In the Garden of Eden, during the fall of man, God asked Adam: “Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” Adam responded by blaming his wife, Eve. And when God asked the woman: “What is this that you have done?” Eve responded by blaming the snake. Man’s inability to take responsibility for his mistakes, it seems, was embedded in his genetic makeup from the beginning of time.

In my twenty-five years in private practice, there have been many snakes to blame for my personal and business problems. I was never short of excuses for my failures, protecting myself in the process from my inadequacies. I had also witnessed dozens of colleagues leaving the medical profession, heading into other fields and hiding behind excuses similar to mine for their failure.

Some had thrived in their newfound occupations, but for others, disappointment haunted the rest of their professional lives. For the latter, I’m sure no other question tormented them more than: What does it take to win? What does it take to make things right in their faltering medical practices?

Winning in business is a primary goal as success extends beyond the individual. Not only do our health practices thrive, but our families, children, and marriages do as well. Winning at work can lead to being a champion at home. If for anything else then, that’s why the message contained in Dr. Makuluma’s compelling and fascinating book is vital. Inspired by his own experience, and deeply moved by the fate he witnessed in private practice, the author’s sublime ‘project’ reminds us that success, and indeed failure, in healthcare practice is often not it’s by accident.

Success, he tells us, is a choice. When we run a race, we must run it with the mind of a champion: run it with a plan to win and not give up in the face of the myriad business setbacks endemic to the medical profession.

In “The Business of Health Care,” Dr. Makuluma gives us his blueprint: a strategy that, if executed correctly, would eliminate failure in private health practice, unravel the mystery behind success, and lead to the victory. The genius of his plan is the sheer simplicity of his precepts. The author easily copes with the complexities of running a medical office with carefully thought out principles and simple but deliberate language as well.

Right from the start, he surprises the reader with some invaluable advice: The key to running a successful healthcare practice is financial literacy. This is the “basic formula,” he writes, for running any business. Superficially, this observation is obvious, and yet it remains the cardinal reason for the failure of many health practices.

It has also been stated repeatedly in a number of different ways over the centuries. “A fool and his money are soon parted” – goes the old adage. “Men who can manage men manage men who can manage things, and men who can manage money manage everything.” _Will and Ariel Durant, The lesson of history.

In my practice, I have never seen my role extend beyond my abilities as a surgeon. My energies were continually depleted improving my surgical skills. My relationship with my practice as a company was lukewarm at best. I, more than most, had put in long hours at work, but had failed to grasp the very simple notion that I was a ‘health professional running a business’, as the author puts it so aptly and eloquently.

As with the worthless servant in the Biblical parable of the talents, my thoughts about money were restricted to the fear of losing it, rather than gaining it. When it came to wealth and its creation, my mind mostly saw limitations rather than possibilities. Consequently, the difficulty was the fingerprint of my practice, and financial ignorance was etched into his soul. My professional life was a narrative of unfulfilled dreams.

The business of healthcare is the strategic omnibus that will undoubtedly carry modern physicians into the future. It is a well written and well researched book, and claims to be the bible for all physicians entering private practice. In it, Dr. Makuluma takes us by the hand and offers us the treasures and tools to carry out a successful practice in the 21st century.

The author’s ‘project’ is an invaluable gift to health professionals. It’s an august framework for success, underpinned by the supremacy of design. Dr. Makuluma provides the implements not only to run a business, but also to run life.

After reading the book, it is as if one had suddenly woken up from a nightmare. It’s hard to suppress outrage at the damage ignorance has done to our venerable profession. But, now doubt has been supplanted by optimism. You now face each day at work and each challenge with renewed hope and a sense of purpose.