The issue is expected to be discussed at the board's disability support advisory committee meeting next week, when the committee looks in detail at services provided for the over-65s.
The report to be considered by the committee is not yet available, but the most recent figures provided to the board showed home support to the end of February was $459,000 over budget, and hospital level residential care was over by $559,000.
Regional chief financial officer Robert Mackway-Jones said these variances from budget were the largest in the disability support area.
Regional planning and funding general manager David Chrisp said the board did seem to over-deliver on housework for the elderly compared with boards in other areas of the country.
It was also difficult to get absolute consistency in provision of services to the elderly across the region and across all needs assessors.
A review of the criteria used by assessors has been performed in Otago and Southland in a bid to improve the situation, he said.
Mr Mackway-Jones told the board it was hoped that spending could drop by $200,000 as a result by June.
Mr Chrisp described those savings as modest and said the board, which is facing a deficit of more than $11 million, was looking at options for making more substantial savings next year.
While the board had budgeted for growth in home support, the increases in that area did not match up with reduced numbers of people accessing rest-home care.
Otago and Southland remained above national averages for rest-home residency.
Mr Chrisp said it was not clear what impact any possible reductions in the level of housework support might have on the work force, adding there was often a struggle to find enough workers.
