Number of customers.

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Number of entities that third parties held non controlling ownership.

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Number of sites.

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Ownership in joint venture.

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No definition available.

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Percentage of consolidated operating revenues.

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No definition available.

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This is the percentage of revenue that can vary due to the amount of estimating risk associated with dialysis and related lab services revenue.

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No definition available.

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Percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

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No definition available.

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The reference rate for the variable rate of the debt instrument, such as LIBOR or the US Treasury rate and the maturity of the reference rate used, such as three months or six months LIBOR.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Nominal or face amount used to calculate payments on the derivative asset.

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 815

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1B

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Date the entity entered into the derivative contract, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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No definition available.

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The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

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-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

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Useful life of finite-lived intangible assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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No definition available.

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Number of operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise: (a) that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise), (b) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and (c) for which discrete financial information is available. An operating segment may engage in business activities for which it has yet to earn revenues, for example, start-up operations may be operating segments before earning revenues.

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The number of states the entity operates in as of the balance sheet date.

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Aggregate carrying amount, as of the balance sheet date, of current assets not separately disclosed in the balance sheet. Current assets are expected to be realized or consumed within one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer).

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

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-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

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-Section 02

-Paragraph 8

-Article 5

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Segment Entity	Dec. 31, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of Operating Segments	2us-gaap_NumberOfOperatingSegments
Ownership in joint venture	50.00%dva_OwnershipInJointVenture
Other current assets	$ 186,842us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent	$ 176,414us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent
Number of legal entities that third parties held noncontrolling ownership	380
Interest rate cap agreements
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Interest rate agreements, notional amount	3,500,000
Debt instrument, description of variable rate basis	LIBOR
Derivative, effective date	Sep. 30, 2016
Term Loan B \| Interest rate cap agreements
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Interest rate agreements, notional amount	2,735,000
Alliance and Product Supply Agreement liability
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	10 years
Funds on Deposit with Third Party
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Other current assets	$ 81,276
California Medical Group Insurance
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Equity interest owned	67.00%
Maximum
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of management fees included in net operating revenues	1.00%
Maximum \| Term Loan B \| Interest rate cap agreements
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Debt instrument, variable interest rate	3.50%
Maximum \| Customer relationships
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	20 years
Maximum \| Trade names
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	15 years
Maximum \| Provider network and practice management tools
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	15 years
Maximum \| Noncompetition and other agreements
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	10 years
Maximum \| Buildings
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Useful lives of the assets	40 years
Maximum \| Equipment and Information Systems
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Useful lives of the assets	8 years
Minimum \| Customer relationships
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	10 years
Minimum \| Trade names
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	2 years
Minimum \| Provider network and practice management tools
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	2 years
Minimum \| Noncompetition and other agreements
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amortization period	2 years
Minimum \| Buildings
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Useful lives of the assets	20 years
Minimum \| Equipment and Information Systems
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Useful lives of the assets	3 years
Dialysis And Related Lab Services \| Maximum
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of risk on revenue	1.00%
UNITED STATES
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of dialysis centers that the company operated or provided administrative services	2,179
Number of states that dialysis centers located	46
Number of patients served	173,000
Outside United States
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of dialysis centers that the company operated or provided administrative services	91