Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Jan. 31, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	UHS
Entity Registrant Name	UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000352915
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 8,700,000,000
Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			6,595,708
Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			91,656,482
Class C
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			664,000
Class D
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			28,111