There are search engines for everything else, so why not prescription drug costs? Web site Medtipster recently relaunched with a search engine that allows you to search prescription costs by zip code, finding generic alternatives to drugs. It's available at http://www.medtipster.com/.

And actually you can do quite a lot from this front page. You specify a drug, dosage, and zip code, and then search. I decided to search for do a search for blood pressure medication Capoten, in 50MG doses, near zip code 27604. (If you can't spell the name of the drug you're searching for, don't worry -- enter in the few letters and Medtipster will make suggestions. It'll give you a list of common doses too.)

In this case Medtipster searched for generic equivalent Captopril and found dozens of places to buy it near 27604, though mostly it was multiple iterations of pharmacy and grocery chains. Each listing has contact information including phone number and a link to find the listing on a map. In addition, there's pricing information about the drug. Some of the information is very simple (Kroger Pharmacy's listing for this drug just reads "Qty 90 for $4.00 / Qty 270 for $10.00") while other listings have special information about the price (like required enrollment in pharmacy programs, prescription savings clubs, etc.)

When you're done doing the drug search, take a look at the nav across the top of the screen, and you'll find there are a variety of other medical-related searches you can do. You can search for places that will perform a variety of immunizations (everything from flu to hepatitis to shingles to pneumonia), health screenings (blood pressure, allergies, cholesterol, even thyroid profile), and "mini clinics" (these results are limited only to those mini clinics which are held in pharmacies, and are sorted by topic, from Abrasions/Strains/Sprains to Varicella (Chickenpox).)

This site does have a forum, though it doesn't seem very active. If you'd like to ask a question of a pharmacist, there's registered pharmacist "PharmaSueAnn," who answers questions both by e-mail and live 4-5 EST on Tuesdays.

Of course when choosing a pharmacy there are other factors besides price, and choosing generic is not always something your doctor recommends. That having been said, this is a quick way to get an overview of available generic medications in your area along with the price. Very useful!