In 2015, Qpercom was honoured to be cited in Ronald Harden’s Definitive Guide to the OSCE1, a landmark publication in the field of medical education. At the time, our mention reflected the early success of our research and development efforts – eight years of work that culminated in the automation of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) through our Qpercom software, formerly called OMIS and later called Observe.
Since our first deployment in December 2008, we have remained committed to revolutionising clinical and professional assessments. Seventeen years on, we’ve not only validated our initial innovations, we have expanded and evolved them.
Growing from Local to Global Clients
Qpercom now serves a diverse consortium of academic and clinical partners worldwide, across disciplines such as nursing, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and many other healthcare specialties. What began as a tool for medical OSCEs is now a flexible, evidence-based platform used in any structured assessment requiring repeated, multi-station evaluation as well as single digital assessment events.
This international growth is a testament to our continued emphasis on validity, usability, and security as well as our investment in rigorous psychometric principles.
A Comprehensive Assessment Platform
From our roots in OSCEs and MMIs, we’ve extended our reach. Qpercom now supports:
- Short and Long Cases.
- Oral Case Presentations.
- Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs).
- Portfolios and workplace-based assessments.
- Online written assessments.
- Asynchronous video assessments.
- Live remote and virtual assessments.
Each assessment type is underpinned by tools for standard setting, psychometric analysis, and real-time data capture, ensuring that educational rigour is preserved across every interaction.
Empowering Educators and Assessment Teams
We’ve placed a strong emphasis on supporting those who design, deliver, and interpret assessments. Our platform has evolved to include:
- Role-specific dashboards and interfaces.
- Live monitoring for remote assessments.
- Automated marking tools.
- AI supported station instructions.
- Personalised actionable feedback to support learners and professionals.
- AI supported feedback analysis.
- Secure audit trails and reporting.
- Data visualisation tools for quality assurance.
This focus supports educators, administrators, and psychometricians to work more effectively and collaboratively, improving the process and outcomes.
Upholding Standards, Enhancing Practice
Qpercom’s growth has also meant meeting and exceeding international standards, including:
- ISO 27001:2022 for information security.
- WCAG accessibility guidelines.
- GDPR for data privacy.
We are proud that our clients trust us not only with their assessments, but also with their candidates’ data and institutional reputation.
A Continued Connection to Harden’s Legacy
We had the honour of meeting professor Harden in Helsinki at an AMEE conference2 back in 2017, shortly after the launch of our extended portfolio. His pioneering work in medical education continues to inspire us as we build tools that make assessments more reliable, transparent, and fair.
Whether you’re examining learners or professionals, if your process involves structured performance evaluation across stations, our platform can support your goals just as it has for over 30 institutions globally.
Looking Forward
As we enter our next chapter, we’re focused on:
- Expanding proctoring and invigilation tools for secure assessments.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) tools for assessments.
- Advanced (AI supported) analytics and prediction modelling.
- Deeper integration with learning and applicant tracking systems.
- Enhancing accessible assessment capabilities.
We’ve come a long way since our early days of digitising OSCEs. Ten years on from our recognition3 in The Definitive Guide to the OSCE, we’re more committed than ever to shaping the future of high-stakes assessment.
- Harden, R.M., Lilley, P. and Patricio, M., 2015. The definitive guide to the OSCE: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination as a performance assessment. Elsevier Health Sciences./the-definitive-guide-to-the-osce/harden/978-0-7020-5550-8 ↩︎
- https://amee.org/amee-2025/ ↩︎
- https://www.qpercom.com/qpercom-in-ronald-hardens-definitive-guide-to-the-osce/ ↩︎
