Inside PrepMCQ, the Kochi Startup Rethinking Medical Exam Prep with AI

Over 50,000 Indian medical graduates attempt Middle Eastern licensing examinations annually, yet industry estimates suggest first-attempt failure rates between 40-60 percent  -  often attributed to inadequate preparation materials rather than lack of medical knowledge.

In an apartment in Kochi, at 2 a.m., a young physician prepares for an exam that could change her life. Her textbooks are from 2017. Her PDF question bank contains errors no one has bothered to fix. She has 47 days until the licensing examination, a full-time hospital job, and the growing suspicion that she is preparing for the wrong battle entirely.
This scenario repeats across thousands of households where medical graduates from India, Pakistan, Egypt, and beyond prepare for Middle Eastern licensing examinations - the DHA-GP, HAAD-GP, MOH-GP, OMSB-GP, and SMLE that serve as gatekeepers to healthcare careers in the Gulf.

From Kochi, Kerala, an EdTech company called Qatalyst has built PrepMCQ to address what its founders describe as a systemic failure in medical examination preparation.

How PrepMCQ Works

Unlike traditional preparation materials - static PDFs, outdated textbooks, video lectures designed for medical school - PrepMCQ employs adaptive intelligence that analyzes individual performance across thousands of data points.

The platform identifies which subjects present difficulty, which question types cause hesitation, and where knowledge gaps hide beneath surface confidence. From this analysis, it constructs personalized mock examinations targeting precisely where improvement is needed.

"A candidate might believe pediatrics is her weakness," explains the PrepMCQ team, "when the data reveals her struggles are specifically with pediatric neurology clinical vignettes - a subtlety that changes how she should allocate study time."

The platform includes a Readiness Analysis that evaluates performance data to predict examination outcomes, subject-specific previous year questions, an image-based flashcard system called VisualDeck, a high-yield topic library with customizable highlighting, and an integrated digital notebook.

Advertisment

The Problem That Sparked PrepMCQ

Dr. Farhan Palathinkal, co-founder of PrepMCQ and a consultant in critical care medicine, built the platform from firsthand understanding of what candidates face.
"Imagine preparing for the most important examination of your professional life," Dr. Farhan says. "An examination that costs significant money, that you can only attempt limited times, that determines whether you can work in your field. Now imagine most preparation materials are PDFs that haven't been updated in years, contain factual errors, and were designed for a different examination entirely."

Dr. Farhan identifies three failures in traditional preparation: outdated content in a field where knowledge evolves constantly; wrong format, since video lectures suit medical school but licensing examinations test application under pressure; and absence of feedback loops that would tell students whether they are improving or reinforcing mistakes.
"We built a system that treats preparation as a diagnostic process," he explains. "The AI doesn't simply grade answers - it analyzes patterns. It identifies where you struggle, why you struggle, and constructs a preparation pathway designed specifically for you."

Designed for Working Doctors

Research indicates that over 70 percent of candidates preparing for Gulf medical licensing examinations do so while maintaining full-time clinical positions. The platform addresses this reality, which shapes everything about its design.

"These are not full-time students," Dr. Farhan notes. "They are doctors with demanding jobs, family responsibilities, and limited study hours. Every hour spent with ineffective materials is wasted - and they cannot afford to waste hours."

PrepMCQ's readiness analysis serves this population specifically. A doctor planning to take an examination in two months receives evidence-based assessment of whether that timeline is realistic, allowing informed decisions rather than hopeful guessing.

"Do not confuse activity with progress," Dr. Farhan advises candidates. "Watching videos, reading notes, highlighting textbooks - these feel productive but may not be. What matters is practice with actual questions, honest assessment of weaknesses, and structured improvement. That passes examinations. Everything else is distraction."

Advertisment

Expansion Plans

PrepMCQ currently serves candidates preparing for general practitioner licensing examinations across the Middle East. The company is developing comprehensive preparation for the UAE EMREE (Emirates Medical Residency Entrance Examination) and plans to expand coverage to all medical specialty examinations in the region.
In 2026, Qatalyst will extend PrepMCQ to serve allied healthcare providers  -  nurses, paramedical staff, and technicians  -  representing an estimated 200,000+ professionals who face their own licensing requirements across Middle Eastern countries annually.

"These professionals have been underserved for too long," Dr. Farhan says. "They deserve preparation tools as sophisticated as what physicians have access to."

The Broader Shift

PrepMCQ reflects a transformation occurring across education globally. According to the World Economic Forum, AI-powered educational tools have seen engagement increases exceeding 500% since 2024. Medical schools including Stanford and Johns Hopkins report improved student outcomes of 15 to 23 percent after integrating adaptive AI systems.

The shift represents more than technology - it marks a philosophical change from broadcast education (one teacher, many students, identical content) to systems that observe, adapt, and respond to individual learners.

For the physician studying at 2 a.m., this shift arrives not a moment too soon. She doesn't need another PDF. She needs a system that understands where she stands, shows her what she must learn, and guides her toward readiness.
That system now exists.

PrepMCQ is developed by Qatalyst, an educational technology company headquartered in Kochi, Kerala, India. The platform serves medical graduates preparing for Middle Eastern licensing examinations.