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
Clinical Labs Spending Money in New Ways
CEO SUMMARY: In response to the many changes now unfolding in the U.S. healthcare system, labs are investing their scarce capital in different ways. Five trends in lab spending can be identified. They range from expanding the informatics capabilities of a lab organization to acquiring the…
Anatomic Pathology Business Faces Uncertain Future
CEO SUMMARY: There’s a day of reckoning on the way for the traditional business model of the private pathology group practice. At most risk are smaller pathology groups that typically have five or fewer pathologists. Blame it on the reduced prices that Medicare and private insurers are …
Quest Gets into Wellness By Acquiring Summit Health
IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT THE NATION’S largest laboratory companies are looking for new revenue opportunities now that fee-for-service payment for lab tests is soon to end. One striking example of this trend was the move last week by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated to acquire …
March 17, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
People walking down a street in Weatherford, Connecticut on March 10, found lab test reports for at least 16 patients, according to a news report by a local television news station. This is a breach of protected health information (PHI) under the federal HIPAA statute. Reporters from WSFB contacted o…
Labs, Path Groups Face Major Financial Issues
CEO SUMMARY: Are clinical labs and pathology groups ready for the end of fee-for-service reimbursement? That’s just one important question that will be answered at the upcoming Executive War College on Lab and Pathology Management that will take place in New Orleans on April 29-30. The …
Caris Life Sciences Achieves Accreditation to ISO 15189
IN DECIDING TO PURSUE ACCREDITATION TO ISO 15189: Medical Laboratories, Caris Life Sciences considered the international benefits of this designation. It was December when Caris Life Sciences of Irving, Texas, announced that it had earned accreditation to ISO 15189 from the …
Federal Judge Rules Against Idaho Hospital in Antitrust Case
LAST MONTH, A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED that St. Luke’s Health System of Boise, Idaho, violated antitrust laws when, in 2012, it acquired Saltzer Medical Group, the largest independent medical practice in the state. In ruling against the merger of a hospital and physici…
February 24, 2014 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Maybe the tough financial environment here in the United States is causing Sonic Healthcare Ltd., one of this nation’s bigger lab players, to be more interested in overseas lab testing opportunities. On February 18, its CEO, Colin Goldschmidt, M.D., told investors that “We contin…
Quality Assurance Regs to Tighten for UK Labs
CEO SUMMARY: In the United Kingdom, a window of opportunity has opened for improving the quality assurance activities of pathology and histopathology laboratories. Last week, at the Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine conference, the newly-published “Pathology Quality Assurance Review” w…
Once Again, Revenue Declines at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
FIRST TO REPORT its fourth quarter and full year earnings for 2013 was Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. It more than other potential buyers to released its earnings report last Thursday. For fourth quarter 2013, Quest Diagnostics generated revenue of $1.76 billion, c…
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?
Lab leaders rely on THE DARK REPORT for actionable intelligence on important developments in the business of laboratory testing. Maximize the money you make-and the money you keep! Best of all, it is released every three weeks!
Sign up for TDR Insider
Join the Dark Intelligence Group FREE and get TDR Insider FREE!
Never miss a single update on the issues that matter to you and your business.