A system for use with a medical device configured for insertion within a patient, comprising: a signal generator configured to apply a drive signal to one or more pairs of electrodes located on the medical device; a measurement circuit configured to measure responses of the electrode pairs to the drive signal; a contact assessment module configured to generate bipolar electrode complex impedance (BECI) values for each of the electrode pairs, determine a baseline BECI value representing a minimum BECI value measured during a collection period, subsequently measure a BECI value generated in response to the applied drive signals over a given interval, measure a peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values over the given interval, and determine a contact status based on a combination of the baseline BECI value, the measured BECI value, and the peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values; and a display for displaying proximities of the electrodes relative to the tissue based on outputs received from the contact assessment module; wherein the contact assessment module determines contact status based on a combination of the baseline BECI value, measured BECI value, and peak-to-peak value by calculating a ratio value that represents the ratio of the measured BECI value to the baseline BECI value, scaling at least one of the ratio value or the peak-to-peak BECI value to allow comparison of the ratio value to the peak-to-peak BECI value, defining a variable as a maximum of the ratio value and the peak-to-peak value scaled accordingly, and comparing the variable to one or more threshold values to determine a contact status. a signal generator configured to apply a drive signal to one or more pairs of electrodes located on the medical device; a measurement circuit configured to measure responses of the electrode pairs to the drive signal; a contact assessment module configured to generate bipolar electrode complex impedance (BECI) values for each of the electrode pairs, determine a baseline BECI value representing a minimum BECI value measured during a collection period, subsequently measure a BECI value generated in response to the applied drive signals over a given interval, measure a peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values over the given interval, and determine a contact status based on a combination of the baseline BECI value, the measured BECI value, and the peak-to-peak value associated with the measured BECI values; and a display for displaying proximities of the electrodes relative to the tissue based on outputs received from the contact assessment module; wherein the contact assessment module determines contact status based on a combination of the baseline BECI value, measured BECI value, and peak-to-peak value by calculating a ratio value that represents the ratio of the measured BECI value to the baseline BECI value, scaling at least one of the ratio value or the peak-to-peak BECI value to allow comparison of the ratio value to the peak-to-peak BECI value, defining a variable as a maximum of the ratio value and the peak-to-peak value scaled accordingly, and comparing the variable to one or more threshold values to determine a contact status.