Segments of Business and Geographic Areas - Schedule of Revenue from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets, by Geographical Areas (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2018 USD ($) Segment	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) Segment
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers	$ 20,747	$ 20,729	$ 20,562	$ 20,021	$ 20,394	$ 20,348	$ 20,830	$ 20,009	$ 82,059	$ 81,581	$ 76,450
Identifiable Assets	157,728				152,954				157,728	152,954
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets										1,200	1,300
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration Arrangements, Change in Amount of Contingent Consideration, Liability									151	$ (156)	$ 87
Number of segments | Segment										3	3
Acquisition related costs	90	107	55	67
Restructuring charges	251	128	142	90	227		176		266	$ 251	$ 309
After Tax Restructuring Charge	214	106	116	75	190	162	152	81
Asset write-downs									1,096	1,258	795
In-process research and development (Note 5)				890		1,126			890	1,126	408
Litigation expense	264	4,000	409	423	1,288		703
Gain from divestiture									2,154	1,217	1,307
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Securities	350	89	148	158
Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									25,963	26,994	26,592
Restructuring charges						190		107	400
Asset write-downs											200
Litigation expense									400	1,700	1,100
Restructuring Charge, Net of Accrual Adjustment										600	800
Gain from divestiture											700
Consumer
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers	3,567	3,469	3,544	3,318	3,536	3,415	3,504	3,398	13,898	13,853	13,602
Restructuring charges									100
Litigation expense									400	300
Gain from divestiture											500
Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers	10,548	$ 10,877	$ 10,529	10,244	10,190	10,346	$ 10,354	$ 9,844	42,198	40,734	36,256
Unrealized loss on securities										200
Restructuring charges									100
In-process research and development (Note 5)									900		400
Litigation expense									4,300		100
Research and Development Expense									300
Property, Plant and Equipment
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	17,658				17,035				17,658	17,035
Other Intangible Assets
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	81,282				78,064				81,282	78,064
Ci:z Holdings Co. Ltd. | Consumer
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Equity Investments				$ 300					300
Alios Biopharma Inc and XO1 Limited | Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
In-process research and development (Note 5)										1,100
XO1
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration Arrangements, Change in Amount of Contingent Consideration, Liability						$ (184)				(200)
Actelion
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Acquisition related costs									200	200	800
Actelion | Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Acquisition related costs									200	200	800
AMO | Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Acquisition related costs										100	100
United States
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									42,097	41,884	39,863
United States | Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									12,384	12,837	12,824
United States | Consumer
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									5,839	5,761	5,565
United States | Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									23,874	23,286	21,474
Corporate, Non-Segment
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Other Non Long Lived Assets	58,788				57,855				58,788	57,855
Corporate, Non-Segment | General Corporate
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	1,049				1,064				1,049	1,064
Identifiable Assets	25,356				24,187				25,356	24,187
Operating Segments
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									82,059	81,581	76,450
Long-Lived Assets	97,891				94,035				97,891	94,035
Operating Segments | Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Identifiable Assets	49,462				46,254				49,462	46,254
Operating Segments | Consumer
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Identifiable Assets	26,618				25,877				26,618	25,877
Operating Segments | Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Identifiable Assets	56,292				56,636				56,292	56,636
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Securities									600
Operating Segments | NIZORAL | Consumer
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets										300
Operating Segments | PANCREASE | Pharmaceutical
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets										200
Operating Segments | LifeScan | Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business										500
Operating Segments | United States
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									42,097	41,884	39,863
Long-Lived Assets	41,528				37,117				41,528	37,117
Operating Segments | Europe
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									18,466	18,753	17,126
Long-Lived Assets	48,015				51,433				48,015	51,433
Operating Segments | Western Hemisphere excluding U.S.
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									5,941	6,113	6,041
Long-Lived Assets	2,862				2,752				2,862	2,752
Operating Segments | Asia-Pacific, Africa
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Sales to Customers									15,555	14,831	$ 13,420
Long-Lived Assets	$ 5,486				$ 2,733				$ 5,486	$ 2,733
Wholesaler 1 | Sales Revenue, Net
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Concentration risk (as a percent)									15.00%	14.00%	14.00%
Wholesaler 2 | Sales Revenue, Net
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Concentration risk (as a percent)									12.00%	11.00%	10.00%
Wholesaler 3 | Sales Revenue, Net
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Concentration risk (as a percent)									11.00%	11.00%
AdvancedSterilizationProducts
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business									$ 2,000
AdvancedSterilizationProducts | Operating Segments | Medical Devices
Revenues from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business									$ 2,000