internet may indeed be a competitive leveler. THE DARK REPORT is tracking a host of small software companies that already have working solutions for Web-enabled lab test ordering and results reporting installed and operating in the field. It seems…
Merger Creates “New” Pathology Competitor
CEO SUMMARY: Pathology business consolidation and regionalization continues. Pathology Consultants of America, Inc. (PCA) and PathSOURCE, Inc. announced their intention to merge last month. The combined company will be called Inform DX, Inc. and will compete nationally for anatomic pathol…
1-For-10 Reverse Stock Split Boosts LabCorp’s Share Price
MAY PROVED TO BE an auspicious time for Laboratory Corporation of America to restructure its equity base. In the process, it’s positioning itself to be a tougher competitor in the lab testing marketplace. Ever since the company was first created by the merger of Roche Biom…
Web-Based Lab Transactions Part of McKesson HBOC’s Plan
CLINICAL LABORATORY DATA will play a big role at iMcKesson, the new Internet healthcare business unit of McKesson HBOC, Inc., based in San Francisco. McKesson HBOC is putting existing business assets representing annual sales of $300 million into this new division. They include …
Questions Remain About Performance Of Liquid-Prep Paps
CEO SUMMARY: During the past five years, several companies entered the lab marketplace with claims that their new Pap test technologies are improvements over conventional Pap smear methods. Armed with investment capital from Wall Street, these companies launched aggressive sales and marke…
ProxyMed, MedePass, Cigna, Aetna
FORMER SBCL PRESIDENT HAS QUICK TOUR AS CEO OF PROXYMED, INC. IT WAS A SHORT TOUR OF DUTY as Chief Executive Officer at ProxyMed, Inc. for John B. Okkerse, Jr., Ph.D. On May 19, after only six months as ProxyMed’s CEO, Dr. Okkerse stepped down as part of a cost-cutting mo…
“June 19, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
At DIANON Systems, Inc., recent growth in revenues and profits may cost the anatomic pathology company its independence. In recent weeks there’s been widespread speculation that DIANON may be involved in some type of acquisition or merger negotiations. At various times, each of the…
BRLI Ready To Leverage Physician Relationship
CEO SUMMARY: As healthcare E-commerce rapidly approaches, clinical laboratories will find they have a built-in competitive advantage—their existing business relationship and communication links to physician offices. Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. is moving rapidly to capitalize on thi…
New CEO Takes Charge At Pathology Partners
CEO SUMMARY: Pathology Partners, Inc. got a new President and CEO this month. The company is organized to build and operate independent regional histology and cytology laboratories in support of anatomic pathologists. Its business model is different than competing pathology companies and …
War College Identifies Emerging Lab Trends
CEO SUMMARY: Disruptive technologies and the arrival of healthcare E-commerce were two common themes which emerged from this year’s Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management. Consensus by faculty and attendees alike was that every lab organization should have an Inter…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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