Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Oct. 31, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	UHS
Entity Registrant Name	UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000352915
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		6,595,308
Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		91,189,549
Class C
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		663,940
Class D
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,742