SEGMENT INFORMATION - Revenues by Product Category (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) product	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 2,121	$ 2,136	$ 2,128	$ 1,995	$ 2,163	$ 2,219	$ 2,233	$ 2,109	$ 8,380	$ 8,724	$ 9,674
Number of products represented of total revenue | product									10
Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 4,032	4,377	5,166
Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,640	1,532	1,504
OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,412	1,529	1,581
Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,187	1,157	1,285
Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 109	$ 129	$ 138
Revenues | Product Concentration Risk
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage									36.00%	32.00%	31.00%
Operating Segments
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 8,380	$ 8,724	$ 9,674
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									4,664	4,795	4,857
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									892	956	966
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,505	1,421	1,407
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,412	1,529	1,581
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									784	819	830
Operating Segments | Bausch Lomb/ International | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									71	70	73
Operating Segments | Salix
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,749	1,566	1,530
Operating Segments | Salix | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,752	1,564	1,529
Operating Segments | Salix | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Salix | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Salix | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Salix | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									(3)	2	1
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									625	725	949
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									465	571	806
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									135	111	97
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Ortho Dermatologics | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									25	43	46
Operating Segments | Diversified Products
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,342	1,638	2,338
Operating Segments | Diversified Products | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									923	1,286	1,865
Operating Segments | Diversified Products | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Diversified Products | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Operating Segments | Diversified Products | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									403	338	455
Operating Segments | Diversified Products | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 16	$ 14	$ 18