Chronic Pain Management

What it is

Chronic Pain Management (CPM) is a monthly Medicare bundle for patients whose pain has persisted three months or longer. It pays for the practitioner's own time: assessment with a validated pain scale, a person-centered care plan, medication management — including review of any opioid therapy — and coordination with other treating clinicians.

Willowbridge runs the PEG-3 scale (pain intensity, enjoyment of life, general activity) on its built-in rating-scale rail and requires the month's assessment to be on file before the period can close — the documentation element auditors ask for first is the one the workflow can't skip.

Who qualifies

• Pain persisting ≥ 3 months, documented with the ICD-10 basis.
• The initiating visit is in person with the billing practitioner.
• Practitioner time, not clinical-staff time — G3002/G3003 pay for the physician or QHP personally.
• Patient consent captured and documented (Part B coinsurance applies).
• May be billed in the same month as CCM or BHI when the time and documentation are distinct.

Codes & when to bill them

Each billable code, with the requirements that must be on file to bill it.

• G3002Chronic pain management, first 30 minutes personally provided by the physician or QHP per calendar month.
  RequirementsPain ≥ 3 months documented; person-centered plan; validated pain assessment on file; initiating visit in person.
• G3003Each additional 15 minutes of chronic pain management, personally provided.
  RequirementsAdd-on to G3002 in the same month; minutes itemized.

Documentation required every cycle

Each calendar month must show:

1. Practitioner minutes for the month (30-minute base, 15-minute add-ons).
2. A validated pain assessment (PEG-3) with the score and date.
3. The person-centered care plan, reviewed and updated as status changes.
4. Medication management notes — including opioid review where applicable.
5. Coordination with other treating clinicians, when it occurred.
6. Final practitioner sign-off.

Built-in patient consentWillowbridge exclusive

Every program ships with compliant, CY-2026 patient consent language — read verbatim into the in-app consent capture flow, captured with date + modality, and version-pinned to each claim, so the consent on file always matches the consent that was billed. No more chasing signatures or re-papering when the rule changes.