Rheumatic diseases are a chronic, lifelong illness that results in significant pain, disability, and morbidity in the Canadian population (Perruccio, Power & Badley, 2006). Focusing on one aspect of rheumatic diseases, inflammatory arthritis has been associated not only with the aforementioned concerns, but also with an increased burden of care that affects not only patients, but extends its impact to include their family members, friends, and caregivers. Inflammatory arthritis is also associated with significant increases to healthcare budgets (Hunsche, Chancellor & Bruce, 2001). Care and management of these diseases are expected to be in high demand as the burden of illness is estimated to be on the rise (Perruccio, Power & Badley, 2006). The number of primary care providers and specialists is not sufficient to meet this anticipated increase, (Beaulieu et al., 2004; Glazier et al., 2003) and patients dealing with chronic diseases are increasingly required to self-manage their disease. This can be a stressful and daunting process for a newly diagnosed patient and may result in delayed decision-making and ultimately, delays in their disease treatment.