Acquisitions and Divestitures - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, SFr in Millions, $ in Millions, ¥ in Billions						3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2020 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 17, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 17, 2019 JPY (¥)	Sep. 27, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 29, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2021 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jan. 03, 2021 CHF (SFr) shares	Dec. 29, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2021 CHF (SFr)	Jan. 16, 2019
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred									$ 7,300
Liabilities assumed									400		$ 1,400
Goodwill									36,393		33,639	$ 30,453
Acquisition payments									7,323		5,810	899
Other (income) expense, net									(2,899)		(2,525)	(1,405)
Contingent consideration liability									633		1,715
Liabilities assumed									432		1,418	148
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Assets												1,200
In Process Research and Development
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Impairment of intangible assets, excluding goodwill						$ 100
2019 Acquisitions | In Process Research and Development
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price over fair value of assets acquired											6,800
Auris Health
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Liabilities assumed			$ 1,800
Intangible assets assumed			$ 3,000
Discount rate			10.00%
Goodwill			$ 2,000
Acquisition payments			3,400
Contingent consideration liability			2,350						1,100
Marketable securities assumed			$ 200
2018 Acquisitions | In Process Research and Development
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price over fair value of assets acquired												1,000
Ci:z Holdings Co. Ltd.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred				$ 2,100	¥ 230.0
Liabilities assumed									400
Intangible assets assumed									1,500
Goodwill									$ 1,200
Foreign currency exchange rate, translation														109.06
Other (income) expense, net								$ 300
Weighted average useful life of acquired intangibles									15 years 3 months 18 days	15 years 3 months 18 days
Idorsia
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Sale of stock (in USD per share) | $ / shares									$ 28.55
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares) | shares									11.8	11.8
Sale of stock, percentage of ownership before transaction									8.30%	8.30%
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale securities, equity									$ 357	SFr 337.0
Convertible note, equity Interest (in shares) | shares									38.7	38.7
Convertible Note, equity interest, percentage									20.00%	20.00%
Remaining borrowing capacity | SFr													SFr 243.0
Momenta
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred		$ 6,100
Liabilities assumed		1,600
Other assets assumed		$ 500
Discount rate		13.00%
Goodwill		$ 1,200
Momenta | In Process Research and Development
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets assumed		$ 6,000
2020 Acquisitions | In Process Research and Development
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price over fair value of assets acquired									$ 7,500
bermekimab
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Consideration transferred							$ 800
Intangible assets assumed							$ 800
Discount rate							16.00%
Verb Surgical Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Liabilities assumed									300
Intangible assets assumed									400
Other assets assumed									200
Goodwill									200
Equity method investments, fair value									$ 400
Maximum | Auris Health
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor			95.00%
Maximum | Momenta
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor		77.00%
Maximum | bermekimab
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor							60.00%
Minimum | Auris Health
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor			55.00%
Minimum | Momenta
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor		20.00%
Minimum | bermekimab
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Probability of success factor							20.00%
Convertible Debt | Idorsia
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Long-term debt | SFr													SFr 445.0
AdvancedSterilizationProducts
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business											2,000
Evra and Doxil | Subsequent Event
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Proceeds from divestiture of brands	$ 600
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale or Disposed of by Sale | LifeScan
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Disposal group, including discontinued operation, consideration												$ 2,100
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale or Disposed of by Sale | AdvancedSterilizationProducts
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Disposal group, including discontinued operation, consideration											2,800
Disposal group, including discontinued operation, cash											2,700
Disposal group, including discontinued operation, receivables retained											100
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale or Disposed of by Sale | Supply Chain
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Disposal group, including discontinued operation, inventory, current											$ 100