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
Technical/Professional Billing Split Is A Threat to Pathology
EACH SECOND YEAR, when we publish our bi-annual trends in anatomic pathology, we get feedback from our clients and regular readers. This year, a particularly insightful letter was received. The writer wants to add another trend to our list of 11. He puts forth his arguments in the letter we reproduc…
First Lab Reports on Its Unannounced Inspection
CEOSUMMARY: Here is the lab industry’s first report from a laboratory which has under gone an unannounced inspection under the College of American Pathologist’s new accreditation program. Lab management at Kern Medical Center say the process went smoothly—but that effective preparat…
MDS Intends to Divest All Lab Testing Assets
CEO SUMMARY: As part of a major corporate restructuring, MDS Inc. is selling three business units, including MDS Diagnostic Services. Within the Canadian healthcare system, this is a major event. MDS operates some of the nation’s largest laboratory facilities in its most populous provin…
February 27, 2006 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
There’s lots of management turmoil under way at Pathology Partners, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas. On or about February 3, President and CEO Stephen L. Spotts and several other senior executives exited the company. Since then the management page on Pathology Partners’ Web site has…
Many Trends in AP Spell Lots of Change Ahead
CEO SUMMARY: Every second year, THE DARK REPORT releases its list of key trends in anatomic pathology. These trends help shape an understanding about the state of the pathology profession. Our current list includes 11 identifiable trends. This is not an auspicious sign for pathologists wh…
Sonora Quest Receives Highest AZ Quality Award
CEO SUMMARY: After several years of intense effort to implement quality management systems and Six Sigma techniques throughout its organization, Sonora Quest Laboratories earned the Arizona Quality Program’s highest honor—the Governor’s Award for Quality. This is an accomplishment w…
February 6, 2006 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
In Birmingham, England last week, THE DARK REPORT and the United Kingdom’s Association of Clinical Biochemists (ACB) conducted the fourth annual “Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine” (FiLM) meeting, which showcases laboratory best practices in North America and the United Kingdom….
Proposed Coding Edits May Restrict 88305 Use
CEO SUMMARY: When the Medicare contractor tasked with developing MUEs (Medically Unbelievable Edits) for this year’s Correct Coding Initiative work released the proposed list of edits to the AMA, it didn’t take long for the bad news to reach the pathology profession. Restriction on un…
AD PathLabs Is Closed, Assets & Clients Are Sold
CEOSUMMARY: AD PathLabs, Inc. was a regional anatomic pathology company built around a unique business model: It would provide technical AP services to local hospitals and other clients and allow referring physicians to perform the professional services on the cases they referred to AD Pa…
Failure of AD Pathlabs: Structural Weakness?
CEO SUMMARY: AD PathLabs is the latest in a string of business disappointments. Over the past decade, a number of anatomic pathology companies have proven that they can grow rapidly—attracting substantial volumes of specimens. But these companies seem to hit a financial wall that leads …
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.
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