The proposed private hospital and healthcare complex at Remarkables Park is complementary to Queenstown services, the Otago and Southland district health boards say.
However, the new facility may attract some Lakes District Hospital staff.
Chief executive Brian Rousseau said the two boards wanted to look at what the opportunities were for "greater co-operation and synergy" between the new hospital and Lakes District Hospital.
The boards were talking to the developers, Southern Cross Hospitals, Queenstown Medical Centre, Skin Institute Queenstown and Remarkables Park Ltd, he said.
"We think it's a great idea and it's got the potential to complement what the [health board] provides in Queenstown. In addition, it has the potential to provide for elective surgery where people within the community currently have to travel to Dunedin or Invercargill.
"It may attract Lakes District Hospital staff away but we don't see ourselves as competing. For instance, food, linen and support services cost us and them money and it makes good sense to look at those things together."
Mr Rousseau said it was a challenge to attract and retain staff at Lakes District Hospital, due to the high cost of living in the Wakatipu and the small size of its service.
Lakes Environmental is still assessing the resource consent application for the hospital and precinct and gave no indication when a recommendation would be made. A formal application was received last October and further information on lighting, signs and plans was received on January 30.
Plans for the hospital and healthcare complex were announced last year. They included 10 private hospital bedrooms, four operating theatres, a day surgery unit, recovery rooms, an accident and emergency centre and a range of complementary services.
The hospital and complex were expected to be located on a 1.06ha site zoned for hospitals as a controlled use to the east of the existing shopping centre on the future eastern access road. It could be operational in two or three years and was hailed as the potential catalyst for a clustering of additional health services and facilities, including aged care, retirement care, child care and medical education.
