SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Total Revenues	$ 4,441	$ 4,065	$ 4,048	$ 3,831	$ 4,191	$ 3,736	$ 4,443	$ 5,251	$ 16,385	$ 17,621	$ 21,244
Gross Margin	3,168	2,890	2,940	2,768	3,116	2,749	3,198	3,948	11,766	13,011
Net Earnings	735	692	530	623	924	(713)	808	1,482	2,580	2,501	5,260
Net Earnings/(Loss) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest	9		(6)	14	(1)	(2)	163	381	17	541	1,551
Net Earnings/(Loss) Attributable to BMS	726	692	536	609	925	(711)	645	1,101	2,563	1,960	3,709
Earnings/(Loss) per Share - Basic	$ 0.44	$ 0.42	$ 0.33	$ 0.37	$ 0.56	$ (0.43)	$ 0.38	$ 0.65	$ 1.56	$ 1.17	$ 2.18
Earnings/(Loss) per Share - Diluted	$ 0.44	$ 0.42	$ 0.32	$ 0.37	$ 0.56	$ (0.43)	$ 0.38	$ 0.64	$ 1.54	$ 1.16	$ 2.16
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.36	$ 0.35	$ 0.35	$ 0.35	$ 0.35	$ 0.34	$ 0.34	$ 0.34	$ 1.41	$ 1.37	$ 1.33
Cash and cash equivalents	3,586	1,771	1,821	1,355	1,656	1,503	2,801	2,307	3,586	1,656	5,776	5,033
Marketable securities	4,686	4,574	4,201	4,420	4,696	5,125	5,968	6,307	4,686	4,696
Total Assets	38,592	36,804	36,252	35,958	35,897	36,044	31,667	32,408	38,592	35,897
Long-term debt	7,981	6,562	7,122	7,180	7,232	7,227	5,209	5,270	7,981	7,232
Equity	15,236	14,714	14,373	13,699	13,638	13,900	15,812	16,246	15,236	13,638
Cost of products sold	102	69	70	85	84	54	147		326	285
Marketing, selling and administrative	10	4	1	1	2	70	5	8	16	85
Research and development	16	0	0	0	65	48	45	58	16	216
Impairment charge for BMS-9860094 intangible asset						1,830				1,830
Other (income)/expense	39	43	239	19	249	116	43	(81)	340	327
Increase to pretax income	167	116	310	105	400	2,118	240	(15)	698	2,743
Income tax/(tax benefit) on items above	(51)	(40)	(116)	(35)	(156)	(722)	(77)	8	(242)	(947)
Specified tax benefit					(392)					(392)
Income taxes - specified items					(548)	(722)	(77)	8		(1,339)
(Increase)/Decrease to Net Earnings	116	76	194	70	(148)	1,396	163	(7)	456	1,404
Accelerated Depreciation Asset Impairment And Other Shutdown Costs [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income	36						147		36	147
Amortization Of Acquired Intangible Assets [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income	137	137	137	138	138	91			549	229
Amortization of Alliance Proceeds [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income	(71)	(68)	(67)	(67)	(68)	(46)			(273)	(114)
Amortization Of Purchase Price Inventory Adjustment [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income				14	14	9			14	23
Stock Compensation From Accelerated Vesting Of Awards MS&A [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income						67				67
Process Standardization Implementation Costs [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income					2	3	5	8		18
Stock Compensation From Accelerated Vesting Of Awards R&D [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income						27				27
Upfront, milestone and other licensing payments [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income				(14)	26	21			(14)	47
In Process Research And Development Impairment [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income					39		45	58		142
Provision For Restructuring [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income	14	6	173	33	103	29	20	22	226	174
Gain On Sale Of Product Lines Businesses And Assets [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income					(51)					(51)
Pension Curtailment And Settlement Charges [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income	25	37	99		151				161	151
Acquisition Related Expenses [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income			(10)		1	29	1	12	(10)	43
Litigation Charges/(Recoveries) [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income			(23)		55	50	22	(172)	(23)	(45)
Upfront, milestone and other licensing receipts [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income					(10)					(10)
Outlicensed Intangible Asset Impairment [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income								38		38
Loss On Debt Repurchase [Member]
Selected Quarterly Data [Line Items]
Increase to pretax income						$ 8		$ 19		$ 27