Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2021	Sep. 30, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 3,226	$ 2,972	$ 9,270	$ 8,492
Cost of sales	1,905	1,777	5,571	5,096
Gross margin	1,321	1,195	3,699	3,396
Selling, general and administrative expenses	680	601	1,982	1,819
Research and development expenses	129	123	396	386
Other operating expense (income), net	(1)	1	(6)	(19)
Operating income	513	470	1,327	1,210
Interest expense, net	50	39	118	96
Other expense, net	12	16	15	32
Income before income taxes	451	415	1,194	1,082
Income tax (benefit) expense	(1)	56	141	143
Net income	452	359	1,053	939
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	3	7	5
Net income attributable to Baxter stockholders	$ 450	$ 356	$ 1,046	$ 934
Earnings per share
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.90	$ 0.70	$ 2.08	$ 1.83
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.89	$ 0.69	$ 2.06	$ 1.81
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding
Basic (in shares)	500	511	503	509
Diluted (in shares)	506	518	509	517