Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2024	Mar. 31, 2023
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 3,592	$ 3,513
Cost of sales	2,205	2,238
Gross margin	1,387	1,275
Selling, general and administrative expenses	1,027	995
Research and development expenses	176	164
Other operating income, net	(3)	(13)
Operating income	187	129
Interest expense, net	78	117
Other income, net	7	2
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	116	14
Income tax expense	77	14
Income from continuing operations	39	0
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	45
Net income	39	45
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	1
Net income attributable to Baxter stockholders	$ 37	$ 44
Income from continuing operations per common share
Income from continuing operations per common share, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.07	$ (0.00)
Income from continuing operations per common share, diluted (in dollars per share)	0.07	(0.00)
Income from discontinued operations per common share
Income from discontinued operations per common share, basic (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.09
Income from discontinued operations per common share, diluted (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.09
Net income per common share
Basic (in dollars per share)	0.07	0.09
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.07	$ 0.09
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding
Basic (in shares)	508	505
Diluted (in shares)	510	505