Generic medications work as well as their brand-name counterparts at a fraction of the cost. Doctors aren't always aware of which drugs have generic versions, so you may need to do some sleuthing.

We can recommend two excellent Web sites for doing this:

DrugDigest.org lets you look up individual drugs or browse through drug categories. To find out whether a brand-name drug has a generic alternative, enter its name in the Search box on the left side of the page. Along with telling you its active ingredient and drug class, the information lists whether or not there's a generic version available. Just because a particular drug hasn't yet gone generic doesn't mean there isn't a generic alternative. At the top of the DrugDigest.org page, hover over the “Compare Drugs” tab and choose “Drug Comparisons” from the drop-down box.

Rxaminer.com lets you create a personalized medicine cabinet and helps you find generic alternatives. You can search by drug name or condition. For example, clicking on “Health Condition” on the home page and choosing “Congestive Heart Failure” from the drop-down box gives you information on this condition. Near the end of the page, click the plus sign next to “Pharmaceutical treatments” and a list of commonly used medications appears. From the home page you can also search by Drug Category.