US Consumer Reports: Best drugs for what ails you, plus where to buy them for $4 a month

In the USA, many common generic drugs beat brand names when it comes to safety, efficacy and cost. Yet many consumers are not taking advantage of the discount drug programs offering these drugs at prices as low as $4 a month, according to a new report from Consumer Reports, an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union.

"Retailers like Kmart, Target, Walgreens and Walmart have been steadily expanding their discount programs, offering $4 a month prescriptions for drugs that our evidence based program deems 'best buys'," said Lisa Gill, editor of Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs (BBD). "We suspect that consumers aren't taking full advantage of these programs because of the constant din of drug advertising which is steering consumers toward overpriced brand name drugs," she added.

Consumer Reports BBD identifies "best buys" based on a review of the medical evidence in partnership with the Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP), based at Oregon Health & Science University. For each class of drugs to treat a given condition, Consumer Reports BBD uses an analysis of hundreds of studies - and sometimes thousands - by DERP to derive its "best buy" designations. The reports, which cover 25 classes of drugs for more than 35 conditions, are available for free at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org/BestBuyDrugs