Segment reporting - narrative (Details) - segment	12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2023	Aug. 31, 2022	Aug. 31, 2021
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments	3
Three Third-Party Payers \| Revenues \| Customer Concentration Risk
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Concentration risk (as a percent)	33.00%	31.00%	33.00%

For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 42
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482810/280-10-50-42

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 21
-Subparagraph (a)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482907/825-10-50-21

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482907/825-10-50-20

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 18
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482861/275-10-50-18

Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482861/275-10-50-20

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration