So much from so many directions has been written and debated about prescription drug prices that the simple desire for a fair price on heartburn medication may make your condition worse. Should you demand your doctor prescribe a specific medication? Is generic OK? Should you order from Canada? The politics – it’s an issue in Augusta and Washington as well as on your television – make deciding even harder.

Recent news that the reliable appraiser of all manner of goods, Consumer Reports, has begun a web site listing what its experts consider best buys in drugs was a relief nearly as good as the heartburn drug it recommends. The web site got particular attention in Maine last week as Rep. Tom Allen, who has been urging the federal government to do its own drug comparisons, praised the site during a press conference at Maine Medical Center.

The web site is www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org and is well designed, with clear directions and straightforward information. Currently, the site rates drugs for only three common illnesses – heartburn and ulcers, high blood pressure and arthritis – but promises eventually to list more than 20, including treatments for diabetes, allergies and depression. Its conclusions are based on work at the Oregon Health & Science University Evidence-based Practice Center.

At the press conference last week, Rep. Allen observed, “The prolific marketing of prescription drugs on television, radio, print news, and directly to doctors contributes to increased customer demand for specific drugs which may or may not be the most effective drug in a class, or the safest.” For instance, as has been found elsewhere, the CU site suggests that the over the counter version of Prilosec, which costs around 79 cents a day, works just as well as prescriptions costing more than $8 a day. The site wisely urges you to consult your doctor before taking any drug in this class, which are known as proton pump inhibitors.

Good information about the value of specific drugs is often available, but can be difficult to find, hard to interpret or impossible to judge apart from the interest of those presenting it. Consumer Reports has for decades provided well-researched information on cars, refrigerators, toasters and televisions and thousands of other goods. Backed up with high-quality medical testing, its successful format for making complex information understandable is a real benefit.