About Us

1321 Interstate Parkway
Augusta, GA 30909
Directions

Hours of Operation: 7:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday-Thursday; 8:00 am - 2:00 pm Friday
Phone: (706) 738.PAIN (7246)
Fax: (706) 738.7248

Richard Epter, MD

Richard S. Epter, M.D. has served Augusta and the surrounding areas since 2000. He founded the Augusta Pain Center in 2001.  Dr. Epter is the only Interventional Pain Physician in the area with 4 Pain Board Certifications and Board Certification in Anesthesiology. Dr. Epter is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and helps train Fellows in Pain Management that visit the Pain Center.  Distinguished visitors from the United States and as far as the Middle East have come to observe Dr. Epter.  He is a nationally and internationally recognized Pain Physician, frequently lecturing and teaching other pain physicians across the United States and abroad.  He has multiple peer reviewed publications in the field of Interventional Pain Management.  Dr. Epter is also very involved in state and national Pain Societies.  He is Past President of the Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and current Chairman of the Board.  He has served on the National Guidelines Committee for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and as a Board Examiner for the World Institute of Pain.

Stefan Erceg, MD

Dr. Stefan Erceg is excited to be joining Dr. Richard Epter at the Augusta Pain Center. Dr. Erceg was born in Canada and is of New Zealand heritage. Having resided in multiple countries, he has been fortunate to have been exposed to a variety of different cultures. However, given his strong roots in Georgia, he is very pleased to be returning to his home state. He and his wife, Amanda, are very eager to begin the next chapter of their lives here in Augusta.

Dr. Erceg received his undergraduate training at Mercer University in Macon, GA with a double major in biology and history. He obtained his medical degree at the Graduate Medical Program of the University of Sydney in Australia. After returning to the USA, he completed an internship program at the Columbus Regional Medical Center in Columbus, GA. He subsequently completed residency training in Anesthesia at Yale New Haven Hospital before moving to Nashville, TN. Seeking a greater level of expertise, Dr. Erceg decided to pursue training in the burgeoning field of pain medicine. While he still enjoys the practice of anesthesia, he felt his particular skill set would be well suited to this discipline and cemented this decision with the encouragement of his mentors at Yale. He completed an ACGME accredited fellowship in Pain Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After finishing his fellowship training, Dr. Erceg worked briefly as an assistant professor at Vanderbilt’s Interventional Pain Clinic prior to joining Dr. Epter at the Augusta Pain Center.

During his fellowship training, Dr. Erceg learned a wide array of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for managing chronic pain patients. His goal is to relieve pain and suffering to promote an increase in functional capacity. He utilizes the latest in evidence based techniques including a variety of ultrasound and fluoroscopic guided injections, a wide range of pharmacological agents, physical therapy modalities and psychological counseling. Dr. Erceg believes a multifaceted approach to pain management is vital to the successful treatment of the majority of chronic pain conditions. Despite time constraints, he believes it is imperative to thoroughly educate patients’ on their condition in order to achieve optimum results. Dr. Erceg is a proponent of better health through better living and leads by example with a very active lifestyle including weight training, yoga, and cycling.

Prior to his medical training, Dr. Erceg was employed as a medical research assistant at the Mercer University School of Medicine. His early research involved exploring various methods to inhibit smooth muscle cell necrosis during cardiac ischemia. His academic achievements continued with multiple collaborations on journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters. Dr. Erceg still enjoys the academic side of medical practice and continues to be active in this area.

Dr. Erceg is a board certified anesthesiologist by the ABA. He holds medical licenses in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia and is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.

William S. Schiff, Psy.D.

William S. Schiff, Psy.D. joined the Augusta Pain Center in September, 2011. He received his doctorate degree from the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University in Washington, DC. Following graduation, he completed his post-doc training over the next four years at a rehabilitation and forensic-based private practice that specialized in neuropsychology, behavioral medicine, forensics, clinical psychology, and the mental health aspects of pain management. For the last two years, Dr. Schiff helped develop the behavioral medicine program at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital in Augusta as a clinical psychologist. Dr. Schiff has treated a wide variety of patients of differing ethnic, religious, social, and economic backgrounds presenting with a variety of symptoms.
Dr. Schiff’s personal interests are in clinical, health, and rehabilitation psychology. Specifically, he is interested in how biological, psychological, social, environmental, and political factors affect the functioning of persons with disability, chronic illness, or chronic pain. It is his personal belief that only by considering the problem from all factors can a person truly experience significant growth, healing, and improvement with quality of life.

Megan Murphy, PA-C

Megan graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with a BS in Biology. Following graduation, she completed her postgraduate work as an honor graduate in Physician Assistant studies through the Medical College of Georgia. She is a member of multiple honor societies and affiliations. In keeping with her ideals of total patient care, her clinical internship experiences included: internal medicine, family practice, orthopedics, and emergency medicine. However, her focus has been in pain management.

As a medically trained physician assistant with state and national certifications, Megan has been utilized to provide high quality care to patients at the Augusta Pain Center. With their medical expertise and experience, Dr. Epter and Megan comprise a highly qualified team with the ability to provide exceptional and efficient patient care.