According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), switching to generic drugs provides a 50 to 70 percent savings over their name brand equivalents. Also, there are generic equivalents for roughly 75 percent of the drugs listed with the FDA.

Chemically, brand-name drugs and their generic equivalents are essentially the same. They may differ in name, color, and shape. Otherwise, generic drugs are required by the FDA to have the same active ingredients, dosage amounts and method of administration as non-generic drugs.

There may be some differences between the inactive ingredients of generic and brand name drugs, which may in certain cases cause an allergic reaction. Generic drugs may also have a statistically insignificant difference in how your body may absorb such a drug, but not enough to change the drugs effectiveness.

Consult with your doctor to see if using generic drugs is right for you. If your current medicine does not have a generic equivalent, you can also ask your physician to suggest another medicine that does.

For more detailed information on generic equivalents and getting the biggest bang for your prescription buck, take a look at the free prescription medicine guidance offered by Consumer Reports.