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
Quiet Changes To Ripple Drugs-of-Abuse Market
CEO SUMMARY: Drugs-of-abuse (DOA) testing is an intensely-competitive market poised for significant change. Historically, national lab companies have been the major players and used rock-bottom prices to control the nation’s biggest corporate DOA clients. But since this line of testing …
Tech Shortage Plays Role In More Drug Dosing Errors
INCORRECT ADMINISTRATION OF DRUGS is one major source of errors in hospitals and evidence indicates that children and emergency-room visitors are most likely to be affected. That’s the conclusion of a study done by U.S. Parmacopia’s Center for the Advancement of Patient Safety (…
It’s a Feud in North Carolina! LabCorp Versus Spectrum
OVER IN NORTH CAROLINA, one of those good, old-fashioned southern feuds is under way. Like the fabled feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys of years past, Spectrum Laboratory Network and Laboratory Corporation are in a full-fledged shoot-out over market share of…
“December 9, 2002 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
This morning AmeriPath, Inc. announced that it would be purchased by Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm based in New York City. Welsh Carson will pay $21.25 per share, a 30% premium over AmeriPath’s closing NASDAQ price of $16.45 on Friday, Decemb…
Another Lab Acquisition: LabCorp To Buy DIANON
CEO SUMMARY: Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings will pay almost $598 million to buy DIANON Systems, Inc. of Stratford, Connecticut. With this move, anatomic pathology becomes a high profile growth target for LabCorp. During the past eight years, DIANON Systems has built a national…
Why DIANON Sale Alters Anatomic Path Market
CEO SUMMARY: By acquiring DIANON Systems, LabCorp raises the level of competition for tissue specimens originating in physicians’ offices. LabCorp’s acquisition is also a validation of predictions that cancer diagnostics will be a high-growth segment of laboratory medicine. Anatomic p…
“Direct-to-Consumer” Ad Runs in New York Times
CEO SUMMARY: Two pioneering advertising campaigns launched in September. Both Myriad Genetics and IMPATH targeted consumers with advertisements about diagnostic testing. In each case, the most vocal response to the advertising came from within the medical community. Within the pathology p…
Tenet’s Outlier Medicare Fees Put It in Unwelcome Spotlight
MEDICARE CODING AND BILLING policies at Tenet Healthcare Corporation have come under scrutiny by both Medicare officials and Wall Street analysts. Attention is centered around how Tenet aggressively pursued Medicare reimbursement under “outlier” formulas. These formulas are designed to supplemen…
Academic Center Lab Implementing Six Sigma
CEO SUMMARY: Fairview-University Medical Center’s laboratory may be the nation’s first academic center laboratory to deploy Six Sigma and Lean management systems. Administration expects Six Sigma to accelerate the rate at which improvements in quality and productivity can be realized….
OraSure, Abbott, CDC, American Cancer Society
Editors Note: There’s increasing pressure for the American healthcare system to deliver improved healthcare out- comes in a cost-effective manner. Not surprisingly, laboratory testing is recognized as a high-impact, low-cost way to accomplish both goals. Here’s a sampling of important healthc…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 14 – October 6, 2025
The Dark Report examines increasing healthcare costs for employers and how clinical labs can help those employers. Also, an in-depth case study shows how one hospital system regained its outreach program after originally ceding it to a national lab company, adding millions to the system’s bottom line.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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