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
Hospital Lab Takes CMS To Court in CLIA Case
CEO SUMMARY: A California hospital challenged CMS in federal court over the threatened loss of its lab’s CLIA certificate. CMS threatened to revoke the certificate in 2007 and stop paying the hospital’s Medicare and Medi-Cal lab bills. In January, Victor Valley Community Hospital won …
Labs Should Prepare for Tighter CLIA Enforcement
CEO SUMMARY: Lab directors and pathologists should take notice of disturbing new developments in enforcement of CLIA regulations. During the past year, CMS officials have revoked the CLIA certification of several hospital laboratories for what are, essentially, inadvertent violations of p…
Ascendium Consulting Is New Firm In Lab Market
CEO SUMMARY: Growing numbers of laboratories are taking steps to reengineer work flow, evaluate automation solutions, and improve the operational performance of their laboratory. This is fueling a demand for laboratory consulting services and Ascendium Consulting is this newest healthcare…
Medicare Competitive Bid Lawsuit Heads toward a Judge’s Ruling
LOOK TO APRIL 7 FOR THE NEXT DEVELOPMENT in the federal court case filed by three San Diego-area laboratories challenging the Medicare Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project. That’s when the judge is expected to rule on the case. The latest development was on March 14, when federal l…
Digitization of Pathology Is Making Steady Progress
CEO SUMMARY: Pathology digitization incorporates a greater scope of work-changing technologies than telepathology. It incorporates information technology, new diagnostic knowledge, and other engineering innovations to help pathologists move past glass and paper. Existing digital pathology…
March 24, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Things are happening under new ownership and management at DCL Medical Laboratories LLC., based in Indianapolis, Indiana. DCL announced a strategic partnership with Third Wave Technologies Inc., a molecular diagnostics company in Madison, Wisconsin. In the partnershi…
Judge Rules Against Labs In Medicare Lab Bid Case
CEO SUMMARY: On February 14, Federal District Judge Thomas J. Whelan denied the request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) by three San Diego labs that would have stopped the Medicare Laboratory Competitive Bidding Demonstration pilot project until several legal challenges were adjud…
ISO 15189 Accreditation Program Offered by CAP
CEO SUMMARY: Two strong trends in laboratory management can be seen in the College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) move to offer accreditation to ISO 15189:2007. The first trend is the movement toward quality management systems such as Lean and Six Sigma. The second trend is the global …
Mich. Dermatologist Gets 10.5 Years in Fraud Case
CEO SUMMARY: In a federal case involving billing improprieties and insurance fraud, a federal judge sentenced Michigan dermatologist Robert W. Stokes, M.D., to 126 months in prison and ordered him to pay $178,100 in fines and assessments, with the amount of restitution yet to be determine…
Lab/Path M&A Day Explores High Prices Paid to Lab Owners
IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, there’s a gold rush in diagnostics! Prices paid for clinical laboratories, anatomic pathology group practices, and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) companies have soared recently. This is good news for pathologists and laboratory owners interested in putting their laboratory on …
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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