Medical Specialist postgraduate programmes conducted by Malaysian universities have produced more than 8000 specialist doctors nationwide since 1981. In the last ten years, pre-entrance examinations have been in place as part of the selection process for admission into the programmes, helping to screen for the best candidates.

MedEx (Medical Specialist Pre-entrance Examination) is established by the Medical Deans Council of Malaysia as a uniform system of pre-entrance examinations, conducted jointly with the Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC) under Act 225, hence the authority to conduct examinations for candidates who are not yet registered students of the universities. The financial aspect of the pre-entrance examinations is handled fairly under this arrangement, in order to return the expenses borne by the universities that run the programmes. The academicians are relieved of the logistical burden of conducting the examination, which is now placed under the MEC.

In addition, MedEx is made more widely accessible to candidates through a unified online Registration Portal, and multiple examination centres throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, hence saving the candidates the expenses of travel and precious time. MedEx also has an extended validity of three years.