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Introduction The shortage of general practitioners in Switzerland requires new ways to ensure primary outpatient health care. The group practice Medbase Winterthur Neuwiesen has been testing the use of Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) and Clinical Nurses (CN) for the treatment of clearly defined cases with minor illnesses for the past two years. In the context of quality assurance, this study examines the quality of treatment and outcome in 60 patients with symptoms of an acute upper respiratory tract infection, half of whom were assigned to a physician and half to an APN/CN Methods Analysis of the treatment and the outcome of 60 patient files, half of which were randomly assigned to a physician and half to an APN/CN. Results APN/CN treated significantly more often according to standardized guidelines than physicians; the outcome in patients treated by APN/CN was slightly better, the difference is not significant, though. Discussion The use of APN and CN in outpatient primary care is possible without compromising the quality of treatment in cases with minor illnesses and clearly defined guidelines for treatment.