Libby Roughead's research focuses on quantifying the extent of problems with medicines use, identifying the extent of adverse reactions to medicines, testing solutions for improving medicines use and evaluating improvements in health care.

Her research supports pharmaceutical policy development, she has expertise in developing and measuring performance indicators for evaluating pharmaceutical policy, including the development and measurement of performance indicators for quality use of medicines and the national medicines policy

She has extensive experience in drug utilisation and has been a member of Australia’s Drug Utilisation Subcommittee of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee providing advice on drug utilisation assessment for Australia. Libby has also acted as a temporary advisor to the World Health Organisation at regional meetings on medicines policy, pricing and quality use of medicines.

Libby leads the:
Veterans' Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services (MATES) program. This ongoing program has delivered over 65 therapeutic topics and targeted every general practioner, pharmacy, aged-care facility and veteran in Australia. The program has led to improvements in medicine use and reductions in hospitalisations.
Reducing Medicines Induced Deterioration and Adverse Reactions (ReMInDAR) Trial, aimed at enabling the early identification of signs and symptons of medicine induced deterioration in residental aged care residents to minimise the ongoing deterioration and adverse events such as falls and delirium.

She currently supervises PhD students undertaking research in the area of medicine use and frailty, harm from medicine interactions, the pharmacists role in delirium prevention, managed entry agreements for pharmaceuticals, fixed dose combination products and policy implications, and signal detection methods for medicine and medical device safety.