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
Wisconsin Diagnostic Lab’s Alternative Staff Solutions
From the Volume XXXI, No. 5 – April 8, 2024 Issue
Even as clinical laboratories and pathology groups around the nation cope with a sustained shortage of qualified staff, the team at Wisconsin Medical Laboratories has successfully kept staffing at 96% of authorized levels. One effective strategy they use is to go into the community to educate recent …
Change Health Cyberattack Breaches PHI Here at TDR!
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: It was Feb. 21 when cybercriminals attacked Change Healthcare’s claims processing systems. On April 22, UnitedHealth Group issued a statement that PHI for “a substantial proportion of people in America” was breached. We believe the PHI of our employees and T…
Wisc. Diagnostic Lab’s Alternative Staff Solutions
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Even as clinical laboratories and pathology groups around the nation cope with a sustained shortage of qualified staff, the team at Wisconsin Medical Laboratories has successfully kept staffing at 96% of authorized levels. One effective strategy they use is to go into the com…
UnitedHealth Group Faces DOJ Antitrust Probe
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Recent events have not been kind to UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries UnitedHealthcare and Optum. In February, just as UHG’s Change Healthcare division was hit with a major cyberattack that disrupted billions of dolla…
Congressional Subcommittee Hears Testimony on FDA LDT Rule
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
DURING A MARCH 21 HEARING CONVENED by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommitt…
Labcorp to Acquire Only Certain Lab Assets of OPKO’s BioReference
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
Following Labcorp’s announcement that it will acquire “select assets” of BioR…
April 29, 2024, Intelligence: Late-Breaking Lab News
From the Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024 Issue
It may be that the genetic data cat is out of the bag already. Nonetheless, lawmakers in Delaware are considering a bill that—among other things—would prevent life insurance companies from buying or using genetic testing data if it was obtained from ancestry companies and not from medical records…
Lab Market Is Fragmenting, Creating New Opportunities
From the Volume XXXI, No. 5 – April 8, 2024 Issue
Even as consolidation continues in the ownership of hospitals, health systems, office-based physicians, and clinical laboratories, there is a powerful trend of fragmentation quietly transforming the way providers—including clinical labs and pathology groups—serve patients and consumers who want s…
Lab Market Fragmenting, Creating New Opportunities
From the Volume XXXI, No. 5 – April 8, 2024 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Even as consolidation continues in the ownership of hospitals, health systems, office-based physicians, and clinical laboratories, there is a powerful trend of fragmentation quietly transforming the way providers—including clinical labs and pathology groups—serve patient…
FDA Issues Memo to Reclassify Many High Risk IVD Assays
From the Volume XXXI, No. 5 – April 8, 2024 Issue
WAS IT AN EXPECTED FLOOD OF APPLICATIONS TO REVIEW laboratory de…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXI, No. 6 – April 29, 2024
Laboratory managers will want to note that The Dark Report itself was targeted by the fraudsters who hit Change Health in a cyberattack. Also, one lab has some innovative methods of combatting the chronic staffing shortage, including hiring college graduates and students.
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