What does a document specialist do?

Documentation specialists are responsible for managing office documents and developing a long-term storage strategy. They have varied responsibilities, including organizing, storing and retrieving records, and training other staff members on practical documentation usage. It is also their job to proofread and remove obsolete documents, utilizing storage applications and software. There are several requirements needed to be qualified for this position, including a communications degree, excellent organizational and interpersonal skills, and excellent verbal and written communication.
Document specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real document specialist resumes:
- Manage files, medical records and major customers requiring IPRO services.
- Manage the migration of the entire documentation set from FrameMaker to DITA.
- Lead the transition from paper charts to electronic medical records and the transition to ICD-10.
- Manage archiving process of sending all complete clinical studies TMF document to off-site archiving center.
- Lead complete overhaul of documentation design, look, and feel using hone FrameMaker templates.
- Deploy and manage dynamic training plans, forms, and records, in ERP and paper-base system.
- Provide MRP and SolidWorks support for engineering with updating drawing revisions and moving product assemblies to a control environment.
- Conduct TMF audit and take appropriate action to ensure accuracy and completeness of files and compliance with ICH, GCP guidelines.
- Assume the task of the CRF portion of the NDA submissions.
- Create VISIO diagrams for procedures.
- File items by date after digitizing.
- Communicate updates to personnel via MOC.
- Input weekly incentive figures and run incentive reports.
- Design and validate program specific business processes using VISIO.
- Charge with digitizing radiology films for four area hospitals.
Document specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Document Specialists are proficient in Clinical Documentation, Patients, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Analytical skills, and Imagination.
We break down the percentage of Document Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Clinical Documentation, 15%
Develop strong relationships with health care providers in order to obtain supporting clinical documentation to satisfying payer placement and billing requirements.
- Patients, 13%
Utilized medical background and technical expertise to review concurrent and retrospective inpatient records for Medicare patients and determined optimal hospital reimbursements.
- Customer Service, 8%
Verified SAP orders and ensured distribution data integrity for Customer Service department, resulting in excellent customer service and accurate shipments.
- Data Entry, 7%
Displayed effective data entry skills by evaluating and analyzing loan modifications with data issues for accuracy and attention to detail.
- DRG, 6%
Job duties: Concurrent review of Medicare admissions to determine accuracy of provider documentation utilizing clinical indicators and MS DRG knowledge.
- PowerPoint, 5%
Designed and produced personalized recognition certificates and other desktop publishing documents in Word 97 and PowerPoint 97.
"clinical documentation," "patients," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that document specialists use at work. You can find even more document specialist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a document specialist to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "analysts work as a go-between with management and the it department and must explain complex issues in a way that both will understand." Additionally, a document specialist resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "attend customer presentations on cms and enterprise portal with communications representative. "
Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling document specialist duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "analysts must interpret complex information from various sources and decide the best way to move forward on a project." According to a document specialist resume, here's how document specialists can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "maintain electronic data files as well as hard copies of reports for fda approval. "
The three companies that hire the most document specialists are:
- Pwc67 document specialists jobs
- Northwell Health14 document specialists jobs
- Spencer Stuart12 document specialists jobs
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Document specialist vs. Document control manager
A document control manager's duties cycle around ensuring that all documents, digital or not, are stored completely, securely, and safely in different storage places and databases. They are the ones who implement systematized management of documents, which helps companies and organizations consolidate files, even destroy them if they want to. This job requires a great deal of information technology expertise, a good sense of work ethic, and the best communication skills.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between document specialists and document control manager. For instance, document specialist responsibilities require skills such as "clinical documentation," "patients," "customer service," and "drg." Whereas a document control manager is skilled in "project management," "edms," "project documentation," and "meeting minutes." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that document control managers earn slightly differ from document specialists. In particular, document control managers are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a document specialist. Additionally, they're 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Document specialist vs. Document controller
Document controllers take responsibility for controlling the day-to-day management of documents in a department or company. The controllers make sure that document management is accurate, efficient, and always on time. They do control numbers, sort, file, store, and retrieve hard copy and electronic documents. They ensure that the documents undergo legal, security, and regulatory compliance. The skills necessary for this job include computer software program proficiency, analytical experience, data organization knowledge, and typing skills.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real document specialist resumes. While document specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "clinical documentation," "patients," "customer service," and "drg," document controllers use skills like "project procedures," "computer database," "project management," and "edms."
Document controllers earn a higher average salary than document specialists. But document controllers earn the highest pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $56,451. Additionally, document specialists earn the highest salaries in the pharmaceutical with average pay of $50,971 annually.In general, document controllers achieve similar levels of education than document specialists. They're 0.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Document specialist vs. Document control administrator
A document control administrator is responsible for overseeing and managing an organization's documents. As a document control administrator, you will need to ensure that all documents are prepared and managed accurately and efficiently. You will be responsible for setting up, copying, and storing documents, creating templates, and handling requests for certain documents from clients or employees. You may also be tasked to assist project managers in developing and maintaining documents, and train other staff on records management policies and procedures.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, document specialists are more likely to have skills like "clinical documentation," "patients," "customer service," and "drg." But a document control administrator is more likely to have skills like "engineering drawings," "meeting minutes," "access database," and "financial statements."
Document control administrators typically earn similar educational levels compared to document specialists. Specifically, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Document specialist vs. Document management technician
The primary role of a document management technician revolves around managing electronic files. They can store, share, send, and even destroy some private and unnecessary files. With the knowledge of how the internet works, document technicians can find ways to increase storage, follow guidelines to process storage, and complete back-ups as problems such as accidentally deleting files can occur. They are often tasked to retrieve important documents, so a great deal of computer knowledge is required.
Types of document specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











