SEGMENT INFORMATION - Revenues by Product Category (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) product	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) product	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) product
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Number of products represented of total revenue | product									10	10	10
Revenue	$ 2,224	$ 2,209	$ 2,152	$ 2,016	$ 2,121	$ 2,136	$ 2,128	$ 1,995	$ 8,601	$ 8,380	$ 8,724
Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									4,072	4,028	4,377
Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,717	1,640	1,532
OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,452	1,412	1,529
Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,248	1,191	1,157
Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									112	109	129
Baush and Lomb/International
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									4,739	4,664	4,795
Baush and Lomb/International | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									885	892	956
Baush and Lomb/International | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,524	1,505	1,421
Baush and Lomb/International | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,452	1,412	1,529
Baush and Lomb/International | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									801	784	819
Baush and Lomb/International | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									77	71	70
Salix
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									2,022	1,749	1,566
Salix | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									2,022	1,752	1,564
Salix | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Salix | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Salix | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Salix | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	(3)	2
Ortho Dermatologics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									565	617	721
Ortho Dermatologics | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									355	457	567
Ortho Dermatologics | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									193	135	111
Ortho Dermatologics | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Ortho Dermatologics | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Ortho Dermatologics | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									17	25	43
Diversified Products
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									1,275	1,350	1,642
Diversified Products | Pharmaceuticals
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									810	927	1,290
Diversified Products | Devices
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Diversified Products | OTC
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Diversified Products | Branded and Other Generics
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									447	407	338
Diversified Products | Other revenues
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenue									$ 18	$ 16	$ 14
Revenues | Product Concentration Risk
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage									39.00%	36.00%	32.00%