Common Stock/Partners' Capital - Additional Information (Detail) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands						3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 21, 2020 shares	Dec. 27, 2019 USD ($)	Nov. 08, 2019 USD ($) shares	Jul. 18, 2019 USD ($) shares	May 01, 2017 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) Partner Employee $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) shares	Nov. 04, 2019 $ / shares shares	Nov. 03, 2019 shares
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock, par value | $ / shares						$ 0.001	$ 0.001	$ 0.001		$ 0.001
Common stock, shares authorized						750,000,000	750,000,000	750,000,000		750,000,000	500,000,000
Common stock, shares issued						370,637,000	517,522,000	370,637,000
Proceeds from sale of common shares / units, net of offering costs | $							$ 2,533,210	$ 94,239	$ 547,785
Redemption of common units | $								816
Employee [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of partners shared remaining ownership percentage | Employee							2
MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of other partners | Partner							2
Redemption of common units | $								$ 816
MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. [Member] | Medical Properties Trust, LLC. [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership of general partner							100.00%
MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. [Member] | Operating Partnership [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership limited partner							99.90%
Common Par Value [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of share sold							145,349,000	5,614,000	43,125,000
Common Par Value [Member] | MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. [Member] | Limited Partner [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of share sold							143,894,000	5,558,000	42,694,000
Conversion of LTIP units to common units								60,000
Redemption of common units | $								$ 816
At-the-Market Equity Offering Program [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of common shares / units, net of offering costs | $						$ 95,000	$ 650,000
At-the-Market Equity Offering Program [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Value of stock | $		$ 1,000
Sales commission percentage		2.00%
At-the-Market Equity Offering Program [Member] | Common Par Value [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of share sold						5,600,000	36,100,000
At-the-Market Equity Offering Program [Member] | Common Par Value [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of share sold	2,400,000
Public Offering [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock, shares issued			57,500,000	51,750,000	43,100,000
Additional shares purchased by underwriters			7,500,000	858,100,000	5,600,000
Proceeds from sale of common shares / units, net of offering costs | $			$ 1,026,000	$ 6,750	$ 548,000