Otago and Southland District Health Board staff have been collecting information about what hospital services are available in the southern region, along with population and disease-prevalence predictions for the future.
Earlier this year, committee chairman Errol Millar said a "significant-sized" hospital may need to be built in response to population growth in Central Otago and Queenstown.
The South Island shared services plan involves the six South Island district health boards, who have come together to plan for long-term health services, which will include a review of base hospitals, including Dunedin and Southland hospitals.
Regional planning and funding officer David Chrisp told the community and public health advisory committee this week the focus of the hospital capacity review was "definitely rural", but the impacts on Dunedin and Southland hospitals would also be looked at.
Committee member Peter Barron said perhaps the name of the review needed to change to reflect the rural focus.
Speaking later, Mr Chrisp said the "second stage" of the review was almost completed.
It had looked at information such as what services rural hospitals were able to provide and how many patients were accessing rural hospital services.
The next stage would be to look for innovative ways to meet future demand, rather than just adding more beds and continuing with what was already being done.
Possible future technology and disease trends also had to be looked at, such as the much talked-about obesity epidemic, which could mean "more people with diabetes and going blind".
"Health has changed hugely in the past 10 years and will continue to change in the next 10 years."
