Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Jan. 31, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
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			$ 12.9
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		90,384,960
Class C
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		663,940
Class D
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,202