What does a Document Management Specialist do?

A document management specialist is in charge of managing the documents in a company using electronic systems. They typically perform research to identify the strengths or weaknesses of current processes, develop management plans and strategies to enhance procedures, implement solutions against problem areas, liaise with external parties, and coordinate with various departments to gather and analyze data. Moreover, a document management specialist must lead and encourage staff to reach goals while implementing the company's documentation management policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
Document management specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real document management specialist resumes:
- Manage all incoming Medicaid claims to ensure that patients are being cover under the correct plan.
- Manage medical records with Cerner electronic medical record program.
- Manage medical transcription and deficiencies, guiding physicians toward chart completion.
- Manage SharePoint assignments for distribution and preparation to facilitate accuracy and adherence to establish productivity standards.
- Support ISO audits for process documentation and software/ literature distribution, managing follow-up corrective action plans as needed.
- Perform field walk downs to identify and document field installations to verify FDA requirements t and maintain GMP.
- Create and perform QA/QC of witness binders and perform general litigation support for a civil litigation support company.
- Perform other document relate activities, such as data entry, updating, proofreading, document coding and scanning.
- Answer telephones for litigation support unit.
- Create company-wide document management guidelines including SharePoint best practices, new hire training materials, filing architecture and document storage policies.
- Assign CPT and ICD-9-CM codes.
- Perform film screen and digital mammography.
- Coordinate and process all subpoenas for employee records.
- Instruct interns to operate ultrasound and micro-CT/SPECT scanners.
- Conduct training in the use of new CMS software.
Document management specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Document Management Specialists are proficient in Clinical Documentation, Patients, and SharePoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Integrity.
We break down the percentage of Document Management Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Clinical Documentation, 20%
Stay current with and provide ongoing clinical documentation improvement education for physicians, nursing and allied health professionals.
- Patients, 19%
Provided solutions to patients and medical providers.
- SharePoint, 7%
Managed SharePoint assignments for distribution and preparation to facilitate accuracy and adherence to established productivity standards.
- PowerPoint, 6%
Translated the business expectations to technical teams, design and execution planning via meetings, diagrams and PowerPoint presentations.
- Windows, 5%
Supported 75 Architects & Designers with, Windows XP, Office 2003, Architectural software AutoDesk
- Revision Control, 4%
Performed quality check documents issued on the project (title block, revision control, size, etc.).
"clinical documentation," "patients," and "sharepoint" are among the most common skills that document management specialists use at work. You can find even more document management specialist responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a document management specialist to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what document management specialists do because "health information technicians must understand and follow medical records and diagnoses, and then decide how best to code them in a patient’s medical records." Additionally, a document management specialist resume shows how document management specialists use analytical skills: "analyze patient charts data to confirm to confirm hedis measures are being met and addressed appropriately by physicians"
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling document management specialist duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health information technicians must be accurate when recording and coding patient information." According to a document management specialist resume, here's how document management specialists can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "created and maintained training materials detailing volume licensing use rights processing refresh cycles and publishing processes. "
Integrity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of document management specialists is integrity. This skill is critical to many everyday document management specialist duties, as "health information technicians work with patient data that are required, by law, to be kept confidential." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "administer document and system access rights and revision control to ensure security of system and integrity of master documents. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain document management specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a document management specialist rely on this skill, as "health information technicians need to be able to discuss patient information, discrepancies, and data requirements with other professionals such as physicians and finance personnel." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what document management specialists do: "position requires excellent customer service and interpersonal skills between attorneys and staff. "
Technical skills. A commonly-found skill in document management specialist job descriptions, "technical skills" is essential to what document management specialists do. Document management specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "health information technicians must use coding and classification software and the electronic health record (ehr) system that their healthcare organization or physician practice has adopted." You can also see how document management specialist duties rely on technical skills in this resume example: "developed training materials and conducted software technical training in classroom. "
The three companies that hire the most document management specialists are:
- CDM Smith179 document management specialists jobs
- TTakeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.79 document management specialists jobs
- Bank of America7 document management specialists jobs
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Document management specialist vs. Document coordinator
A document coordinator is responsible for handling the sorting and distribution of files and documents as part of the business's services and operations. Document coordinators label and categorize the files according to their purposes and submit them to the appropriate personnel or department. They also ensure the safety and security of the documents' storage to prevent leakage of confidential information that might put the company's privacy in jeopardy. A document coordinator keeps a record of every document within the database, properly disposing of outdated ones, and retrieve documents as requested.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, document management specialist responsibilities require skills like "patients," "powerpoint," "revision control," and "electronic content." Meanwhile a typical document coordinator has skills in areas such as "data entry," "word processing," "strong problem-solving," and "access database." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Document coordinators really shine in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $57,221. Comparatively, document management specialists tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $86,268.On average, document coordinators reach similar levels of education than document management specialists. Document coordinators are 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Document management 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that document management specialist responsibilities requires skills like "clinical documentation," "patients," "windows," and "revision control." But a document controller might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project procedures," "data entry," "computer database," and "project management."
Document controllers earn a lower average salary than document management specialists. But document controllers earn the highest pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $56,451. Additionally, document management specialists earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $86,268 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Document controllers tend to reach similar levels of education than document management specialists. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Document management specialist vs. Specialist
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, document management specialists are more likely to have skills like "clinical documentation," "sharepoint," "revision control," and "electronic content." But a specialist is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "work ethic," "patient care," and "exceptional client."
Most specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to document management specialists. For example, they're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Document management 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between document management specialists and document control administrators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a document management specialist might have more use for skills like "clinical documentation," "patients," "powerpoint," and "electronic content." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of document control administrators require skills like "engineering drawings," "data entry," "meeting minutes," and "access database. "
Document control administrators reach similar levels of education compared to document management specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of document management specialist
Updated January 8, 2025