Business	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business	Business Overview HCP, Inc., a Standard & Poor’s 500 company, is a Maryland corporation that is organized to qualify as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) which, together with its consolidated entities (collectively, “HCP” or the “Company”), invests primarily in real estate serving the healthcare industry in the United States (“U.S.”). The Company acquires, develops, leases, owns and manages healthcare real estate. The Company’s diverse portfolio is comprised of investments in the following reportable healthcare segments: (i) senior housing triple-net; (ii) senior housing operating portfolio (“SHOP”); (iii) life science and (iv) medical office.

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, major products or services, principal markets including location, and the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination, including but not limited to, assets, revenues, or earnings. For an entity that has not commenced principal operations, disclosures about the risks and uncertainties related to the activities in which the entity is currently engaged and an understanding of what those activities are being directed toward.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e5967-108592

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479

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