Reporting Bad Doctors

I'm a Medical Student, Get Me Out of Here, who's graphic I included because I think it's funny, posts about the ethical issues involved in reporting someone who is, in his opinion, a bad doctor. He talks about the damage such an accusation can do not only to the doctor in question, but to the doctor's patients, his hospital, and to the accuser. It's an issue that I'm sure every medical professional has to face at some point in their career, and I imagine that every medical professional has their own rubric for coming to a decision. But I worry that the very nature of health and medicine encourages doctors to not report their peers. Doctors undergo an excruciating training process, they generally work with a team, and that team is often a part of a much larger group such as a hospital or HMO. These and other factors create a strong bond between doctors, a feeling of intense solidarity with others who have undergone similar education and work under similar pressure. This bond might prevent adequate peer evaluation. I can't think of the last time I heard of a doctor taking the stand against another medical professional, whereas I hear stories about medical malpractice suits everyday. Is there a connection between patients suing their doctors and doctors not monitoring their peers? I'm not sure. But I do believe that the people in the best position to determine the ability of someone with special and specific training are the people who also have that training.