According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of respiratory diseases is up to 15% in the world's population, of which, as a cause of death, ARIs rank 3rd. Primary health care (PHC) clinics are the first contact of patients and represent gate keepers in the health system of the country (in Croatia and many European countries). It is expected that up to 85% of all health problems will be solved in general/family medicine practices, which indicates the diversity and complexity of diagnostic decisions that general practitioners/family physicians encounter in their daily work. According to the literature, one third of all visits to PHC clinics are due to respiratory difficulties, which mostly include sinusitis, cough, pharyngitis, pneumonia and others. Upper respiratory tract infections have a major economic impact on society as they affect work ability and lead to absences from work and school. Furthermore, the most common reason for prescribing antibiotics in general practice/family medicine in Croatia is ARI. One of the important public health problems in the world is the increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to drugs, which is associated with increased consumption of antibiotics. Excessive prescribing of antimicrobial therapy is associated with several factors that include insufficient education of physicians, lack of adequate diagnostic procedures on PHC level as well as lack of well-defined guidelines for dealing with these conditions. Difficulties in adequately diagnosing ARI are also due to the overcrowding of the health care system and insufficient consultation duration to make a diagnosis. Research suggests that routine use of additional diagnostic tests (such as rapid tests for CRP or STREP A tests) in the event of diagnostic uncertainty may reduce antibiotic prescribing while saving resources and providing additional time to treat other conditions. Educating patients through either public health campaigns or individual consultations on the causes, course and treatment of ARI contributes to the proper implementation of symptomatic therapy and reduces the expectation/pressure on physicians to prescribe antibiotics in the treatment of these conditions.