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
Labs Working to Release Test Results to Patients
CEO SUMMARY: A new federal requirement requires labs to make test results available to patients beginning this month. What is unknown is how patients will respond to the opportunity to see their lab test results. The effective date for this new requirement was October 6. It is expected th…
October 13, 2014 “Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News”
Quality management systems (QMS) have made inroads in some of the organizations that accredit clinical laboratories in the United States to the requirements of CLIA. Last month, COLA of Columbia, Maryland, acknowledged that it had recertified to the standards of ISO 9001: 2008. The r…
Did Labs Rip Off Medicare? Feds Are Investigating
CEO SUMMARY: One reason why there is not a level playing field in lab industry compliance with laws governing kickbacks and anti-business behavior is that government officials do not act quickly against the lab industry’s worst offenders—if they take any action at all. News of a feder…
Defining a Path to Clinical Laboratory Best-in-Class via Benchmarks
CEO SUMMARY: With the American healthcare system undergoing a major transformation, it is essential that all clinical laboratories and pathology groups recognize this transformation and effect the right strategies to meet the needs of physicians, patients, and payers. A g…
Pathologist Raises Questions about Theranos’ Business Model
Dear Editor: I read your two articles on Theranos in the August 11 issue of THE DARK REPORT, and concur in large part with your thoughtful conclusions. For several years, I have closely followed Theranos and have been quoted in trade publications speaking favorably…
September 22, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Did you know that the world’s longest automation track in a clinical laboratory has just become operational in India? At 93.5 meters (307 feet), it is longer than a football field, according to a press release issued by Siemens Diagnostics. The automation was installed at the centr…
Emmanuel Farber Dead at 95, First to Describe Carcinogenesis
ONE OF THE PATHOLOGY PROFESSION’S MOST RESPECTED cancer researchers died last month. On August 3, Emmanuel Farber, M.D., passed away. He was 95 years old. Farber was noted for his work in furthering the understanding of chemical carcinogenesis. His studies in experimental pathology revealed that c…
UnitedHealthcare, BeaconLBS Respond with Statements
IN FLORIDA, BOTH CLINICAL LABS and physicians have expressed concerns UnitedHealthcare’s Laboratory presented in full on this page and the following page. about Benefit Management Program that formally becomes effective on October 1. From that date forward, physicians will be requi…
September 02, 2014 “Intelligence: Late- Breaking News”
There will be one less vendor of laboratory information systems (LIS) when a major acquisition is completed. Last month, Siemens AG announced that it would sell Siemens Health Services to Cerner Corp. for a price of $1.3 billion. Analysts believe tha…
Ignoring Lab Industry, Theranos Goes Its Way
CEO SUMMARY: With each passing month, Theranos pulls open the curtain a bit more on its business structure and its market growth plans. Its clinical lab tests are now offered in Walgreens pharmacies in Palo Alto, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. Recent news coverage in Fortune and USATod…
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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