Multimodal pain treatment programs are widely accepted as the medical treatment standard in the management of patients with chronic pain syndromes. The concepts and treatment strategies are based on the biopsychosocial model of pain and programs for early restoration of function. Although this concept is primarily implemented in the curative field, i.e. in hospitals for the treatment of patients with chronic pain diseases, modified programs based on the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) can now also be found in rehabilitation clinics. Despite the assumed similarities, significant differences in, for example the aims of the therapy and relevant structural and process variables have to be kept in mind when allocating patients to a program as provided by a hospital or a rehabilitation clinic. The aim of this article is to present the framework structures of both treatment levels with respect to the implementation of multimodal pain therapy programs and to elucidate the differential diagnostic approach to the indications.