Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified		6 Months Ended
May 01, 2012 LA Home Health And Hospice Acquisition	Jun. 30, 2012 LA Home Health And Hospice Acquisition Home health care center	Jun. 30, 2012 LA Home Health And Hospice Acquisition Hospice care centers	Jun. 01, 2012 Fl Physicians Group
Schedule of Business Acquisitions, Purchase Price Allocation [Line Items]
Acquisition, total purchase price	$ 6.4			$ 2.0
Acquisition, number of care centers acquired		1	4
Acquisition, recorded goodwill	6.0			1.9
Acquisition, recorded other intangibles	0.5			0.1
Acquisition, recorded other assets and liabilities	$ 0.1

Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Other Assets (Liabilities) Net

No definition available.

Name:	amed_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationOtherAssetsLiabilitiesNet
Namespace Prefix:	amed_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	amed_ScheduleOfBusinessAcquisitionsPurchasePriceAllocationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	amed_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The total cost of the acquired entity including the cash paid to shareholders of acquired entities, fair value of debt and equity securities issued to shareholders of acquired entities, the fair value of the liabilities assumed, and direct costs of the acquisition.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionCostOfAcquiredEntityPurchasePrice
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of goodwill arising from a business combination, which is the excess of the cost of the acquired entity over the amounts assigned to assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 52

-Subparagraph c

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 53

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationGoodwillAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceAllocationIntangibleAssetsOtherThanGoodwill
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The number of businesses acquired by the entity during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfBusinessesAcquired
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration