Other Assets - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions		12 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017
2017 [Member] \| Subsidiaries [Member]
Other Assets [Line Items]
Equity interest acquired	$ 100	$ 100

Business combination equity interest in acquiree fair value.

No definition available.

Name:	mpw_BusinessCombinationEquityInterestInAcquireeFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	mpw_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration